Rachmaninov was 22 when he composed his first symphony and 24 when he had the shattering experience of hearing it murdered twice: once by the orchestra and then by the critics who condemned it as modernist trash. The symphony was never played again in the composer's lifetime, but is the piece all that bad?

In this centenary year of Rachmaninov's birth BBC2 viewers have a chance to consider their own verdict on the First Symphony when Walter Weller conducts the New Philharmonia Orchestra (leader Desmond Bradley) and John Culshaw traces the background leading up to the disastrous premiere in Leningrad in 1897.

(Rachmaninov from the Chester Festival: Radio 3, Thursday at 7.30 pm)