Founded nearly 300 years ago, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra is recognized as one of the world's top 10 symphony orchestras. During the opening performance, the orchestra played two masterpieces of classical music: Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor and Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 10 in E minor.
Conductor Andris Nelsons, a five-time Grammy Award winner, is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in contemporary classical music. The piano soloist, Yulianna Avdeeva, the gold medalist at the 16th International Chopin Piano Competition, also delivered a remarkable performance.