The Independent Recommends: Classical

CHRISTOPH VON DOHNANYI'S thrilling series with the Philharmonia Orchestra, entitled Mahler and Vienna: Beginnings and Endings, could be said to examine both an end and a beginning today, as the work in question is the monumental Resurrection Symphony by Mahler (below), a piece which took its composer seven years to complete. Dohnanyi is joined by the Philharmonia Chorus in what should be an appropriately majestic interpretation.

Royal Festival Hall, London SE1 (0171-960 4242) 7.30pm

The musicians of Birmingham divide neatly into two groups today. In the latest of their enterprising matinee series, the CBSO, conducted by Sakari Oramo, plays Nielsen's Helios Overture and Flute Concerto, with Shostakovich's 5th Symphony. Meanwhile, this evening, it's the turn of the City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus to shine in short, a cappella settings by Holst, Taverner and Allegri, prefacing Rachmaninov's luminous treatment of the vespers.

Symphony Hall, Birmingham (0121-212 3333) 2.15pm and 7.30pm