The NDR Sinfonieorchester paid homage to the memory of Alfred Schnittke, latterly a resident of Hamburg until his death in 1998, with the opening concert of their 2008-9 season. They were joined by the Lithuanian cellist, David Geringas. ‘One could sense in every phrase,’ according to Die Welt, ‘how often Geringas has played the First Cello Concerto, mentally dissecting its fragile sonic corset and reassembling it in passionate tones… Christoph von Dohnányi and the NDR Symphony Orchestra supported the taut texture of Geringas’ conception, sensitively perceiving the fading-out of some full orchestral outbursts and savouring the orchestral writing to the full.’