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This upcoming season at the Palau – which has a strongly Bachian and Beethovenian flavour – features many of Europe’s most celebrated soloists and ensembles.

The Bayreuth Festival will celebrate its anniversary season in 2026. It has been a pilgrimage site for Wagnerians for 150 years, with Bachtrack attending regularly since 2014. We asked our reviewers to share their fondest memories with us.

Christopher Carr talks about the challenges of resetting Ashton’s Birthday Offering for a new generation, and how grateful he is to have notation to refer to the original choreography.

Longtime music journalist and founder of ArtsJournal talks about the multiple crises facing orchestras and arts organisations in the United States, amid the damage wrought by the second Trump administration.

The leading US soprano talks about her experiences singing one of opera’s most devastating roles, which she takes to Brno this autumn.

With a penchant for Baroque music in historical livery, Collegium Musicum Riga are part of a small but distinctive Early music scene in Latvia, initiating collaborations with others across the Baltic states.

The Toronto-born composer talks about new work Romanza for piano and orchestra, theatricality in music, taking influences from psychology, and the effect on his music of working for the United Nations.

Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Jonathan Payn talks about The Green Table by Kurt Jooss, first performed in Paris in 1932 – and how choreography can respond to political collapse and the threat of war. 

Renowned harpsichordist Jean Rondeau presents a new view of Bach’s Goldberg Variations at this year’s Bachfest Schaffhausen, including in arrangement for Baroque ensemble, and as a new composition for piano, percussion and electronics inspired by the cycle.

How to defamiliarize Mozart’s well known piano concertos? This April pianist Cristian Sandrin joins the London Mozart Players for new chamber arrangements of three concertos, for solo piano and string quartet.

Principal clarinettist with the CBSO, Oli Janes talks about the elegies, raucous dances and virtuoso fireworks of Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra, which the orchestra performs in April.

Principal contrabassist of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra talks about why Mahler’s restless and volatile First Symphony is a highlight of any orchestra season.

Setting texts by Nobel prize winning author Han Kang, this new work by British composer Laura Bowler for soprano and large orchestra is an emotionally charged exploration of mourning and longing.

The newly established Pehlivanian International Conducting Competition’s unusually open format – with in-person auditions in 15 cities around the world – aims to search out the best conducting talent, no matter its origins.

How is the classical music world changing? Looking back on a dizzying year, we pay particular attention to performers’ international connectedness. Documenting more than 30,000 events, Bachtrack’s statistics provide valuable insight into an unstable world.

With performances all over the city, amid some of Barcelona’s world renowned architecture, Ciutat de Clàssica offers a way to experience the city through music, away from the tourist throngs...

Featuring the cream of Hungary’s classical music talent – including the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra – this new competition named after Sir Georg Solti is a prestigious addition to a crowded competitive calendar...

What do you buy for the culture lover in your life who seems to have everything? Here are some music and dance-related gifts that Bachtrack staff are giving or hoping to receive for Christmas this year.

Young composer and pianist Christopher Jessup talks about recent projects, including an orchestral work for the London Symphony Orchestra – and the importance of emotional authenticity in contemporary music.

With a remarkably extensive season featuring a slew of major guests, and the cream of Japanese classical music talent, the TMSO has an uncanny ability to switch between musical styles on a dime. 

Birmingham Royal Ballet soloist Sofia Liñares talks about the joys and fears of dancing multiple roles and performances of Sir Peter Wright’s The Nutcracker.

In 2026, Opéra national de Paris presents its first complete cycle of Wagner’s Ring for over a decade, with productions directed by Calixto Bieito. We dig into these striking and provocative productions...

While London can often seem daunting, the Southbank Centre offers a heady mix of culture – music, theatre, film and contemporary art – within easy walking distance of under a mile.

The City of Birmingham Symphony’s leader talks about leading Mozart’s last Violin Concerto – a work full of sunshine, clarity and transparency. 

NHK交響楽団の首席フルート奏者が、オーケストラの各奏者が華麗なソロを披露する、ラヴェルの最大規模の管弦楽曲について語る。

The NHK Symphony Orchestra’s principal flautist talks about playing Ravel’s largest orchestral work, which features virtuosic solos for players all across the orchestra.

We respond to an article by Gabriel Kahane in which he laments the loss of music listings in New York City's cultural magazines.

Boasting major orchestras from Sweden, Iceland, France, Germany and the UK, this year’s Migros Culture Percentage Classics draws an appropriately international musical crowd to perform across Switzerland.

With over 300 performances of operas, ballets and concerts, the Hungarian State Opera and National Ballet are ever resourceful. We preview their expansive 2025–26 season. 

Laurence Equilbey’s choir, orchestra and many invited guests present a rich variety of offerings at the beautiful Auditorium of La Seine Musicale, just outside Paris at the south-western end of the Métro.

With a huge programme including many of the biggest names in classical music, one might easily drown in the Palau de la Música’s new season. We chart its waters...

Contemporary music theatre seems to be in a state of rude health, and we preview several new stage works soon to hit the boards this coming season at venues and opera houses around the world.

A network of around 50 classical music competitions, EMCY has also been mounting unusual performance projects, which respond to the challenges posed by Coronavirus and the war in Ukraine.

With a focus on Shostakovich, and many prestigious guest orchestras from around Europe, this year’s BBC Proms confirms orchestral music can make a big public statement.

In the forest, in a truck, above the clouds or at the waterside, a wine glass in hand, walking, singing, dancing or improvising: there's something here for every style and every taste.

The UK’s premier summer classical music festival offers the chance to get up close to some of the world’s finest orchestras – a transformative experience at any age.

Gareth Davies, Principal Flute of the London Symphony Orchestra, talks about the furious scramble to keep up with Colin Davis performing Berlioz’s great hallucinatory symphony.

NHK 交響楽団の首席ホルン奏者の今井仁志氏に、 マーラーの交響曲第 3 番について、曲との出会いや演奏の心構え、 自然への崇拝というテーマなどについて語っていただきました。

Hitoshi Imai, Principal Horn of the NHK Symphony Orchestra, talks about discovering and playing Mahler’s longest symphony, and its theme of reverence for nature.

With many of the world’s greatest ensembles and soloists appearing in over 95 concerts, across four weeks from August to September, it’s hard to know where to begin with Bucharest’s rich musical offering.

The concertmaster of Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra tells us about her love for Schubert’s famous symphony, which the orchestra plays on their UK tour in April.

2024年のクラシック音楽界にはどのような変化があっただろうか？　これまでの傾向は維持されただろうか、それとも下火になっただろうか？　48ヶ国、30,000を超える掲載件数にもとづき、Bachtrackはクラシック音楽界の有益な見取り図をお届けする。

What changes did the classical music world see in 2024? Are existing trends continuing, or slowing? With more than 30,000 listings across 48 countries, Bachtrack offers a valuable snapshot into the classical music world.

With concerts featuring Myung-whun Chung at the piano, Pinchas Zukerman leading from the podium, and inventive programming from Chief Conductor Andrea Battistoni, the Tokyo Philharmonic’s 2025 season straddles many divides.

The US Early Music ensemble Les Délices are embarking on a new season of concerts streaming online. Director Debra Nagy talks about the season, and her particular fascination with the music of Guillaume de Machaut.

The British composer and conductor talks about his 30-year career in China, and his latest stage work created in collaboration with children’s writer Hong Ying.

The director of Collegium 1704 talks about Zelenka, the greatest Czech Baroque composer, and his uniquely bold and distinctive approach composition – which still has the capacity to shock and overwhelm today.

The 2024–25 season features new productions of Turandot, Maria Stuarda, Macbeth and La Bayadère, as well as a host of titles in rep from Hungary and elsewhere.

Director Fabrice Murgia talks about Seasons, a new production for La Cité Bleue using music and film, creating portraits of imaginary residents of La Cité universitaire in Geneva.

In its ninth season, the Swiss city of Lugano sees a host of major soloists and ensembles congregate in its idyllic corner of Ticino, in the LAC’s world-class acoustic.