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An especially strong showing of piano and violin soloists join a slew of touring and domestic orchestras, early music ensembles, singers and chamber groups in the Palau’s rich new season.

The Czech Philharmonic’s chief conductor talks Dvořák, discovering new repertoire, and finding a common language between conductor and orchestra.

Conformist or closet dissident? Dmitri Shostakovich had to adapt, chameleon-like, to the changing political climate in the Soviet Union, toeing the party line where necessary, but planting his music with coded messages.

The vast treasure troves of Deutsche Grammophon, Decca and Hyperion – as well as live performances from Bayreuth – are brought under one umbrella in the new, state-of-the-art streaming platform.

The doyen of the the early music movement talks about his long association with JS Bach, and how he always tries to show Bach’s many sides in his concerts.

As the Republic gears up for the Year of Czech Music 2024, the Czech capital’s offerings of opera, ballet, orchestral and chamber music are accelerating.

The vast 2023–24 season at Budapest boast 41 different operas and 19 ballets – with new productions of Boris Godunov, Rusalka, ballets by Bartók, and a world premiere from Peter Eötvös.

The renowned violinist speaks about the clarity of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, keeping repertoire fresh, his love of chamber music, and how it informs his conducting.

The artistic director of the Czech National Ballet talks passionately about taking responsibility for tradition, the importance of having classics in the repertoire, and how he cannot live without music.

Bachtrack polled 15 of the world's leading music critics and can reveal their 2023 list of the world's greatest orchestras and conductors. 

The Director of the Sofia Philharmonic talks about concert programming, conducting, serving a term as Bulgarian Culture Minister, and an impossible wish to clone himself.

Dramatising the aftermath of a mass shooting in Finland, Innocence explores violence, trauma and collective responsibility. Co-librettist Aleksi Barrière speaks about one of Kaija Saariaho’s last major works.

The youthful conductor has recently been appointed Rotterdam Philharmonic’s principal guest conductor for the next four years – and performs Bartók’s Second Piano Concerto with Yuja Wang this November.

Les Arts Florissants’ new production combines choreography from Mourad Merzouki with the vocal ensemble Les Jardins des Voix, turning Purcell’s fantastical work into a sung ballet.

Mezzo-soprano Jessica Gillingwater and tenor Peter Davoren reveal how demanding being a member of the BBC Singers is – and how they approach singing such a wide variety of music.

With Sir Simon Rattle departing, Sir Antonio Pappano steps up as Chief Conductor Designate, alongside a plethora of guest conductors and soloists including Barbara Hannigan, Michael Tilson Thomas and François-Xavier Roth.

Ahead of their tour of the UK and Ireland, Concerto Budapest’s conductor András Keller and pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard talk about the profound effects of language in the music of Beethoven and Bartók.

The 2023–24 season at Lugano’s LAC boasts a wide range of orchestral and chamber offerings, including visits from Martha Argerich, Ton Koopman, Riccardo Chailly and Grigory Sokolov.

The Italian maestro, who recently stepped down as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Music Director, talks about learning from orchestras, future plans – and his frustrations with the world of opera. 

Choreographer David Dawson talks about emotional physicality, dance as a journey – and how dancers are “always in a state of becoming something else”.

The Czech Philharmonic marks its 130th anniversary with a season perfect for Dvořák fans, with visits from Augustin Hadelich, Sir András Schiff, Sir Antonio Pappano and Janine Jansen.

The Singaporean conductor is soon to become Principal Guest Conductor at the Dresden Philharmonic. He talks about Mahler and Strauss, world premieres, creating bridges between West and East, and classical music’s future.

The numbers of entrants to A Level Music has halved since 2010, reflecting a wider landscape for music and culture across the UK that is increasingly bleak.

France is truly the country of the summer music festival, with dozens – perhaps hundreds – to choose from. Bachtrack founders David and Alison toured four very different festivals in July.

The unique festival embedded in the mountains of Trentino explores broadening access to several concerts this season, with systems designed for D/deaf and hard of hearing audience members.

The Norwegian soprano talks about pacing a career, new roles and resisting the offers that followed her Operalia success.

With an output ranging from dense sound clusters to romantic oratorios, Penderecki’s music is remarkably diverse – and throughout is redolent with the trauma and memory of the 20th century.

The competition attracted around two hundred competitors from 18 countries, culminating in a gala that belonged to the aspiring young dancers who filled the evening with their hope and joy.

For outsiders, Tokyo can be intimidating in scale and variety – but our guide to its culinary delights will keep you well signposted, if you are in the city for a musical visit.

The first director of Asian descent to stage Der Ring des Nibelungen in its entirety talks about his refusal to follow existing formulas in this new production for Opera Australia.

His symphonies are now mainstays of orchestra seasons, but during his lifetime Gustav Mahler was more famous as a rigorous conductor, his music misunderstood and scorned. 

When the idea of a new concert hall for Amsterdam was hatched in 1881, the omens were not good. But the Concertgebouw is now at the heart of Amsterdam’s culture, with its acoustic considered one of the very best in the world.

What makes Suntory Hall, Disney Hall, the Philharmonie de Paris, the Elbphilharmonie and 28 others sound the way they do? The work of Yasuhisa Toyota and Nagata Acoustics. We learn more...

Spanish choreographer Avatâra Ayuso talks candidly about fellow choreographer Bronislava Nijinska, historical misogyny within the dance sector, and what we are doing about it today.

The Hull-born choreographer speaks about his passion and commitment to creativity and collaboration, as well as his determination to keep classical ballet innovative.

The Belgrade Philharmonic was one of Zubin Mehta’s first professional conducting engagements as his career was launched in 1958. A welcome guest, he returns to Serbia this summer to take the orchestra on a mini-tour of the Balkans. 

Polish conductor Marzena Diakun speaks about the prestigious and high-pressure conducting competition, and its role in establishing her on the world stage.

Europe’s newest ballet school – attached to Hungarian State Opera in Budapest – prepares a version of Tchaikovsky and Petipa’s classic, designed expressly for young dancers.

The Russian baritone speaks about jumping into roles at the last minute, on training as a conductor and a singer at the same time, and singing the bad guy.

In their 10th anniversary year, Saffron Hall continues to boast the cream of British orchestral and chamber talent – and some outstanding international visitors too.

The Latvian bass-baritone’s talks about his background in French and Italian opera, his journey to Wagner – and becoming chairman of the board of Latvian National Opera.

Quintessentially English or establishment outsider? Elgar was seen as provincial – and was never more at home than in his beloved Malvern Hills – but he had a European outlook.

An international destination for Early Music, the 44th Ambronay Festival gathers together many well-known artists from all over the world, in a programme combining masterpieces and rarities.

Singapore’s Esplanade welcomes a slew of virtuoso soloists and guest conductors for their alluring new season.

The director of Antwerpʼs concert venue De Singel talks about their forthcoming 2023–24 season – comprised of ten individual, forward-looking festivals.

Ligeti’s early life was deeply eventful and traumatic. Biographer Richard Steinitz describes writing Ligeti’s biography – and the alienated and abstracted imprint it left on his music.

Born 100 years ago, the music of Hungarian composer György Ligeti is varied and multiplicitous, displaying a voracious curiosity and a multifaceted imagination.

Drawing on the concept of Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art), Wagner is best remembered for his extraordinary music dramas, not least the monumental, 15-hour Ring cycle.

With a repertoire of over thirty roles, and appearing at houses and festivals from Glyndebourne to Stuttgart to Stockholm, the Swedish mezzo-soprano is already highly accomplished.

One of the world’s most innovative opera houses, DNO’s new season offers a slew of bold new opera and ballet productions.