Laura leads a double life: musically, she is a violinist and a mezzo-soprano with a degree in musicology from La Rioja University. She works as a music journalist, critic and translator, and has extensive experience in artist management, including for international figures such as conductor Pablo Heras-Casado and pianist Javier Perianes. In parallel, she is an environmental scientist with an MSc in Conservation from University College London, and works as a senior expert at an international forest policy organisation.
Truls Mørk marvels with Dvořák's cello concerto in an evening that saw the Czech Philharmonic go from strength to strength in the hands of Jiří Bělohlávek.
Ton Koopman's distinctively lively tempi, coupled with a contagious delight to be making music, has a fairly magnetic effect when conducting Bach's Mass in B minor.
Donizetti's La Fille du régiment brings much needed joy to the Teatro Real, with Javier Camarena's astonishing voice and Aleksandra Kurzak's unapologetic tomboy mesmerising the audience.
Leonidas Kavakos and Yuja Wang play all three of Brahms' sonatas for violin and piano in one evening, without ever looking at each other. They did not seem to need to.
Marek Janowski has been the chief conductor of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra since 2002. This concert of Beethoven, Britten and Dvořák found both conductor and orchestra on find form.
Christian Gerhaher and Gerold Huber leave the audience speechless in Madrid with an all-Schumann recital in an evening that will not easily be forgotten.
Annie Proulx's love story between two men in rural Wyoming sees its opera première. Strong casting and an irregular score turn Spain into the capital of the opera.
