Alexander Hall divides his time between London and Hamburg, having spent a lifetime writing in some form or other: fiction, academic research, educational materials and professional translations. He has been an avid concert-goer from his teenage years with fond memories of many of the giants of the past, including Klemperer, Karajan, Böhm, Bernstein and Carlos Kleiber. For him the symphony orchestra is one of the greatest artistic creations of all time.
On the cusp of the Summer Solstice, Sir Simon Rattle, the LSO and suitable orchestral reinforcements celebrate the heritage of folk music and the attractions of rusticity.
A potentially stimulating mix of full-bloodied Russian orchestral writing not fully realised by the RPO and Alpesh Chauhan, but with a promising concerto debut by Diana Adamyan.
An absence of theatricality from a conductor steeped in the operatic tradition: Sir Antonio Pappano and the Santa Cecilia Orchestra show restraint in a classical Mahler Sixth.
Berg, unlike his teacher Schoenberg, didn't throw out the baby with the bathwater; Bruckner too never forgot his traditional roots. The NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, Paavo Järvi and Laura Aikin demonstrate.
A concerto was the sandwich, and a very fine one too, but no overture and no symphony: who else would have married Skalkottas and Prokofiev with Mozart's last piano concerto?
The concerto was by Elgar, the symphony by Dvořák: the BBC Symphony Orchestra with Sakari Oramo and Nicola Benedetti make powerful and compelling statements.
Tired of looking at the same wallpaper all the time? The London Philharmonic and their conductor Edward Gardner, together with soloist Stephen Hough, offer one way to see (part of) the world.
Continuing its series of landmark classics inspired by the British Isles, the London Philharmonic conducted by Osmo Vänskä showcases Bax before moving north to traverse the Nordic landscapes of Grieg and Sibelius.
Jump-in concerts can occasionally advance career prospects. Jonathan Bloxham with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen demonstrated the lightness of Mendelssohn in C minor but seriously underplayed the darkness of Schubert in B minor.
A sparkling if challenging first half of Haydn and Schnittke, splendidly delivered by the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, but with shortcomings in the conductor's approach to Tchaikovsky's largest symphonic score.
Pure jouissance from that musical multitasker extraordinaire Barbara Hannigan in an evening of contrasting delights with the London Symphony Orchestra.
Jan Latham-Koenig conducting the Flanders Symphony Orchestra reveals the drama and Romantic heart in Mendelssohn's Third Symphony, while Filippo Gorini chooses a classical approach to Beethoven.
Rafael Payare demonstrates his mastery of a late Romantic score and together with the RPO partners Lise de la Salle in an early piano concerto by Mozart.
The Principal Guest Conductor of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, Krzysztof Urbański, partners Vadim Gluzman in Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto, but is strangely uninspired by Mendelssohn’s tribute to the joys of Italy.
A rare and compelling performance of Beethoven's string quintet was the centrepiece of another instalment in the Nash Ensemble's traversal of German Romantic composers.
The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, with their Dutch-Maltese conductor Lawrence Renes and the British soprano Emma Bell, embrace the cause of Wagner and Bruckner in the heart of the Mediterranean.
Sir Simon Rattle and the LSO kick off the New Year by showcasing a contemporary vocal masterpiece (with Barbara Hannigan as soloist) together with two symphonies by Nordic composers.
