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.
Teodor Currentzis, conducting the SWR Symphony Orchestra, and Yulianna Avdeeva do Prokofiev proud in his Third Piano Concerto and Fifth Symphony: all the colours of the rainbow delivered with sophistication, élan and boundless effervescence.
At the Proms the splendour of Saint-Saëns’ Organ Symphony provides a contrast to but also a parallel with Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto in a welcome visit by The Hallé and Sir Mark Elder with Benjamin Grosvenor.
Spanning almost a century in musical terms, from the old-world elegance of Johann Strauss to one of his greatest admirers, Erich Korngold, John Wilson and the Sinfonia of London demonstrate orchestral excellence.
Vasily Petrenko unleashes powerful and poetic sounds in Sibelius' Second Symphony and Jess Gillam dazzles in one of Michael Nyman's works while the European Union Youth Orchestra shows off its remarkable qualities.
Appropriately for a Russian-themed programme, two works in a minor key, one by Prokofiev and the other by Tchaikovsky, bring out the best in Alan Gilbert and the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester.
Daniel Barenboim offered an unusually Germanic take on César Franck, while section leaders Michael Barenboim and Kian Soltani pulled double duty as soloists in Brahms' Double Concerto.
An American conductor in charge of music from the New World: a world premiere by Augusta Read Thomas and Charles Ives' celebrated "place pieces" set the scene for a symphony bathed in nostalgia and memories of the Old World.
Tracing a line of musical heritage was what this concert was all about: the imaginative richness of inspiration that passed from Rimsky-Korsakov through early Rachmaninov to Stravinsky.
Age sometimes brings compensations: Mischa Maisky's total commitment to the Schumann concerto left Daniel Lozakovich out in the cold with Brahms. Meanwhile Klaus Mäkelä with the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra reins back Romantic feeling in Schumann's Second Symphony.
Nézet-Séguin and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe bring to a triumphant end their Beethoven cycle in Baden-Baden with coruscating performances of the Second and Third Symphonies.
Partnering Augustin Hadelich in the Sibelius Violin Concerto and directing two works by Mendelssohn, Andrés Orozco-Estrada doesn't quite temper acoustic problems associated with the ecclesiastical venue.
The young Norwegian conductor Tabita Berglund has been making waves on the international circuit and is already exhibiting much promise. Here she directs the Hallé in an eclectic mix of Wagner, Golijov and Beethoven.
Mitsuko Uchida feels closest to the music of Schubert. She makes the strongest of cases for the eight Impromptus, long regarded almost as trifles, which in their tragic weight and sense of loneliness embody the age of Coronavirus.
Where angels fear to tread? Günter Wand held back until he was in his sixties before daring to conduct this work. Robert Trevino (born 1984) sees no reason to wait.
In charge of La Scala forces, Daniel Harding finds gloom in the overture to Der Freischütz but keeps it in check in one of the world's most popular symphonies.
The Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Douglas Boyd offer colour, energy and sparkle while Steven Osborne demonstrates a sure touch in one of his favourite concertos.
An era is drawing to a close in Liverpool, but here Vasily Petrenko makes a greater case for the neglected Franz Schreker than for one-dimensional incidental music by Shostakovich.
