Live, Video: Kritiken zu klassischen Konzerten, Opern, Ballett und Tanz finden | 6 Metamorphoses after Ovid for oboe, Op.49

The wide-ranging programme, titled "Glitter and Be Gay!", highlights the work of two composers who were open about their sexual orientations at a time when few contemporaries came out.

Counterpoise offered a tasteful and well-crafted concert at Kings Place on Sunday of recent works accompanied by film and still photographs. The unusual instrumentation of the ensemble (violin, saxophone, trumpet, piano) was surprisingly effective. Works for smaller subsets of the ensemble gave individual performers a chance to shine as well.

The City of London Festival this year is ambitiously programmed, with a number of common themes running through the events.

The centenary of Britten’s birth has seen a surge in performances of his music both in the concert hall and on the stages of many a noted opera house. Sensationalised biographies, radio and television programmes, and a number of Britten-centred festivals have helped to pique further interest in a composer whose music tends to attract a love-hate relationship with its listeners.

How do you get more people interested in classical music? It’s a difficult question, but I’d never have guessed it was difficult enough to give to Sherlock Holmes.