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Ádam Fischer and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment bring new light and life to Bruckner's most imposing cathedral in sound. 

Sometimes the programme just feels right: a dramatic cantata by Haydn, a “pantomime grotesque” by Bartók and Mahler's Fourth Symphony. Colour and contrasts galore from soloist, conductor and orchestra.

A sense of marvel and joy permeates this New Year's Day performance of Haydn's oratorio at Müpa, Budapest. 

With Iréne Theorin's Brünnhilde rejuvenated, the Ring receives a worthy finale at the Budapest Wagner Days.

The pure magic of Ádám Fischer and the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra delights with two brilliant leads, but others disappoint on the second day of Müpa's Ring.

With his impish grin, the Hungarian conductor revels in Mahler's “heavenly” Fourth Symphony as clothed in refreshing period instrument colours. 

Sven-Eric Bechtolf's staging holds a balance between philosophy and humour, but Adam Fischer's vivacious conducting is the real star of the evening.

The Don is dark and light, the production somewhere in between, with strong singing and musical direction but stodgy staging. 

Jonas Kaufmann and Anja Harteros, the “Royal couple” of the Bayerische Staatsoper, enchant and melt hearts as the doomed lovers in Verdi’s late masterpiece.

Fine performances of music associated with Queen Victoria, with a royal novelty thrown in to complete a programme marked by commitment and vigour. 

A Ring cycle of sustained excellence closes with telling contributions from Foster, Vinke and Pesendorfer in the three lead roles.

Müpa's Ring sees all-round musical excellence for a third night in row, which will be remembered more than the various distracting miscues in the staging.

Six excellent singers bring out the best in Wagner's dramatic narrative, marred only by a Ride of the Valkyries that fails to convince.

Hartmut Schörghofer's updated concert staging receives strong singing from everyone and a thrilling orchestral performance.

Programming his countryman Bartók between two Beethoven works, Ádám Fischer returned to Carnegie Hall with the Vienna Philharmonic. 

The Vienna Philharmonic perform Mahler’s Ninth Symphony at the Barbican, with deep and urgent commitment under Ádám Fischer.

Verdi's fifth opera can be considered a blueprint for Trovatore and deserves a more regular place in the repertoire, but it needs more sincere advocacy than Bechtolf is prepared to grant.

Stephen Gould is less than convincing in the lead role of Tannhäuser, but excellent ensemble work under Ádám Fischer's inspired direction offers compensations.

As part of the annual Wagner festival in the Hungarian capital, Peter Seiffert and Allison Oakes star as the doomed lovers.

The battle of the choirs is a thrilling moment in just about any performance of Dutchman, but produces shock and awe in the live acoustics of Budapest's Bartok Bela Concert Hall.

The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment stalked the “Corridors of Power” in Prague and Esterházy for a fabulous evening of Classical drama. 

Ádám Fischer delivers a remarkable performance of Haydn's great oratorio.

Ádám Fischer and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment gave a thrilling account of Beethoven's Seventh, and there was much to admire in Steven Isserlis' intelligent reading of Hadyn's Cello Concerto no. 1.

Little mark of Shakespeare's drama or Verdi's passion behind Bartlett Sher's exsanguinated, highly-stylized Otello for The Metropolitan Opera.

Jürgen Flimm takes so many liberties with Mozart’s La clemenza it should be re-titled “Tito’s Lament”.

Otto Schenk's Vienna production of Der Rosenkavalier has been mounted 366 times since its 1968 inauguration and there is definitely no demand for a new one.

Nina Stemme leads a successful revival of the Schenk production with a brilliant orchestra led by a passionate Ádám Fischer.

Unexpected insights and fresh perspectives from period instrument performances by the OAE and Fischer of Smetana, Brahms and Dvořák forced the audience to listen to in a new way.

Rich gifts of from the distinctive OAE, with Vikoria Mullova adding austere authority to Brahms and Ádám Fischer bringing out all the colour in Dvořák's “New World” Symphony.

Excellent singing and a stunning debut win out over relentlessly clever visual effects.

Iréne Théorin provides a spellbinding immolation scene, while Adam Fischer conjures a flawless orchestral performance to conclude Budapest's Der Ring des Nibelungen.

Sometimes the star performer isn’t one of the big romantic headline roles, or even the baritone villain. In this Siegfried, the performance that left me gasping was Gerhard Siegel’s Mime.

An impressive Die Walküre with a trio of first act singers that would be hard to better. Throughout, clarity of diction is allied to clarity of the orchestral reading. 

This production came together brilliantly to illustrate the story of Das Rheingold. But the star of the show was MüPa’s Béla Bartók Hall, with its extraordinary acoustic.

Maria João Pires plays Beethoven Piano Concerto No.2 with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and Adám Fischer. Haydn and Mozart top up a Viennese evening.

Who better to direct an all-Haydn programme than Adam Fischer? Co-founder of the Haydn Festival, he also founded the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra, who recorded the composer’s entire symphonic output in Haydn Hall of the Esterházy Palace, Eisenstadt, Haydn’s former place of employment.