Live, Video: Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | English | Elena Vassilieva

A full-sized LPO première a bewildering new mass setting by Alexander Raskatov that misses the mark and sits uneasily alongside Beethoven's great ode to nature. 

Russian composer Alexander Raskatov visits Ireland for a concert of his own works, including the epic string quartet cycle Monk's Music. A fascinating cross-section of the composer's work, well played to a sizeable and enthusiastic local audience.

Last night saw the UK première of Alexander Raskatov's new opera A Dog's Heart, performed by ENO together with theatre company Complicite. The opera, based on a 1925 novella by Russian satirist Mikhail Bulgakov, tells the tale of Sharik, a stray dog who is given the testicles and pituitary gland of a human by an eminent surgeon, the Professor.