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Kent Nagano’s farewell in Hamburg showcases a spiritual dialogue between tradition and innovation, pairing Brahms’ profound Fourth Symphony with the luminous world premiere of Alex Nante’s Anāhata. 

Messrs Rattle and Sellars bewitch the Barbican audience with a sumptuous rendition of Janáček's magnum opus. 

Tamara Wilson was a top-notch Ariadne, supported by a strong cast, including Kate Lindsey as a passionate Composer, a thrilling Zerbinetta by Daniela Fally, and an unbeatable Bacchus in Andreas Schager.

Fine orchestral sound and outstanding solo singing from Sarah Connolly and Steve Davislim aren't enough to compensate for poor balance and timing in Beethoven's great choral work.

Rattle conducts Janáček's glorious score with unerring skill and barely concealed adoration, but is let down by his regular collaborator's muddy vision. 

The conductor favours measured tempi and unfussy direction, allowing the work to stand mountain-like as an expression of its own intrinsic magnificence.

Franz Welser-Möst led a radiant performance of Debussy’s operatic masterpiece directed by Yuval Sharon, starring Elliot Madore, Martina Janková, and Hanno Müller-Brachmann.

In a rare performance of Bach’s Mass in B minor, Andris Nelsons and the BSO brought forward the music’s gravitas.

Although Ács Ákos gave an excellent performance of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto, Iván Fischer's innovative Requiem didn't quite work.

These two Manchester-based choirs formed a formidable partnership for one of the most gruelling choral works in the repertoire. The four soloists, however distinguished as individuals, produced mixed results.

Iván Fischer's staged concert had its flaws, but some original ideas and a strong cast gave an impressive performance.

Bernard Haitink and the LSO in fine form for an all-Beethoven programme, but the 'Glorious Ninth' fails to impress.

John Storgårds conducts Nielsen's sixth and third symphonies in Manchester's Bridgewater Hall. John Storgårds, who also curated a similar project of Sibelius symphonies this time last year, should be very proud of these short immersive bursts of creative energy.

With an inspired showing in Prague, the Berlin Philharmonic reprises one of the most significant moments in the orchestra's history.

Joélle Harvey, Iestyn Davies, Nicholas Phan and Hanno Müller-Brachmann shine in Franz Welser-Möst's sometimes meditative interpretation of Bach's Mass in B minor.

An unrepeatable performance of Britten's profound choral masterpiece, the War Requiem, conducted by Andris Nelsons at the Proms.

From the insistent, driving opening to the sublime transcendence of the closing chorale, Norrington, the Zurich Chamber Orchestra and James Gilchrist give us a St John Passion to remember.

András Schiff and Hanno Müller-Brachmann make a perfect musical pair. On the one hand, Schiff, staunch lover of the old masters and one of the only pianists left on the circuit who will regularly do a Beethoven or a Well-Tempered Clavier cycle, is as unflashy as you like, moderate, serious.

In his program note, conductor-director Iván Fischer describes his Mostly Mozart Festival production of Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro as a staged concert. His agenda sounds serious: “This is my attempt to bring theater and music closer to each other, to create a new natural harmony.” He asks for a new era in opera production, seeking “organic unity” between music and theater.

The consequence of any war is destruction, and though ancient buildings continue to crumble under the terrific blast of modern warfare, the spirit of a people undefeated invariably gives way to creation with renewed fervour.

RSNO concerts begin, for me and around 100 others, with the pre-concert talk. I'm especially glad of these when new to a work, such as Mendelssohn’s 1846 Elijah. A talk by those who have prepared the music for us adds something to even the most extensive “presearch”. Sir Andrew Davis, in conversation with RSNO principal trombonist Dávur Juul Magnussen, came across as extremely witty and erudite.

In his biography of Richard Wagner, Michael Tanner writes that Tristan und Isolde is one of two great masterpieces that have the musical brilliance, the intellectual strength and the emotional power to convert you to its philosophical cause. The other, naturally, is the St Matthew Passion.

Tonight’s was an historic performance, so first, a few dates. On 14th November 1940, Luftwaffe bombing raids destroyed much of the medieval centre of Coventry, including most of its cathedral. On 30th May 1962, Benjamin Britten’s specially-commissioned War Requiem was premièred by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in Sir Basil Spence’s newly consecrated cathedral.

An outstanding lineup of soloists joined Bernard Labadie at Carnegie Hall Sunday for a performance of J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion. Hearing Labadie conduct his own ensemble Les Violons du Roy and the chamber choir La Chapelle de Québec with such a superb group of soloists was truly a treat indeed.

I took my nephew, a vocal arts student, to see Bach's Passion According to St. John partially so he could experience Boston Symphony and partially to introduce him to choral music – which is some of my favorite. I hadn't been to Symphony Hall since my childhood and was glad to see nothing had changed. One has the sense that generations have passed through the hall in a continuous flow.

In spite of Mahler's disapproval, his eighth symphony is forever tagged as the "Symphony of a Thousand" because of the immense choirs which perform it.