Live, Video: Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | English | The Hebrides Overture, “Fingal's Cave”, Op.26

The BBC's annual classical jamboree is launched in fine style with a premiere and a timely revival, conducted by Sakari Oramo. 

Three of the world's best composers, who were friends and colleagues, but who rarely co-habit in concert, appear at Cadogan Hall. 

The Academy of St Martin in the Fields give exciting performances at the Barbican, with idiosyncratic Mozart from Buniatishvili. 

Not much of a flicker in the needle of the barometer for orchestra and conductor in Brahms, but Johan Dalene charms the ear in a serene outing of Sibelius’ Violin Concerto.

Not all expectations were fulfilled in this concert by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Isabelle Faust made a strong case for Schumann's Violin Concerto, whereas Antonello Manacorda adopted a paint-stripping approach to both overture and symphony.

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.

Sean Shibe impresses alongside the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in a programme of nimble works at the Cadogan Hall. 

Brio is one important element in the mining of Romantic feeling. Not everything worked in this combination of Mendelssohn, Bruch and Schumann.

An uplifting performance by the Swedish orchestra takes us on a journey from the Isle of Staffa to Bohemian forests via the Carpathian Mountains in the venue's Nature Unwrapped season. 

A rare Bach devotee among today's immensely talented crop of under-thirty pianists, Beatrice Rana interpreted both concertos with great incisiveness.

Painting pictures in music can often be stimulating. In a programme inspired by the sea and by pictorial art, Elim Chan, Catriona Morison and the BBC NOW reveal the underlying colour. 

Vasily Petrenko conducts Zemlinsky, Mendelssohn and Bruch in Liverpool.

Gabor Takács-Nagy conducts the Manchester Camerata in Mendelssohn, Bruch and Schumann

Manchester's highly polished Northern Chamber Orchestra is joined by Freddy Kempf to deliver a highly enjoyable performance, full of vim and vigour.

Spanning a compositional date range of approximately 50 years, Francois-Xavier Roth and his well-drilled Gurzenich delivered a highly enjoyable evening of music by Mendelssohn, Mozart and Beethoven.

Heinz Holliger conducted a fine interpretation of Schubert's Ninth, but it was Stephen Hough's performance of Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1 that really made the evening.

In an all-Mendelssohn programme, Pablo Heras-Casado led the orchestra in detailed and original interpretations, with a strong performance from soloist Isabelle Faust.

In the absence of an indisposed Christoph von Dohnányi, Enrique Mazzola impressed in a perfectly formed programme with the Philharmonia. 

Joshua Bell brings star quality to the visit of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, with a stunning performance of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto the stand-out item on their first Sydney programme.

On a program with unusually slow tempos in Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony and Mendelssohn’s The Hebrides, Argentine pianist Ingrid Fliter gave a cursory performance of Mendelssohn's First Piano Concerto.

Yutaka Sado and the Tonkünstler excel in the epic passages of the Sibelius and the outer movements of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto, less convincing in more lyrical moments. 

The first performance of the Boston Symphony’s final program for 2016 fell on St Cecilia's Day. The patron saint of music must have been pleased to see the past, the present and the future join hands in a program anchored by two warhorses of the Romantic repertory.

A truly revelatory performance of Schumann's Piano Concerto, with freshly bold and uncluttered readings of Mendelssohn's Hebrides Overture and Scottish Symphony from András Schiff and the OAE.

In the first of two performances of this concert, St. George’s welcomed Michael Barenboim and the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra, previously known as the Oxford Philomusica.

From weather-beaten Scottish rocks to the Land of a Thousand Lakes, the CBSO is magnificent in a nature-themed programme.

Schembri and the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra brings vitality, enthusiasm and maturity to the final concert of the season.

A promising programme of works was overshadowed by some incoherent playing but also moments of promise to stoke excitement for Gardner's forthcoming tenure at the Bergen Philharmonic. 

Kees Bakels has worked with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra many times over the last 30 years and the rapport that he and the BSO share is very apparent. 

Mixed fare that Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra and conductor Christopher Warren-Green, with Nelson Freire's performance the highlight. 

Following his excellent Mahler Fifth and Second with the BBC Philharmonic over the last two seasons, Juanjo Mena turned his attention to the First Symphony, pairing it with Mendelssohn and Schumann at the Bridgewater Hall.

Under conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali, the Residentie Orkest presented an exuberant programme of perennial favourites including Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Ouverture, Chopin’s Piano Concerto no. 1 with soloist Wibi Soerjadi, and Beethoven’s Symphony no. 7.Rouvali opened the programme with Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture, a seascape which the young Finnish conductor evoked with fluid gestures.

The program was dubbed “Romance at the Phil”, but the music presented was hardly the sort to set lovers’ hearts aflame. It could even said to be a touch staid. There was Mendelssohn and Mozart in the first half. Richard Strauss is closer to the mark – this is the composer of Salome, after all – but it was his jovial Don Quixote that closed out the night.

Although Mendelssohn and Elgar lived in different eras and composed in very different styles, a common thread runs through their works featured in Hong Kong Philharmonic’s performance on Saturday – all of them draw their inspiration from the British Isles.As well-heeled youngsters in the 19th century were wont to do, Mendelssohn embarked on a tour of Europe as part of his education.

It is said that whilst developing a successful career as a violinist, the young Emmanuel Krivine was advised by the distinguished conductor Karl Böhm to further pursue his passion for conducting. Thankfully, Krivine took heed of such advice, or we would not today have what is undoubtedly one of Europe’s finest conductors.

If you move in academic, corporate or philanthropic circles, you will certainly have attended speeches and lectures about leadership, or come across relevant literature about it. Well, if you were in the Helsinki Music Center’s Concert Hall at 5pm last Saturday, you’d be sure that attending the previous week’s rehearsals would have saved you the need for leadership books and conferences.

Bread, filling, bread. Overture, concerto, symphony. Despite flirtations with open sandwiches, club sandwiches and two-symphony programmes, it seems that in both cases most people stick to tradition. But not the Philharmonia and András Schiff: last night’s programme began with Mendelssohn’s brooding Hebrides Overture, followed by Brahms’ Fourth Symphony.