Live, Video: Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | English | Symphony no. 6 in E minor

The British are coming! An exciting evening of Ravel and Vaughan Williams with conductor Andrew Manze and pianist Benjamin Grosvenor in Montreal.

The Cincinnati Symphony thoughtfully illuminates a diverse cross-section of 20th-century repertoire with conductor Michael Francis and pianist Behzod Abduraimov.

Memorable performances of Vaughan Williams' darkest and brightest symphonies at the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester.

In these difficult times a reduced audience witnessed a concert of music that didn’t exactly offer much solace, but which possessed a powerful sense of loss and foreboding that seemed entirely timely. 

Just occasionally a regular concert-goer experiences a performance that is truly special.  When he is not anticipating this it can be an overwhelming experience. The BBC Philharmonic’s concert at the Bridgewater Hall, also broadcast on BBC Radio 3, proved to be such an experience.

The Philharmonia, conducted by Nicholas Collon, perform two masterpieces by Britten and Vaughan Williams and a newer work by Thomas Adès.

Ralph Vaughan Williams wrote nine symphonies. Tonight, the middle three were lined up in an engrossing triptych, written by a mature composer who, in his sixties and seventies, showed no lack of energy. Andrew Manze, Associate Guest conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, took a relaxed approach to all three allowing the emotion written into the score to emerge unrepressed.