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Denis Kozhukhin provided flowing intensity in Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto while Yuri Temirkanov crafted a polished Shostakovich 5 with the Philharmonia.

Half-arty, half-folky, this collaboration between bass-baritone Florian Boesch and the East Tyrolean ensemble Franui was an entertaining mixed bag.

The latent complexities of Nobuo Uematsu's video game music come to the fore with this orchestral makeover by the LSO. 

The programme ended with a sense of affirmation that shouted "that's how the Ravel quartet should go!"

A thrilling finale to the 2017 Cardiff Singer of the World

Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra celebrate Stravinsky with a gala that closes with an outstanding Firebird; young talent blooms in A Soldier's Tale

Leonard Elschenbroich joined with the 12 ensemble for an evening dedicated to the Suite italienne, a stroll through time though with a focus on contemporary composers.

Philip Glass' Eleventh Symphony, given its Turkish première at the Istanbul Music Festival, returns to his signature repetitive style. 

Evgeni Bozhanov marks his Liverpool début with the RLPO under the watchful eye of conductor Marzena Diakun. 

The MSO and some suitably angelic singers deliver a remarkably bright, joyous interpretation of an already uplifting oratorio.

Handel's La Resurrezione, anchored the Boston Early Music Festival’s Thursday programs in a dramatic reading by many of the same forces performing Campra’s La Carnaval de Venise.

Nicolas Altstaedt and Alexander Lonquich give Beethoven’s cello sonatas a chance to breathe in a thoughtful and accomplished performance of all five at Wigmore Hall.

The Seattle Symphony's all-Strauss program included a refreshing take on the Four Last Songs with soprano Gun-Brit Barkman and a sonic tour de force in the rare Eine Alpensinfonie.

A new score by Melinda Wagner, concertante pieces for saxophone and orchestra with Branford Marsalis, and works of Bizet and Debussy comprised Susanna Mälkki’s CSO program, intriguing in its eclecticism.

Igor Levit, praised for his distinctive and sometimes unconventional approach to Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas, brought his cycle to a close with a concert of profound philosophy and bold contrasts.

Three concerts over one day at the opening weekend of Bachfest Leipzig combined Bach’s music with that of composers from Rachmaninov to Sibelius, but nothing matches the unrivalled bliss of Bach’s own music performed with total conviction.

Britten and Shostakovich were great friends, so it was appropriate that both composers were represented in the Belcea Quartet's two recitals on the opening weekend of the 70th Aldeburgh Festival. 

Berlin Philharmonic cellists combine with Turkish counterparts for a dazzling performance in Istanbul.

Waltzes and Turkish folk dances energise spirited piano duet recital

Visiting Russian players offer sophisticated Brahms and sensitive Elgar in Istanbul.

The Halle Handel Festival offered a unique opportunity to hear Handel's Messiah in both the Dublin version of 1742 and the London version of 1743 within the space of a week.

A recital programme that at first looked a little random was more than justified in performance

Ravel and Prokofiev offer divergent views on the piano left-hand concerto, but fine performances ensure satisfying contrast.

If Chailly’s recent Beethoven’s Seventh was notable for its originality, particularly for the conductor's choice of tempi, here he opted for a straighter reading free of idiosyncrasy.

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

Mason Bates' homage to the Silicon Valley geeks; Alice Sara Ott takes over Tchaikovsky.

Richard Wagner, reviewing La Reine de Chypre for the Dresden Abend-Zeitung, praised Halévy's opera as “decidedly the best that has appeared on the Opéra's boards since Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots”. It's impossible not to agree. 

Víkingur Ólafsson’s recordings were already positive cues going in, but I must admit, his performance of the Goldbergs exceeded my wildest expectations. 

Nikita Mndoyants proved his adeptness in shaping small musical forms and meaningfully connecting them.

The RPO were on ripe form in works that still need such fine advocacy, and which deserved a much larger audience.

Thomas Adès conducts the Britten Sinfonia in Beethoven and Gerald Barry.

The fascinating politics of this opera are diminished by the presentation of just four scenes. The music and three strong performances almost make up as Sydney gets its first taste of this work.

A recital of incomparable but unrelated works became a lengthy attempt to adapt tempi.

It's typical that in the last concert in a series that has lasted seventeen years, we had a recital from a talented young singer with a growing reputation, a Rosenblatt classic.

Rising tenor Juan Sancho sang an exciting if slightly thematically odd program, Handel's Seven Deadly Sins, at the Halle Handel Festival

The Staatskapelle Berlin brought a showcase programme to the Berlin Philharmonie under chief conductor Daniel Barenboim and made a case for themselves as one of the best bands performing today.

Sir Mark Elder's 70th birthday Gurre-Lieder threatens to dislodge the roof in Manchester with the combined forces of the Hallé and BBC Philharmonic

Serpents steal the show in one of Istanbul’s most charming shopping centres. 

Despite being a little rough and ready at times, the Rodolfus Choir and superb Philharmonia captured a moving sense of stillness in these two popular works

Music Director Ludovic Morlot, known for his intriguing programming, outdid himself with a summery breeze of a program that enchanted from beginning to end.

The loud cheers for the performers were richly deserved, although Jörg Widmann’s imposing but sprawling Babylon was not well-served by the concert format.

At Carnegie Hall the MET orchestra proves that, temporarily rudderless, it's still a top ensemble

The RSNO’s Mahler 3 is jubilant, life-affirming and memorable under the conductor Peter Oundjian. 

An arcane Armenian orthodox chapel, two glittering Greek Orthodox churches, a waterfront palazzo and a sumptuous Austrian villa were fascinating venues for a delightful day of mini-concerts at the Istanbul Festival.

Utilizing bucolic surroundings, Tatiana Koleva and the Youth Percussion Pool produce an immersive concert of rhythmic experiments. 

Overall a good performance of Handel's oratorio Esther at the Halle Festival, but some problems with the soloists unfortunately let it down.

This was less a concert of two halves than one of two tenors: able to dramatise the music of Puccini and Verdi far more effectively than his earlier Mozart, Flórez came alive.

Krzysztof Penderecki leads a masterful performance and powerful tribute to Jiří Bělohlávek.

If not the ideal first half to precede the Quartet for the End of Time, there could be no quarrel with the execution thoroughout.

Adès brought a freshness and originality to Beethoven's earliest symphonies, and a sharp portrait of the composer was given courtesy of Gerald Barry.