Find classical music concert reviews

...the perpetuum mobile character building to a raucously joyous finale that elicited genuine, generous applause.

A long four-movement concerto and a long symphonic work by two close musical friends, given by Pablo Heras-Casado, Francesco Piemontesi and the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester.

The William Tell Overture promises much, Grieg and Tchaikovsky are well played but struggle to escape the routine.

Composer-pianist, Vestards Shimkus gives a compelling rendition of his imaginative 9 etudes Dreamscapes, while his Bach-Busoni 9 Chorale Preludes offers more mixed results. 

Alisa Weilerstein delivered an amazingly raw performance of Shostakovich’s Second Cello Concerto, whereas Ilan Volkov and the CBSO’s renditions of Simon Holt and Brahms (reimagined by Schoenberg) proved alienating and overblown.

The Belcea Quartet gave us bleak despair in their Shostakovich, but joined by Antoine Tamestit, they also gave us joyful Mozart and life-affirming Brahms.

The Latvian Radio Choir, coupled with the Sinfonietta Rīga Orchestra under the conductor Sigvards Kļava give an ethereal rendition of four contemporary Latvian composers in Riga Cathedral.

This concert, with a running time of about two hours, was a lovely dip in the Rhine without the usual four-to-five hour Wagnerian full immersion.

A wonderful showcase of operatic voices at the 37th International Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition in Latvia. 

A concert performance of Arianna in Creta at the Halle Handel Festival riveted the audience with the towering talent of Ann Hallenberg and uniformly fine singing, acting and playing.

Lars Vogt and Royal Northern Sinfonia deliver Beethoven's Symphony no. 9 with swaggering self-confidence, and heroic chorus singing.

In the climax of the season at Bridgewater Hall, the BBC Philharmonic bid a fond farewell to Juanjo Mena in an evening that blew off your sombrero. 

The Rotterdam Philharmonic marked their centenary with two concerts starring mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato. A bittersweet weekend, during which they also took leave of their beloved principal conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

The New Zealander Heldentenor makes a welcome return to Auckland for Wagner's erotic song cycle. 

A fine Planets from Eiji Oue and the Belgrade Philharmonic crowned a splendid concert despite a flawed “Neptune” after Simone Rubino had explored the music of the Earth.

Cuerteto Casals delivers audience the gems of Beethoven String Quartets at their full potential at Suntory Hall Blue Rose Hall. 

A gorgeous programme of Wagner, Strauss and Schoenberg and fragments in sextet arrangements

A taste of the opening weekend in Leipzig’s marathon Bach Festival. 

Max Emanuel Cenčić with Armonia Atenea under George Petrou provide an exciting and satisfying concert at the Halle Handel Festival

Robert Spano led the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra closed out its regular season with a thrilling Scheherezade.

The bond between Dohnányi and his old orchestra remains strong. 

Andrew Manze conducted the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in two English choral pieces; Stephen Hough brought a fitting conclusion to his Beethoven concerto cycle as artist-in-residence. 

Classical Opera’s performance of one of Mozart’s earliest operas throbbed with youthful energy; a strong cast brought the humour to life and made up for any weakness in the score.

Singer Meral Azizoğlu with the Gypsy Fire Ensemble take us back to the glamourous world of early twentieth century Istanbul.

A showcase of Jörg Widmann’s talents as composer, conductor and clarinettist in works by Mozart, Weber and himself

Imaginative Bach and an exciting new work by Dobrinka Tabakova played by the Amsterdam Sinfonietta with pianists Ferhan and Ferzan Önder.

Paul Lewis continued his enlightening exploration of Haydn, Beethoven and Brahms with performances of delicacy, steel and depth, where quality ruled over quantity.

A truly remarkable display from a musical giant as Yuja Wang wows the Barbican. 

In a program featuring music by Mozart and Mahler, the third work – Ruggles' Evocations – was Michael Tilson Thomas' most interesting contribution.

Unlike the conucopia of duets Verdi wrote for soprano and baritone, his music for soprano and bass is much more limited and what exists is not exactly the acme of his output.

Youthful Mahler, earth-shattering Shostatovich and life-affirming Schumann, played by The Maisky Trio and Maxim Rysanov at the Istanbul Music Festival.

The complexities of Istanbul's rich culture and history, explored in a heady mixture of music from Bach to Afganistan, played by the Melodies of Istanbul Orchestra, directed by Hakan Güngör. 

Paavo Järvi gave a real sense of occasion to the evening, though the Berlioz neither embraced frenzy nor nodded to the fantastical. 

The venerable festival recaps and renews 100 years of Czechoslovak music with an outsized flourish from Slovak Philharmonic.

Cristian Măcelaru joins forces with Nikolaj Znaider in a performance of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

Intergenerational ensemble-making was the key feature of the opening concert of Suntory Hall's Chamber Music Garden festival, produced by eminent cellist and the hall's President Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi.

The Minnesota Chorale does Leonard Bernstein and Sir William Walton proud, with the Bernstein Chichester Psalms a particularly impressive presentation.  

Peter Oundjian’s final concert as RSNO’s Music Director sums up his time with the orchestra perfectly. 

On a rare visit to London, the Bavarian State Orchestra and its Generalmusikdirektor Kirill Petrenko show why Mahler’s Seventh Symphony signposts much of the anguish of the 20th century.

In the climax of his penultimate season Payare conducted the Ulster Orchestra in a programme of Britten, Mahler and Shostakovich. 

Exuberance and reflection from the Brussels Philharmonic in a celebration of Leonard Bernstein.

Thomas Dausgaard, Seattle Symphony’s Music Director Designate, arrived in town to lead the orchestra and its chorus in an impassioned account of Kullervo, the rarely heard Sibelius epic.

Jörg Widmann's wicked sense of humour starts proceedings before the clearest of Brahms readings, underpinned by extraordinary orchestral precision.

Rattle presented small items full of flavour alongside a heaven-storming Bruckner Ninth Symphony.

An effortless evening of Brahms, Bartók and Schubert: high-class chamber music making from Benjamin Grosvenor and others.

Asian themes were felt in some of the works selected for the final of this composition award.

Bergen Philharmonic’s programme of Grieg’s Piano Concerto and Gubaidulina’s violin concerto Offertorium offered fascinating insight into the relationship between orchestra and soloist.

Dame Mitsuko Uchida again brought out her outstanding musicality and special charisma in Bartók’s Third Piano Concerto.

An impressively well-planned programme of mostly viola transcriptions by Grainger, Bach, Delius, Ellington and Grieg.

It is unlikely that anyone went home from this soul-inspiring performance without that famous "Ode" ringing in his or her head.