Find classical music concert reviews

Alexander Dmitriev and the St Petersburg Symphony Orchestra paraded passionate and colourful Tchaikovsky, while the masterful Peter Donohoe gave a potent and intricate Rachmaninov.

This was the second of Bernard Haitink’s Barbican appearances with the London Symphony Orchestra mostly drawing on the Austro-German orchestral tradition in electric and efficient perfromances. 

The pianist performed a motley plethora of pieces that included his own recent work. Every interpretation was hand-dipped in a particular aesthetic; oftentimes to perfect taste, and oftentimes a little too much.

Based on Irish mythology, Opera Theatre Company deiver a compelling concert performance of an exceedingly rare Irish opera Eithne 

The Takács Quartet proved once more that among the long-established American quartets they are, arguably, the most reliable.

Das Lied von der Erde may have been down-sized but it lost none of its stature in the Aurora Orchestra’s performance of a chamber arrangement of Mahler’s great song-symphony.

Giltburg impresses with his warm sound and thoughtfulness in Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto while Martín and the NSO revel in Schoenberg's transcript of Brahms' Piano Quartet no. 1 

Sparks flew as two British music giants, Vaughan Williams and Birtwistle, collided at the Barbican.

Gustavo Gimeno, making his Symphony Hall debut, impressed in a program opening with Ligeti's Concert Românesc.

Ehnes excels in Beethoven, and Gardner draws lovely tone from the RNSO.

Thomas Søndergård conducts the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in Mosolov, Shostakovich and Beethoven with Igor Levit

Robin Ticciati's final season with the SCO begins with some promising Dvořák. 

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

Paavo Järvi joined artist-in-residence Leif Ove Andsnes and the musicians of the New York Philharmonic for Rachmaninov, Salonen and Sibelius.

A night of big names: Valery Gergiev, Denis Matsuev, The Mariinsky Orchestra, Rimsky-Korsakov, Prokofiev, Rachmaninov. 

Music by Mendelssohn framed Schumann’s misunderstood Violin Concerto in this sensitive concert led by Ludovic Morlot and featuring guest violinist Gidon Kremer.

Fine Shostakovich playing from Ashkenazy and the Philharmonia makes Eisenstein's virtuosic propaganda film even stronger, in a powerful reminder of the Russian Revolution of 1905.

Nézet-Séguin's West Side Story in concert mixes passion and politics in Philadelphia.

Vassily Sinaisky returns to Birmingham, partnered by a Macedonian pianist.

Listening to Stravinsky, Ravel and Dvořák in one evening is a treat, but watching the Pavel Haas Quartet playing them is delicious. 

Bernard Haitink always provides intelligent symphonic readings and in his interpretation of Brahms' Third, he brought a lifetime of experience to the piece. 

The violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja's endless curiosity was on display at a recital of duos with cellist Jay Campbell at the Park Avenue Armory. 

In this second Mariinsky concert Kristóf Baráti was a fine but miscast soloist in Stravinsky’s violin concerto, with rich narrative pickings from Rimsky-Korsakov and his illustrious pupil.

Under the indefatigable Valery Gergiev, the Mariinsky Orchestra took to the Cadogan Hall stage for the first of two colourful programmes pairing Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov with his pupil, Igor Stravinsky.

A knowledgeable and subtle devotee of Franz Liszt, bring the first two cycles of the Années de pèlerinage to Chicago.

Chances to hear Messiaen's epic Turangalîla-Symphonie are few and far between and should be grasped accordingly.

Still only in its second year, the London Piano Festival has already established itself as a major player in the capital’s music scene.

What started with anomalies with the Hong Kong Phil ended in triumphant good cheer.

Celebrating its 60th anniversary, the Chicago Symphony Chorus made this evening truly distinctive.

With Verdi's Otello, Music Director Robert Spano continues a recent Atlanta Symphony Orchestra tradition of presenting grand operatic works in a concert hall version

For The Cleveland Orchestra’s gala concert, music director Franz Welser-Möst offered a crowd-pleasing program of works inspired by Italy.

Conductor and virtuoso orchestra never lingered, and the audience was riveted by this taut performance.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin's opens season with panache.

The RSNO season begins with The Rite which ignites… eventually.

Santtu-Matias Rouvali oozed enthusiasm and musicality with the Philharmonia in this all-Russian programme of Kabalevsky and Mussorgsky.

It was another evening staring into the abyss courtesy of the London Symphony Orchestra, with Britten's Violin Concerto paired with Mahler's Fifth Symphony.

French impressionism met with programmatic Russian splendour in a collection of special works written just 40 years apart.

An infectious contemporary work by Sierra sits comfortably with Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky. 

Emmanuel Pahud shows his fluting chops in a program accompanied by the popular and celebrated Australian Chamber Orchestra.

On 4th October, the Philadelphia Orchestra opened the Carnegie Hall season with an all 20th-century American program featuring George Gershwin and Leonard Bernstein.

Leila Josefowicz ticked all the boxes in this stunning recital: highly imaginative curation; musicality in every note; and a winning ability to communicate to the Wigmore Hall audience.

Delivering winsome interpretations along with precision ensemble, the "conductorless" SPCO presents two youthful Schubert and Britten masterpieces that were created by their composers in mere days.

What you will find in Mahler's Third is music which resonates with every part of your life. Esa-Pekka Salonen proves an indefatigable and sure-footed guide.

Symphonies by Glass and Rachmaninov played by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra show how time doesn't always flow at the same rate.

The bonds between Kazushi Ono and the OBC musicians are slowly improving.

Vladimir Jurowski and the London Philharmonic Orchestra brought romantic storms with Mozart's Piano Concerto no. 20 in D minor and Bruckner's Fifth to the Royal Festival Hall.

The Cleveland Orchestra’s 100th anniversary season officially opened with a stunning program that also featured Franz Welser-Möst’s own transcription of Beethoven’s Op.132 string quartet.

Eberle delivers a searingly intense Brahms' Violin Concerto in D major while Stutzmann energises the NSO with some lively Beethoven and Prokofiev.

The Symphony no. 11 “The Year 1905”, receiving its BSO première, was the first of three Shostakovich symphonies to be presented in Boston this season. 

Philip Glass' 80th birthday is celebrated in style by Vasily Petrenko and The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic in the UK première of his Eleventh Symphony, alongside vibrant performances of Dvořák and Scriabin.