Live, Video: Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | Istanbul

The Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic and Hungarian National Choir give a searing account of Mozart’s Requiem, superbly guided by conductor Carlo Tenan. 

Maria João Pires gives a soporific, lacklustre performance of Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto, while the Festival Strings Lucerne transform Honegger’s Pastorale d'été into a riveting ambient moodscape and bring pristine clarity to the Pastoral Symphony. 

Baritone Benjamin Appl and accordionist Martynas Levickis tour Europe and the USA in songs and solos demonstrating both the richness and simplicity of 19th- and 20th-century music. 

Criss-crossing and climbed the narrow streets of Balat, the “Music Route” takes in some of the city's hidden gems for intimate chamber recitals. 

The Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra opens the Istanbul Music Festival featuring a showstopping, all-singing, all-conducting Gershwin finale. 

A cello concerto by CPE Bach headlines Nicolas Altstaedt's appearance at the Istanbul Music Festival with the Munich Chamber Orchestra.

Beethoven meets Ottoman composer Dede Efendi in a contemporary take on the Pastoral Symphony in Istanbul. 

Violinist Anna Tifu and the Tekfen Philharmonic join together for a richly played Poème before Aziz Shokhakimov conducts Brahms' First Symphony.

Rustling trees, wandering cats and a laconic golden retriever grace the Tekfen Philharmonic Orchestra's festival opening concert.

An occasionally uneven but often searing set of performances from the Tekfen Philharmonic and cellist Daniel Muller-Schott. 

A diverse and complex Istanbul neighbourhood hosts ensembles and programmes from across Europe and Asia 

Daredevil piano playing and luscious Stravinsky at the 47th Istanbul Music Festival.

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

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

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. 

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

Although Beethoven was none too fond of despots, self-proclaimed emperors, or religious intuitions, one can image his approbation for Justinian’s stupendous Hagia Eirene basilica as a perfect venue for his music. 

Mikhail Rudy’s recital adapting music to animated art projections disappoints. 

Most music Festivals only have to deal with demanding divas, mercurial maestros or bad weather. In Istanbul there is a lot more at stake.

The Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra had the privilege of playing three works of Krzysztof Penderecki under the composer's own baton.

BIPO hosted Rudolf Buchbinder for a complete cycle of Beethoven’s piano concertos, spread out over two nights.

The Istanbulite audience of symphonic music made a huge step forward in their sound worlds thanks to BIPO and the piano duo Ufuk & Bahar Dördüncü.

A well prepared "Resurrection" by BIPO under the baton of Sacha Goetzel which left a slightly bittersweet taste. 

Brodsky String Quartet: A master of precision, nuances and moods introduced the Turkish audience to South American contemporary composers. What an enchantment!

In the wide world of impersonal, take-a-number singing competitions, Istanbul’s Leyla Gencer Voice Competition stands out for its unusual TLC of young singers. And its generous selection of prizes.

American–Armenian viola player Kim Kashkashian and Hungarian pianist Peter Nagy included a world première performance of Tigran Mansurian in their recital programme in Istanbul.

Angela Hewitt's Spanish Lanscapes offered perfect summer fare delivered with flawless execution.

The five musicians on stage performed just like a well-oiled machine in Dvořák's Op. 81 Piano Quintet’s devilishly tricky coda.

Ivo Pogorelich returns to Istanbul with an utterly arduous programme. Mr Pogorelić may have his adversaries and his admirers, but this was a triumphant evening for piano music.

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

Szymanowksi’s thrilling Symphony no. 4 “Symphonie concertante” for piano and orchestra is the highlight of this Istanbul Music Festival programme from Sinfonia Varsovia and pianist Piotr Anderszewski. 

Steven Isserlis' passionate and improvisatory reading of Dvořák’s Cello Concerto served as the saving grace for the otherwise lacklustre programme.

An excellent Dvořák Cello Concerto with István Várdai and some stirring Mendelssohn from the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra

Brahms and Bruckner: Two diametrically opposed pieces of large-scale music from 1887, hailing from two opposing ends of the Romantic spectrum, make up this Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra programme. 

This opera gala saw the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra mark their 15th anniversary with an unforgettable evening. The BIPO were joined by tenor Roberto Alagna, making his Istanbul debut, and mezzo-soprano Roxana Constantinescu, a rising star.

With musicians of this caliber, it is the soul of the music that matters not the mathematics, and Martha Argerich and Gidon Kremer were nothing if not soulmates in this Istanbul recital.

I had three things to be excited about on Friday evening: seeing Fazıl Say in a solo recital – which I hadn’t done in 4 years, going to Zorlu Center – Istanbul’s newest and, according to reports, most modern and acoustically pleasing concert hall. The third is private.As it turns out, all but one of them turned out to be worth the anticipation.

Mischa Maisky, the de-facto romantic cellist, gave the Istanbul audience a triple treat of passionate cello playing in Brahms, Tchaikovsky and Bruch, but surprisingly enough he was in most uninhibited during the Haydn concerto.Mr Maisky’s vibrato is excessive, a trait inherited from his longtime teacher and mentor Gregor Piatigorsky, but it never gets in the way of music.

If there’s one glowing aspect missing from the burgeoning classical music scene in Istanbul, it is chamber music. The city has been a host to an increasingly diverse range of musical performances and festivals in the last few years, thanks to rather effective sponsorship arrangements, as well as small organizations, and sometimes even individuals, taking charge in organizing concert series.

Even if the joke is good, it’s all in the telling, as they say. Mozart’s Ein musikalischer Spaß (“A Musical Joke”) is good, but it probably meant more to its contemporaries than it does to us today. It is Mozart’s satire of the incompetent composers, musicians and copyists of his time. It’s an inside joke, for all practical purposes.

The billing looked intriguing enough: Kevin Griffiths – the young London-born conductor, celebrated for his dedication to contemporary music, coupled with his fellow countryman Paul Lewis – one of today’s prominent performers of Beethoven and particularly Schubert, in an evening dedicated to Mozart’s music.

Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra is no stranger when it comes to working with world-renowned soloists – their earlier collaborative roster includes the likes of Sviatoslav Richter, Menuhin, Rostropovich et al, but their rapport with Emmanuel Pahud is something that transcends musical partnership and wanders into the organically-knit companionship territory.