Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | Vaughan Williams

Thea Musgrave’s pictorial writing sits well next to an exhilarating Vaughan Williams Sea Symphony. 

The perfect invitation to daydream on a hot afternoon. 

An imaginative pairing of London symphonies find the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in good form. 

Even if Hubert Parry was overshadowed by Holst and Vaughan Williams, this was a splendid concert of British music. 

Marking the centenary of the end of the First World War, Anna Meredith and 59 Productions' work proves a powerful, often surprisingly upbeat, commission.

Ralph Vaughan Williams' towering A Sea Symphony and the orchestra of the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet capped off the Oslo opera season in a singularly loud fashion. 

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. 

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.

Julius Drake, Krzysztof Chorzelski and Mark Padmore contributed their notable gifts of piano, viola and voice respectively in a very special, often heartfelt fundraising evening for two music education charities. 

Hallé guest conductor Cristian Măcelaru provided excellent direction in a selection of classic repertoire.

The Scottish Chamber Orchestra also have a winner in a radiant Vaughan Williams Symphony no. 5.

The Ulster Orchestra and Rosanne Philippens dazzle in Vaughan Williams and Sibelius under the baton of Jac van Steen.

Runnicles presents a concert weighted towards a splendid second half.

Marking his debut with the NDR Elbphilharmonieorchester, Andrew Manze nails his colours to the mast with Purcell and Vaughan Williams as well as accompanying Alban Gerhardt in Walton.

The Planets and Sinfonia antartica could be the Cav and Pag of British music.

A delectable programme from Barry Wordsworth and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with pieces by Elgar and Vaughan Williams and a rare chance to hear John Ireland’s eclectic Piano Concerto.

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

A striking performance of The Planets had people humming their favourite bits on their way out of the hall, but the real winner was Vaughan Williams’ neglected valedictory symphony.

A concert programme that includes both Holst and Vaughan Williams is as right as strawberries and cream at Wimbledon. 

This week’s subscription concerts of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra featured only British music that was composed in the last century; three very different works in terms of compositional approach and musical language.

Sir Andrew Davis also led superb performances of Delius’ Brigg Fair and Strauss’ Don Quixote, with Mark Kosower and Wesley Collins as soloists.

A pleasant afternoon's entertainment with grand sweeps and some beautiful singing by Roderick Williams.

Conductor Michael Francis and pianist Benjamin Grosvenor have an auspicious debut with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

Kancheli, Martinů and Vaughan Williams – all of whom have at various times been misunderstood or ignored – featured in this bold programme from Vladamir Jurowski and the LPO.

Music from Vaughan Williams is contrasted with two pieces from Dobrinka Tabakova  in The Scottish Ensemble’s candlelit concert, Ascent. Senior NYOS strings swell the ranks to produce a reflective evening of richness and warmth.

Breaking up is hard to do. If his First Symphony is anything to go by, William Walton took it particularly badly.

A moving first half of Vaughan Williams and Tchaikovsky and a mysterious Shostakovich 15 in the second half. Andreas Brantelid's superlative musicianship wowed.

The summer’s extreme heat and lack of rain have created drought conditions in Atlanta. As fate would have it, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra this week programmed two works drenched with water, albeit of the salty variety.

Benjamin Northey and Andrea Lam team up with the MSO for a festive evening of Vaughan Williams, Chopin and Holst.

Serebrier and the ECO deliver fine performances of Haydn, Beethoven and Vaughan Williams.  

Challenging musical norms and blurring the lines between genres, Manchester Camerata shows off its "restless ambition" at the RNCM.

The 2016 Proms come to a riotous close at the Royal Albert Hall.

A varied concert of new music by Anthony Payne, Max Bruch's 1st Violin Concerto with Ray Chen, a Tchaikovsky rarity and a rousing early work by Vaughan Williams

Celebrating Youth, Music and Education in Roof-Raising Style: Ten Pieces Secondary comes to the BBC Proms 

The start of Pinchas Zukerman's Summer Music Festival struggled to find inspiration.

The Sydney Symphony in a finely chiselled account of Vaughan Williams' “A London Symphony”, but groped for balance in Ravel and Bax.

Joseph Phibbs’s Partita makes a strong impression in its première at the Barbican. 

A well-crafted programme at Symphony Hall showcasing the best of English music from the first half of the last century.

To mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme, Mark Elder and the London Symphony Orchestra brought together music with a connection to the First World War.

“If music be the food of love, play on, give me excess of it.” There was certainly plenty of Shakespeare-inspired music on the bill for the London Philharmonic Orchestra's celebration of The Bard. 

A superb concert from the Hallé and Sir Mark Elder included John Casken's 2014 oboe concerto Apollinaire's Bird, a rare piece by Elgar and Vaughan Williams' powerful Fourth Symphony. 

Wednesday night saw the masterful rendition of British songs, by the legendary baritone at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall, part of the ‘Echoes of a Mountain Song’ series. 

Elder and Elgar prove to be a winning cominbation at the Chicago Symphony.

Bryan Hymel and Irene Roberts explored the boundaries of love in the latest splendid performance in the Rosenblatt Recitals.

The Manchester Camerata under Gábor Takács-Nagy with violinist Jennifer Pike played three English works and Mendelssohn's Scottish Symphony.

Vaughan Williams and Finzi given the Philharmonia treatment with John Wilson at the helm at the Royal Festival Hall.

Jack Liebeck and the Hallé Orchestra under Karl-Heinz Steffens gave an impressive performance of Dvořák’s Violin Concerto at Leeds Town Hall. 

The Scottish première of Will Todd's Mass in Blue was a joyous coming of age concert for the Cadenza choir at the Edinburgh Fringe.

  The BBC National Orchestra of Wales on fine form showcasing British composers, with a little help from Chloe Hanslip and Ailish Tynan

Sir Mark Elder and the Halle introduce Vaughan Williams masterwork Sancta civitas to the Proms.