Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | Walton

In an unusual programme, with Finnish music from Rautavaara and Sibelius, separated by Walton, the Ulster Orchestra and Anu Tali find all the subtleties in the music.  

After Helen Grimes makes her Symphony Hall debut, Johannes Moser is the soloist in William Walton's Cello Concerto, before Maurice Duruflé's Requiem comes as welcome consolation. 

A bold programme from an orchestra with a bold sound as the ISO trails in the wake of Storm Ciara on its debut UK tour. 

Litton’s experienced hands reveal deep understandings of Copland, Barber and Walton, delivering a programme of stark emotional contrasts.

Walton's Belshazzar's Feast crowns a dynamic, daring programme from Sir Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra. 

Effort and emotion collide at Gloucester Cathedral in music by Stravinsky, Berlioz and Walton

A memorable and important event in the history of British ballet, sensitively and sentimentally performed. 

James Ehnes was an ideal soloist in Walton's Violin Concerto, well partnered by John Wilson and the BBC Philharmonic, with atmospheric Bax and a powerful Vaughan Williams 4.

Vaughan Williams' Fifth Symphony is given a great performance by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Cadogan Hall. 

John Wilson oversees a glossy, superficial take on early 20th-century works from England and the USA.

Walton’s First Symphony from 1935 rounded off the evening in a blaze of brassy glory. Petrenko approached the work in a full-blooded fashion, which didn’t always hit the mark, but was ultimately thrilling.

The BBC Philharmonic open their season in Manchester with some exciting new ideas

An intriguing programme of Britten, Walton, Barber and Copland provided dynamism, evocative imagery and new discoveries in Juanjo Mena’s valedictory concert with the BBC Philharmonic.

Hereford Cathedral experiences a mix of sacred and secular explorations of melancholy and triumph, from Stravinsky, Walton, Ravel and Lili Boulanger.

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

The BSO deliver a malevolent Walton Symphony no. 1 and a joyous Elgar In the South. Meanwhile, Trpčeski provides lovely moments in Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto no. 1. 

English and Russian repertoire for Switzerland's oldest symphony orchestra. 

This program was a good one to inspire your confidence about the future of choreography.

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.

Fagan embraces multiple generations of dancers and they reward the audience with the richness and depth of their experience.

Kirill Karabits and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra brought a wide ranging programme from the south coast for their annual Proms visit.

Sir Andrew Davis led the BBC SO in a recreation of Sir Malcolm Sargent's 500th Prom, a lengthy programme that failed to inspire.

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

Richmond Ballet's dancers are an engaging bunch who aim to please and their goodwill radiated from the stage.

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

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

Three English composers receive fine performances from the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

The final pair of Sibelius symphonies is memorably performed by the LPO under Osmo Vänskä, with Tasmin Little as the authoritative soloist in Walton's violin concerto.

Charles Dutoit, who recently turned 80, brought energy and engagement to a vigorous and stimulating program of works by British composers.

Shakespearean actors join the National Symphony Orchestra to open its season with first of two concerts celebrating the Bard.

The CBSO's inaugural “Spirit Of England” concert featured familiar works by Beethoven, paired with rarities by Butterworth and Walton.  

The BBC Concert Orchestra and Keith Lockhart offered a snapshot of the Bard's lasting artistic impact with music for composed for stage and screen, from this side of the Atlantic and beyond the pond.

Bright and energetic Walton and a promising, highly lyrical Concerto from Watkins, followed by taut Webern and commanding Brahms from Søndergård and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

Sir Frederick Ashton was a choreographic genius but not everything he created rose to that level, as this program showed.

“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. 

The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra produced a varied programme at their Lighthouse concert, but with mixed results: illuminating Walton, but uneven Sibelius.

Alexander Melnikov astonishes in Beethoven's 'Emperor' Concerto. 

Two Russian Tales: Stravinsky’s Mavra and Walton’s The Bear are an unexpected glittering delight at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s Opera Studio in Glasgow. 

Soloist Barnabas Kelemen impresses in Szymanowski's Violin Concerto no. 2, while conductor Alexander Shelley impresses with a chirpy Classical Symphony and a brooding Walton First Symphony.

NYC Ballet's fashion-forward program of five new works helps to keep things interesting.

Cinematic sweep was on full display as JoAnn Falletta and the VSO/VSC thrilled with vital interpretations of three early 20th Century works by Bax, Respighi and Walton.

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

A mixed programme thrills, launching the season with a bang

Leeds Festival and Leeds Philharmonic Choir joined the BBC Philharmonic in a splendid performance of Walton's Belshazzar's Feast.

The Hallé under Markus Stenz were on fine form in a rarity, a world première and an infrequently performed symphony.

Orient meets Occident in three performances of English works conducted by the Japanese maestro Tadaaki Otaka.

What an auspicious first outing for Andrew Manze with the LPO, concluding with a definitive account of Walton's First Symphony. 

As part of the Festival Hall’s Sunday matinee series, John Wilson programmed three inspirational works by Bax, Walton and Vaughan Williams. 

Canadian soloist James Ehnes and guest conductor Andrew Litton gave an unsentimental and appealing performance of an all-English programme.