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Why don’t brass ensembles have a regular presence in the classical concert scene, in comparison to string ensembles or at least woodwind ensembles? 

Berlioz’s gargantuan Grande Messe des morts with the Bergen Philharmonic and Edward Gardner opened the Bergen International Festival with deafening climaxes and even more resounding silence.

Several of Tokyo’s finest collaborate in successfully delivering a re-opening concert at Suntory Hall

Woodwind and Brass from the Royal Conservatory of Scotland gave sparkling Stravinsky performances of his Octet, Symphonies of Winds and joined by RCS Voices for his Mass.

An interminable evening of self-regarding narcissism doesn't bode well for the supposed future of classical music: luckily, other options are available. 

Brass chamber music may sound like an alarming oxymoron until you hear the warm sound of Onyx Brass, who brought their Tour de Brass programme to Auckland Castle as part of Durham's annual BRASS festival.

What compelled the composer to use this particular ensemble? Why does this musical texture work best for this moment? Is there a better one? Should I be able to hear more of what’s going on right now? Is that sound really coming from that instrument? These and other questions, uncommon or irrelevant in the context of a Beethoven symphony or a Haydn string quartet, were front and center Tuesd

In conversation with Petroc Trelawny at the fourth of the Proms Chamber Music concerts, the 25-year-old Norwegian trumpeter Tine Ting Helseth casually dismissed her ten-piece brass ensemble tenThing’s all-female set-up as “just a gimmick”.

Seven Storey Mountain, the title of Trappist monk Thomas Merton’s autobiography, is a reference to the mountain of purgatory in Dante’s Inferno. It is also, fittingly, the title of trumpeter Nate Wooley’s song cycle – meant to represent “a certain abandon found in religious practice within the confines of a composed work for instrumentalists”.

I must admit that Bach through Brass, as this concert was entitled, filled me with a certain amount of trepidation. Bach, on instruments for which the music in the programme was not designed, on instruments which were not even around in Bach’s time (at least not in their modern-day form), did not sound immediately appealing; nevertheless, something drew me in, and I was pleasantly surprised.

Prom 23 served up a menu of English music from the first half of the 20 century in all its variety, with impressionism by Delius, the lush strings of Vaughan Williams, heroic brass from Ireland, and jazzy, sophisticated excitement from Walton.The programme opened with a warmly affectionate performance of Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis.

Through its 24th season, the Amici Ensemble has stretched the limits of music; pairing its inspiration with food and fashion. In their 2011/2012 season finale performance, they incorporated artist Lavinia I. Voicu into the concert, having her paint live to the music. Much like her paintings, which were on display in the lobby, the musical programme was abstract and diverse.

Con un programa que abarcó casi quinientos años de música, los metales y percusiones de la OFCM mostraron su versatilidad ante un repertorio heterogéno.

Ein barockes Schloss, Picknickdecken und Harmoniemusik – so lässt sich’s genießen! Die Styriarte trifft beim Konzert des Ensemble Zefiro mit Ambiente und musikalischer Qualität ins Schwarze.