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

Given a new production by Evgeny Titov, Benjamin's second full-length opera is musically brilliant, but its examination of our inner darkness lacks heart. 

A self-effacing, literal approach from conductor Ilan Volkov brings marvellous transparency to works by Sibelius and Prokofiev, while highlighting the flaws in a new work by Freya Waley-Cohen.

Walshe’s quirky The Site of an Investigation, in its London premiere, and Brahms A German Requiem look at the heavens and the earth. 

Georgia Jarman proves a flamboyant soloist in Szymanowski's Love Songs of Hafiz. 

In Kaija Saariaho's clarinet concerto D'om le vrai sens, with Kari Kriikku as soloist, and Mahler's Symphony no. 7, masterfully conducted by Ilan Volkov, the RTÉ NSO enchant the audience in Dublin.

Ilan Volkov conducts the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in an attractive account of Strauss' mighty Alpine Symphony.

Alisa Weilerstein delivered an amazingly raw performance of Shostakovich’s Second Cello Concerto, whereas Ilan Volkov and the CBSO’s renditions of Simon Holt and Brahms (reimagined by Schoenberg) proved alienating and overblown.

Unusual links between works of Liszt, Beethoven and Mahler explored by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Ilan Volkov and with Pavel Kolesnikov as soloist.

Ilan Volkov and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra deliver a flawless execution on a night of premières at the Royal Albert Hall.

A dramatic new work from Nicola LeFanu with soprano Rachel Nicholls and the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Ilan Volkov, together with a fine account of Schreker's Nachtstück.

An opportunity for the human voice to shine in works by Mahler and Mozart, performed by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ilan Volkov, with an opening work by Gérard Grisey.

The flagship National Youth Orchestra of Scotland delights the home crowd in a Road to the Proms concert with impressive dance from Romeo and Juliet, the complete Firebird and an astonishing performance of Tchaikovsky’s Second Piano Concerto.  

Sandwiched between Debussy’s charming Children’s Corner and Mahler’s invitation to heaven, Abrahamsen unveiled his piano concerto for left hand. It was certainly a night for stark contrasts in tone and theme.

A high impact performance of Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony from Ilan Volkov and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, with striking and engaging Ravel from Ingrid Fliter – and a gem from Nikolai Roslavets.

The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra tackle two elusive Sibelius symphonies and a new work by Michael Finnissy in a packed programme at the Proms.

Volkov conducts BBC SSO in a Russian retelling, with acclaimed bass, Yuri Vorobiev. 

The BBC SSO and Ilan Volkov close EIF 2014's contemplations on 'Conflict and Culture' with dark Mills and dramatic Janáček.

The Iceland Symphony Orchestra give an assured performance in their debut concert at the Proms, most successfully in the new compositions of their compatriots.

Exceptional performances of Grisey, Dufourt and Boulez were let down by weak Beethoven from the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Ilan Volkov at the Barbican.

As a fan of contemporary music and, indeed, minimalism, I was disappointed to find the programme at Prom 50 underwhelming overall. This was not for lack of trying, however – I wanted to enjoy it. But after allowing the music time to sink in further and my thoughts to settle, my opinions only seemed to have become more resolute.The evening started promisingly.

If a single word can express disappointment without surprise, it would capture my feeling upon surveying the seats before this concert of 20th-century music at the Usher Hall. My heart went out to the musicians. However, upon seeing Ilan Volkov’s happy and positive demeanour and hearing the first notes, all such negativity dissolved, never to return.

Ilan Volkov, a regular guest conductor with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, is a passionate advocate form contemporary and modern music. His programmes with his current orchestra, the Iceland Symphony, and his previous one, the BBC Scottish Symphony, often consist entirely of such works.

The ability of musicians to take music from the past and present it in a new way gives an important sense of continuity that holds together our musical tradition, and this applies equally to performers and composers, as demonstrated this evening by Northern Sinfonia and their young guest conductor Ilan Volkov, in Hall One of The Sage Gateshead.

Now they know how many cacti it takes to fill the Albert Hall. Last night’s marathon John Cage Prom finished up, over three hours after it had started, with a wonderfully cactus-heavy performance of Branches (1976).

Few quotations have surprised, delighted and saddened me as much as this remark by Schoenberg: "There is nothing I long for more intensely than to be taken for a better sort of Tchaikovsky. People should know my tunes and whistle them." This was one of several anecdotes offered by Discovering Music's Stephen Johnson in the pre-concert talk on "The New Century".

British composer, Jonathan Harvey, could be described as the embodiment of this year's Edinburgh International Festival theme - Europe meets Asia. His spiritual journey, from Christianity via Steinerism to Vajrayana Buddhism, is reflected in his compositional path.

Perhaps visions of the royal princes in battle dress influenced last night’s programme. Or perhaps it was merely felt that Beethoven’s Eroica symphony requires a suitably epic companion. Either way, the result was a rare performance of Britten’s enormous Battle of Heroes, written to honour the members of the International Brigade who died in the Spanish Civil war.

Unsuk Chin's music is extravagant. This must have been a shockingly expensive concert to produce. The stage at the Barbican had to be extended to fit the massive orchestra, and the whole middle section of the stalls was closed off for safety reasons. The two intervals lasted longer than usual because there was so much equipment to move.

En el Concierto núm. 1 de Shostakovich, Horacio Lavandera y John Aigi dieron una lección de electrizante virtuosismo