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

Bernstein, Chindamo and Rachmaninov bring an evening of jazz-inspired music from the streets of New York to a deeply personal Russian symphony. 

Michael Seal, Boris Giltburg and the CBSO present an evening of glamour and horror, pairing Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with the unforgettable anguish of Shostakovich’s Symphony no. 8.

Attempts at crowd-pleasing go awry in music by Vaughan Williams and Gary Carpenter, while John Foulds escapes unscathed.

Tchaikovsky’s warhorse piano concerto is given a performance stripped of all showmanship. Britten’s The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra completes this oddly programmed concert from the RLPO.

The CBSO shines in a programme of big, energetic music and tender emotions.

An evening of fine music-making in Birmingham thanks to the CBSO Youth Orchestra Academy and Michael Seal. 

The citizens of Birmingham were queueing up at the door when I arrived in good time for this concert, and the hall was nearly full when the concert began. All seats were unreserved and at the same price wherever you sat – an arrangement that has always appealed to me.