Live, Video: Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | Stephen Gosling

An intermittently sparkling evening culminates in a thrilling explosion of art.

One minor Balanchine, elevated by commanding performances; a rare Albert Evans; Peter Martins at his most compelling and Jerome Robbins at his funniest.

Alexei Ratmansky draws out exceptional individual qualities of each of five ballerinas in his intriguing world premiere for New York City Ballet, set to spoken word and live piano.

As part of the New York Philharmonic’s CONTACT new music series at National Sawdust in Brooklyn, Esa-Pekka Salonen drew connections among Olivier Messiaen, two of his students (Pierre Boulez and George Benjamin) and one outlier (Oliver Knussen).

On a program of musical works with imagery ranging from Mount Fuji to zygotes, the common thread was Japan and the sounds it has inspired over the past few decades.

John Zorn doesn’t look 60. He looks 35, or whatever age it is where you’re still just about young enough to get away with wearing baggy camouflage pants. “And that’s how it’s done!” he yells through his mic at the end of the first half, over huge applause and cheering from this passionate Barbican audience.