Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | Stephen Hough

Brahms wrote four of the greatest works in the clarinet repertoire for his friend Richard Mühlfeld. The indefatigable Michael Collins performed three of them in the latest recital in Stephen Hough's Brahms residency.

Fine performances of music associated with Queen Victoria, with a royal novelty thrown in to complete a programme marked by commitment and vigour. 

The sound in Schumann's “Rhenish” was satisfyingly dense, rich and passionate, and the horns once more made great sailing of all their magnificent solos.

Tired of looking at the same wallpaper all the time? The London Philharmonic and their conductor Edward Gardner, together with soloist Stephen Hough, offer one way to see (part of) the world.

Sir Mark Elder conducts The Hallé in Berlioz, Saint-Saëns with Stephen Hough and Vaughan Williams

Excellent performances by James Gaffigan and The Cleveland Orchestra of music by Barber, Mendelssohn, and Sibelius made for an enjoyable summer evening at the Blossom Music Festival. Stephen Hough was an outstanding piano soloist.

The Mostly Mozart Festival ended its season with an all-Mozart program centered on the Requiem. Paired with that was a piano concerto with Stephen Hough and the rarely-heard Meistermusik.

Andrew Manze conducted the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in two English choral pieces; Stephen Hough brought a fitting conclusion to his Beethoven concerto cycle as artist-in-residence. 

Shimmering images from Debussy in his evocative Images had Stephen Hough oozing luminescence, with passion in Schumann and firing on all cylinders in Beethoven’s “Appassionata”.

Juxtaposing Debussy’s music with opuses by Schumann and Beethoven, Stephen Hough brought forward connection points one wouldn't have thought of.

Heinz Holliger conducted a fine interpretation of Schubert's Ninth, but it was Stephen Hough's performance of Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1 that really made the evening.

The passionate darkness of Brahms' First Piano Concerto is contrasted with David Sawer's The Greatest Happiness Principle and Haydn's elegant and sophisticated Symphony no. 99.

Stephen Hough stuns with an emotive reading of Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto, while the Ulster Orchestra under Rafael Payare were on fine form for the season’s finale.

Robert Spano and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra play an all-Rachmaninov concert, with pianist Stephen Hough performing in the First Piano Concerto. 

Elim Chan's homecoming in an evening of pride and joy with the Hong Kong Phil.

The New York Philharmonic, Alan Gilbert and Styephen Hough offer conventional interpretations of two 19th century warhorses.

Pianist, composer and polymath Stephen Hough joined The Prince Consort for an evening of intriguing and startling gems, and a world première of Hough’s own witty, intricate, intimate and beautifully arresting art songs.

Stephen Hough delivers an exciting account of Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto no. 1 while the sparks from a speedy Beethoven's Symphony no. 7 fail to ignite. 

A belated touch of demonic fire was a welcome ingredient to last night's Prom with a compelling interpretation of Prokofiev's Third Symphony, based on material from his opera The Fiery Angel.

Stephen Hough made light of the technical challenges of Dvořák's Piano Concerto; Carl Nielsen’s “Inextinguishable” symphony was an electrifying second half.

The London Philharmonic’s Shakespeare400 series continues with a potted Tempest, preceded by a piano concerto notable for its pastoral heart

A Tchaikovsky rarity conducted by talented newcomer Harish Shankar were followed by Beethoven and Rachmaninov played by established masters Stephen Hough and Mark Elder in a fine Hallé concert.

Stephen Hough's Barbican concert was carefully constructed to reveal every side of his personality - artistic, creative and philosophical.  

Stephen Hough made the case for re-appraising Dvořák’s Cinderella Piano Concerto with some fine accompaniment from the CBSO and Andris Nelsons.

Andris Nelsons' Birmingham Bruckner is a thing of beauty to follow Stephen Hough's masterly Schumann Piano Concerto.

Stephen Hough’s solo piano recital had an immediate appeal even before the first note sounded. The programme’s design followed perfect symmetry of Claude Debussy and Frédéric Chopin’s Four Ballades.

Stephen Hough lays bare the myth that Saint-Saëns was a conservative in an electrifying performance of the “Egyptian” piano concerto with the RPO.

Following his excellent Mahler Fifth and Second with the BBC Philharmonic over the last two seasons, Juanjo Mena turned his attention to the First Symphony, pairing it with Mendelssohn and Schumann at the Bridgewater Hall.

The theme to the evening’s programme at the Colston Hall was “The Power of Love”. Spread over a century, the three works programmed were all romantically driven.

The Bristol Classical Players and conductor Tom Gauterin normally focus their concerts around a series of works from a particular era or composer, but this time they did something a little different. We heard the rarely performed Piano Concerto in G minor by Dvořák, sandwiched between Beethoven’s Fidelio overture and his Fifth Symphony.

The Scottish Chamber Orchestra made a welcome return to the Proms after two years’ absence (their last appearance was in the late night Prom in 2010), led by their youthful principal conductor Robin Ticciati, who has already been in the post for four years. They brought a programme showcasing the early 19th-century repertoire which Ticciati has recently been exploring with this orchestra.

On a hot, humid summer’s evening, Sakari Oramo made his debut as Chief Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. That the occasion was the first night of the BBC Proms 2013 didn’t seem to bother him. The Finn’s combination of serenity and confidence – and just enough passion to assure us that he was enjoying it – set the tone for an intriguing, if oddly assembled programme.

Friday night’s BBC SO concert certainly drew in a large crowd, despite the presence of two unfamiliar works: a new one by Jonathan Lloyd and Tippett’s Fourth Symphony from 1977. The addition of the ever-popular pianist Stephen Hough to the lineup, playing the one of the most challenging concertos in the repertoire, Brahms’ First, must have helped the numbers.

There are very few musicians who could lay claim to a MacArthur Fellowship, and even fewer pianists, but then it seems that Stephen Hough is no ordinary pianist: writer, composer and recognised polymath, Mr Hough’s phenomenal playing skills still find time to shine alongside his many other extraordinary talents, and his performance at this recital was no exception.

Josep Pons strode purposefully onto the Barbican stage to conduct the BBC Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Haydn’s “Clock” Symphony. The first movement opened by way of an Adagio laden with a suitable sense of portent, the layers of writing for the strings being clearly articulated to bring this out.

Two encores, a virtuoso and a cracking orchestra. This concert truly celebrated the best of British music and musicians, as the first concert in St George’s “Best of British” concert season. The scene was set with an array of red, white and blue amongst the orchestra in several forms: bow ties, flags, ribbons and other accessories.

As this year draws to a close, musicians and audiences have one last chance to celebrate the 200th birthday of Franz Liszt (1811-1886). The program this afternoon featured a couple of less-familiar orchestral pieces as well as the First and Second Piano Concerti. (Liszt’s orchestral works are infrequently performed, these ones especially so.

Some musicians have criticised Mozart’s music for being facile, almost too perfect, some even claiming that it lacks emotional depth. However it is difficult to accept this when listening to Mozart performed by pianist Stephen Hough. It is music which sparkles and glistens much like the water in the harbour surrounding Sydney Opera House, or that is usually the case.

In an age where most performers dedicate their whole life to music, Stephen Hough is a remarkable exception. Something of a Renaissance man, not only is he one of the world's foremost concert pianists, but he also paints, composes, writes poetry and blogs. This evening's programme on the theme of 'strange sonatas' was framed by two of the best-known works by Beethoven and Liszt.

The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, playing for the first time in Edinburgh under Peter Oundjian as Music Director Designate, put together a very solid performance of works by Rouse, Grieg and Brahms.

Last night's concert at the Royal Festival Hall was a high profile affair. Staged to mark both the opening of the Hungarian six-month presidency of the European Union and the bicentenary of Liszt, it was attended by the President of Hungary and a raft of assorted dignitaries.