Live, Video: Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | Xian Zhang

Asmik Grigorian's astonishing acting and subtle vocalism make for a promising Met debut in this revival of Anthony Minghella's lacquered staging. 

Amid stressful cancelations and last-minute program shifts, Xian Zhang offered thrilling interpretations of classic Beethoven and Rossini works in her Philadelphia Orchestra debut.

Julia Adolphe's new violin concerto, Woven Loom, Silver Spindle built impact and structure out of the instability between the brightly spinning realm of the violin and the darker, all-encompassing framework of the orchestra. 

Mahler's Song of the Earth fits the bill of the Philharmonia's “Human/Nature: Music for a Precious Planet” series, and Xian Zhang has no need to hold the orchestra back! 

DSO plays Florence Price's Five Folksongs in Counterpoint and performs the world premiere of Tyshawn Sorey's For Marcos Balter for violin and orchestra with Jennifer Koh. 

Xian Zhang brought out the beauty of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s engaging sound and soprano Fatma Said gracefully beguiled us with Strauss.

Xian Zhang made her Los Angeles debut in a program of Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev,and Chen Yi.

An underwhelming performance that fell prey to poor interpretive judgements. 

Katia and Marielle Labèque were memorable in Mozart’s Concerto for two pianos, K.365.

Schumann, Goldmark and Malipiero feature in a seasonal programme in Milan. 

Despite some fine singing, Benedict Andrew's production of La bohème for English National Opera is devoid of heart. 

Opportunities missed to exploit dynamic contrast in Xian Zhang's Roman Festivals with the Hong Kong Philharmonic.

Sunday night is fiesta night, or so it seemed at the Barbican, where the London Symphony took us on a whirlwind tour from Seville in Andalucia to the Asturias. 

Whilst tonight's performance of Tchaikovsky's Manfred Symphony was polished and highly accomplished, it was Prokofiev's Piano Concerto no. 2 that really quickened our pulses.

La Verdi show off their signature sound in a programme designed to display their broad resources.

Rudolf Frey's production of Nabucco for Welsh National Opera undercuts the solemnity and beauty of the opera, detracting from some fine performances. 

The Latin Requiem traverses a series of emotional responses to death, ranging from astonishment and dread to humility and gratitude. Verdi’s Messa da requiem contains all of these ingredients but in different proportions to many other well-known settings. Written by an agnostic, it is more earthly than spiritual in outlook, and fear and trembling predominate.

Carl Nielsen had an exceptional understanding of the nuances of woodwind instruments, and when playing the parts he wrote for flautists, the affection is almost palpable. Towards the end of his composing career, he thought of different orchestral instruments as having distinct personalities, and composed their interactions accordingly.

In 2010 Xian Zhang debuted as a conductor of The Hague’s Residentieorkest to rave reviews. Her performance tonight definitely justified those reviews, she and the orchestra were on excellent form.

This evening’s programme showed us two aspects of Prokofiev’s output – his serious concert works for the stage and on the other hand his more populist music composed for film. Both were highly exciting, colourful works, and both typical of Prokofiev in different ways.The First Violin Concerto was a curious mixture of the ethereal and rustic.

La Moldau dirigée par Xian Zhang n’est pas une croisière tranquille où l’on prendrait à loisir des photos de paysages ; c’est un torrent joyeux qui nous emporte et nous charrie de tableaux en tableaux.

Belle soirée à la Philharmonie où la musique de Berlioz croise les pas de danse de Saburo Teshigawara et Rihoko Sato, avec l'Orchestre de Lyon sous la direction de Xian Zhang. 

Mit einem ungewöhnlich politischen Thema beeindruckt die niederländische Erstaufführung von Speak out.

Bajo la batuta de Xian Zhang y acompañados por Sabina Puértolas, Sonia Prina, Matthias Stier y Christian Senn, la Orquestra y el Coro Nacional de España recibían las Navidades interpretando el Messiah de Händel en el Auditorio Nacional de Madrid.

La grande musique russe était au programme de l'OPS, en compagnie de la chef chinoise Xian Zhang et du pianiste Alexander Gavrylyuk.

Au programme du Prom 15 : la première britannique d'Iris dévoilée, pièce de Qigang Chen, précédée par la Symphonie n°1 de Prokofiev et suivie par la Symphonie n°2 de Rachmaninov. De la très belle musique, délectable malgré une interprétation du BBC NOW manquant parfois d'ardeur.