Live, Video: Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | The Miraculous Mandarin, Op.19: Suite

A programme heavily skewed to the balletic saw the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Josep Pons dispatch difficult passages with ease.

A unique, but at times frustrating performance of Brahms’ First Piano Concerto demonstrates Víkingur Ólafsson's qualities, but it's in Bartók's The Miraculous Mandarin that the LPO really comes alive. 

Jukka-Pekka Saraste’s Pittsburgh program makes a strong impression in coloristic works from the early 20th century, while pianist Tom Borrow has a memorable debut.

Sometimes the programme just feels right: a dramatic cantata by Haydn, a “pantomime grotesque” by Bartók and Mahler's Fourth Symphony. Colour and contrasts galore from soloist, conductor and orchestra.

Without bite and grit, Bartók's music loses some of its uniqueness. Kochanovsky and his Hannover players still have some way to go, but Valeriy Sokolov delivers an impassioned Second Violin Concerto.

A Colombian conductor and French cellist shine in a crowd-pleasing program ranging from Haydn to Bartók.

The Czech Philharmonic give sharp, spirited performances of cutting-edge compositions, including the world premiere of Thierry Escaich's new piano concerto. 

This X-rated programme brought numerous children to the Royal Festival Hall... with plenty of orchestral thrills for them to enjoy.

Conducting a programme of mostly 20th-century classics that could have come from his early glory days in Birmingham, Rattle was in his element.

Hannah Eisendle's Heliosis proves the highlight of Prom 36, with Benjamin Grosvenor giving a performance of quality in Prokofiev's Third Piano Concerto.

An unusual collection of five disparate shorter orchestral works made for a fascinating celebration of Sir Simon Rattle’s musical enthusiasms over his career.

From the podium, Venezuelan conductor Rafael Payare’s fine direction and unmitigated athleticism were part and parcel of the excitement.

It's a game of two halves in Barcelona from Kazushi Ono and the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya.

A mesmerising Stravinsky Rite of Spring from Mihhail Gerts and RTÉ NSO while Irish pianist Fiachra Garvey impresses in Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini. 

The celebrated soprano leads the students of the Juilliard in an enjoyable concert that falters on the side of keeping an even keel.

Thrilling performances of Sibelius and Bartók at the Philharmonie overshadow lightweight Weber from Andreas Ottensamer.

A dream come true - Nicola Benedetti, Vladimir Jurowski and the LPO find every corner of a bold programme of Debussy, Szymanowski and Bartok to open their new season at the RFH.

Transcriptions by Hungarian composers was presented at Müpa's organ festival. 

Gergiev and the LSO in an explosive, primeval Rite of Spring.

Doug Fitch masterminds a splendidly inventive multimedia rendering of Petrushka, ably supported by Alan Gilbert and the NY Phil.

Hitchcock’s Norman Bates meets Bartók’s death defying Miraculous Mandarin, by way of Schoenberg angular 12-tone Piano Concerto - with the odd man out being Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. 

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.

The Last Night of the Proms isn't really a concert: it's more like going to the cast party for the Proms season.

It's about time. Certainly Chronochromie is about the colour of time, but grasping the essence of much of Messiaen's music depends on being in synchrony with his take on time in music – specifically intimations of the eternal.

Sous la direction du chef des Siècles, l'Orchestre National de France produit une interprétation inégale de deux chefs-d'œuvre du compositeur (Atmosphères et Lontano), convaincant davantage dans Le Mandarin merveilleux de Bartók.

Se estrena con éxito la Quinta sinfonía de Jesús Rueda, enmarcada en un programa moderno en el que Afkham apostó por la claridad y la precisión.

Daniel Harding übernimmt für den erkrankten Mariss Jansons und beeindruckt mit einem bildgewaltigen Programm mit Werken von Bartok, Ravel und Berlioz.

Schumanns Violinkonzert ist ein Werk, dem ein Ehrenplatz unter den ganz großen Konzerten des 19. Jahrhunderts gebührt, das den Vergleich mit demjenigen von Brahms nicht zu scheuen braucht.

Una sobresaliente Sinfónica de Galicia demostró que a sus veinticinco años goza de la envidiable madurez de las grandes orquestas

Sous le prétexte « humanisme et modernité », le dernier concert de la saison réunissait un vaste aperçu des périodes charnières de l’histoire de la musique en convoquant trois compositeurs : Beethoven, Schubert et Bartok. 

Das WDR Sinfonieorchester zeigt sich in seinem Bartók Zyklus in samtigen Gewand. Auch Klaviersolisten Anna Vinntskaya hält Abstand von schweren und schrillen Interpretationen.

Programme de musiques de danse interprété par le New York Philharmonic : Stravinsky, Debussy et Bartók pour un dimanche après-midi parfait !