Live, Video: Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | Variations on a theme by Tchaikovsky, Op.35a

JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic's string players present intense Shostakovich and luminous Arensky in memorable performances.

Julian Bliss' stunning playing of Weber Second Clarinet Concerto and Vasily Petrenko's conducting of the RLPO in Haydn made for an uplifting concert.

If Russian-born pianist Kirill Gerstein were to launch into orbit, he would far outdistance the Soyuz Space Station.

Who knew glaciers were so musical? Arensky Glacier, named for the composer of this all-Russian programme’s opener, flows south from Beethoven Peninsula into the north end of the Antartic’s Boccherini Inlet. There is nothing chilly, however, about the 1894 Variations on a Theme of Tchaikovsky by Anton Arensky (1861–1906).

Saturday evening’s concert saw the coming together of two world-class ensembles from opposite ends of the world: Australia’s national orchestra, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and the world-renowned British vocal group the Hilliard Ensemble.