Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | Symphony no. 4 in B flat major, Op.60

Taking snapshots from 1806 and 1807, the BBC Philharmonic present two works from Beethoven’s middle period, with high musical standards and the Dresden Chamber Choir on superb form.

Rudolf Buchbinder's deep expertise and the Czech Philharmonic's expressive gifts add another dimension to the composer's anniversary celebration.

Nine symphonies, five orchestras, two days: an immersive weekend as part of the Barbican's Beethoven 250 coverage featuring some of the UK's finest orchestras. 

The SCO’s Beethoven cycle continues with a meaty menu of three symphonies

Stylish Mozart and volcanic Beethoven from the Philharmonia orchestra and their principal guest conductor Jakub Hrůša.

Maestro Ellis and the Orchestre Métropolitain provided a top notch concert in Montreal’s Verdun borough.

Drive and energy in Andris Nelsons' pairing of the Fourth and Fifth Symphonies highlights their similarities rather than their differences. 

In this afternoon Prom, Joshua Bell disappointed as a conductor. As a soloist, however, he came up with the goods.

The latest concert in the Britten Sinfonia’s ongoing Beethoven symphony cycle also featured the London première of Gerald Barry’s combative Piano Concerto.

In her first collaboration with the OAE, Nicola Benedetti brought exquisite tone – and a new cadenza – to Beethoven's Violin Concerto. 

The much anticipated Austrian conductor strikes home with Shostakovich and Beethoven as a side dish in Stockholm.

The Atlanta Symphony and guest conductor Jun Märkl spin a spell with Falla's El amor brujo, with soprano Catalina Cuervo. 

The Northen Chamber Orchestra bring small-scale but energetic accounts of Beethoven, plus Anthony Gilbert's intriguing Another Dream Carousel to the Heritage Centre in Macclesfield.

Nicola Benedetti on astonishing form with Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in Edinburgh.

Richard Farnes and the CBSO give disappointing readings of Wagner and Sibelius, with only the Beethoven Fourth rising above routine.

The Berliner Philharmoniker's Beethoven cycle under Sir Simon Rattle opens in joyous style at their home in the Philharmonie. 

Overall, Bellincampi made a strong argument for some neglected musical treasures and one looks forward to see how his collaboration with the Auckland Philharmonia develops.

Czech conductor energises the London Philharmonic in three contrasting works, including one of the 20th century's greatest choral masterpieces.

Juanjo Mena conducts stirring accounts of Beethoven's Fourth and Ninth symphonies at Manchester's Bridgewater Hall with the CBSO Chorus.

A correct rendition of an improvised program, featuring symphonies by Beethoven and Mendelssohn, following the sudden absence of the cellist Alban Gerhardt.

Prom 23 contained a mixed programme of McLeod, Beethoven and Mozart. Whilst each piece was enjoyable in its own right, and some truly outstanding musicianship was evident throughout the evening, the lack of connection between the pieces left a feeling of unsettledness.

Dazzling Dalbavie and Pesson, buoyant Ravel and shaky Beethoven from the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Lionel Bringuier at the Barbican.

20-year-old Venezuelan conductor Ilyich Rivas joined the ambitious PKF - Prague Philharmonia as part of their series showcasing young conductors. He has a bit of a mad genius look about him, but the results are impressive.

The OSM opened their 2014 offering with an evening of Beethoven. Kent Nagano was at the helm with pianist Radu Lupu as the soloist in the Fourth Piano Concerto.

It was only through a litany of roster changes that the Orchestra Mozart’s London debut at the Royal Festival Hall took place at all. Beginning with Claudio Abbado and Martha Argerich down to play Haydn and Mozart, a dual cancellation meant Bernard Haitink and Maria João Pires had to step in at what may as well have been the last minute.

“Daniel Barenboim can be a frustrating... conductor”, I wrote after the first concert in this series of four, in which he and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra are presenting all nine of Beethoven’s symphonies. As if to prove the point, to follow that stunning concert of First, Eighth and Fifth, these forces delivered a maddeningly inconsistent Fourth and a far loftier but hardly flawless Eroica.

Andris Nelsons passed the halfway stage of his Birmingham Beethoven cycle with brilliantly muscular accounts of the Fourth and Fifth Symphonies and a glossy performance of the concert aria Ah! Perfido.The CBSO made a compelling case for the Fourth Symphony, an arguably overlooked work described by Schumann as sitting between the “Two Norse giants” that are the Third and Fifth.

Franz Welser-Möst’s programme was rather eclectic for this Carnegie Hall visit from the Cleveland Orchestra. Matthias Pintscher’s static, ethereal new work, Chute d’Étoiles (“Falling Stars”), found itself sandwiched between two of Beethoven’s busiest works, the Fourth Symphony and the Grosse Fuge, both of which are in the key of B flat major.

Beethoven, Mozart, Angela Hewitt are all much loved names in the world of classical music. The promise of a Mozart piano concerto played by Angela Hewitt and a Beethoven symphony is enough to whet any music lover’s appetite. However, as in so many Sydney Symphony concerts, there was another work thrown in, which one could have been forgiven for glossing over in the evening’s publicity.

Programming works by Pierre Boulez alongside a high-profile Beethoven symphony cycle is an easy way to give exposure to the strikingly modern works of the Frenchman, but on seeing a substantial chunk of the audience disappear for an early drink before tonight's Boulez, I wondered if the Beethoven was perhaps too reliable a foil, leaving people little incentive to stay.

There was a definite buzz about London’s Southbank Centre on the evening of 16th February, for this was the night of the second concert in the Philharmonia Orchestra’s ‘The Still Point of the Turning World’ series, which began last month to huge critical acclaim (see my review).

At first glance, Beethoven isn’t an obvious composer to match up with Ravel and Stravinsky, but Northern Sinfonia’s concert this evening with guest conductor Thierry Fischer did draw out a few surprising parallels.

Continuing the Hallé’s project of juxtaposing Beethoven symphonies with modern works, the underrated fourth symphony was flanked by works by Helen Grime and Igor Stravinsky, with an intriguingly placed Bach Suite closing the concert.

Juste avant que l'interdiction des rassemblements de plus de cent personnes ne fasse plonger la vie culturelle française dans un silence inquiétant, Les Siècles ont donné une lecture extraordinaire de la Symphonie « Pastorale ».

La Mahler Chamber Orchestra inaugura la 68 edición del Festival Internacional de Santander con Jakub Hrůša en la direccion.

L'Orchestre Symphonique de Mulhouse a accueilli le violoniste et chef d'orchestre Augustin Dumay, dans deux œuvres concertantes de Mozart et dans la Symphonie n° 4 de Beethoven. Un ensemble à la fois inspiré et brillant.

La Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich y Lionel Bringuier en su segunda aparición en el Auditorio revelaron lo meritorio de la injustamente relegada Cuarta sinfonía de Beethoven y ofrecieron una cuidada y sólida interpretación de dos páginas muy populares, Suite de Peer Gynt y Variaciones Enigma.

Autour de la figure beethovénienne, l'ONCT recevait le chef danois Thomas Søndergård, habitué des grands orchestres européens et nord-américains et promoteur du répertoire scandinave, ainsi que le jeune virtuose tchèque Josef Špaček.

Während Gatti in der Genoveva-Ouvertüre seine Stärken als Operndirigent ausleben konnte, dominierte im Mahler Chamber Orchestra die Spielfreude und das Engagement.

Un López Cobos clarividente y en absoluta sintonía con los músicos exprimió al máximo el magnífico momento de forma de los mismos para dar vida a una Cuarta absolutamente inefable

Ungewohnt hart und frei von jeglicher romantischen Verklärung interpretierte Micheal Barenboim, begleitet von den Mannheimern Philharmonikern, das Violinkonzert von Johannes Brahms.

Mit einem eindrucksvollen Finalkonzert mit dem WDR-Sinfonieorchester und Gautier Capucon endete der Heidelberger Frühling, der dieses Jahr unter dem Motto „Freiheit wagen“ stand.

Die Klarheit des vibratolosen Tons schärft das Ohr des Zuhörers, lässt ihn das Leuchten reiner Intervalle erst richtig erfahren — und Isabelle Faust begeistert so mit reinem Beethoven.