Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | La Valse, for orchestra

What a day to hear an all-French programme, and with this fragile moment at its heart criticism feels futile, disrespectful even.

Jean-Guihen Queyras is the soloist in Lalo's rarely performed Cello Concerto. 

Three Frenchmen and a Finn walk into a concert hall: The Hallé and Sir Mark Elder with Viktoria Mullova play Berlioz, Debussy, Ravel and Sibelius.

The LSO saved their best till last, for La Valse was superb in both sensuous atmosphere and devastating execution.

Maurice Ravel met Jean Sibelius at the Royal Festival Hall for a programme to which each composer contributed a waltz, but the musical terrain was anything but a level playing field. 

Andrés Orozco-Estrada and the LPO offer an eclectic and unusual mix of works which, despite commendable playing, never quite added up to a satisfying whole.

In the week of remembrance, Sheku Kanneh-Mason played Elgar’s Cello Concerto with a level of British reverence, while Andrew Manze concluded with some exquisite Ravel. 

Principal Guest Conductor Kazuki Yamada teases brilliant French sounds from the CBSO.

Franz Welser-Möst selected a Viennese-inspired program for The Cleveland Orchestra’s annual gala, with works of Strauss (both Richard and Johann II) and Ravel following a Mozart piano concerto.

Semyon Bychkov’s Prom appearances are always fascinating experiences and this was no different, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra on tremendous form. 

Stéphane Denève and Augustin Hadelich each prove themselves to be at the very forefront of performers active today. 

Storm Large’s version of The Seven Deadly Sins provides a modern update of Weill and Brecht’s take-down of capitalism, misogyny and exploitation.

Stéphane Denève leads The Philadelphia Orchestra through transcendent Strauss and apocalyptic Ravel.

Ludovic Morlot makes a grand return to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in a program of 20th-century works, highlighted by a masterful performance of Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto, with soloist Ray Chen. 

A generous evening of heavyweight works with the London Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Fabien Gabel.

The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Vasiliy Petrenko make a guest visit to Sage Gateshead, bringing their contributions by Ravel and Rachmaninov to this year's concert theme of Dance.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic's last week of its classical music season at the Hollywood Bowl began with romantic French music under an almost full moon played the sexy Seattle way.

Playing in a premier Western venue with violin virtuoso Gil Shaham, the Eastern orchestra seems not quite ready for prime time.

Kristine Opolais joins the Boston Symphony Orchestra for Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky in its season-closing concert. 

The Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal and Kent Nagano give terrific performances of Debussy, Prokofiev and Stravinsky as they embark on their American tour. 

Under venerable music director Zubin Mehta, the Israel Philharmonic makes a welcome return to Chicago.

Prom 29 had a distinctly French flavour, with themes of dance and birdsong running through the programme in a glittering performance of music by Mozart, Ravel, Messiaen and Stravinsky.

A five star evening with Sakari Oramo and the BBCSO in 1920s masterpieces.

The RSNO, with Gilbert Varga and Daniel Müller-Schott, paint a quintessentially French picture. Would it have been welcome at the Salon?

There’s always a reason to celebrate Sibelius. The addition of French works to San Diego Symphony’s offerings this weekend provided a panoply of tastes to the musical palate. 

This was a concert that provided the opportunity for so many individual musicians to shine and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra’s shone brightly, showcasing its truly amazing talent. 

Franz Welser-Möst, with brand new contract signed through to 2022, leads elegant performances of Beethoven’s Sixth and Ravel’s Alborada del gracioso, Valses nobles et sentimentales and La Valse.

The Concertgebouworkest's series based on 'the sublime' continues with an eclectic programme of Ockeghem, Ligeti, Varèse and Ravel at the Concertgebouw. 

Thierry Fischer and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales presented an eclectic programme, with an exciting première by Simon Holt and the many different facets of 20th century French orchestral music.

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

It was the golden jubilee of Saint-Säens as a concert pianist, and in celebration he performed his crowning glory, the Piano Concerto no. 5 in F, “Egyptian”, which he composed while on tour in Luxor, incorporating exotic Middle Eastern melodies and rhythms.

In An Attitude to French Culture the Polish composer Witold Lutosławski remarked “I am aware that of the two traditions that initiated 20th-century music, that is, Schoenberg and Debussy, it is the latter that I feel prevails in my own compositional work”.

In an interview with Charlie Rose a couple of years ago, Sir Simon Rattle made the startling comment that conductors only become “competent” after they turn 60.

The Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester is one of the finest youth orchestras in the world. Bringing together young musicians from all over Europe, from Portugal to Russia, it is a model of international co-operation.

The spectacle in Downtown Los Angeles last Thursday night was certainly a sight to see: crowded parking spaces, swarms of people making their way to Disney Hall, and traffic swirling along Grand Avenue and its adjoining streets. Was it a rock band that awaited listeners on the stage at Disney Hall on Thursday night? Not quite.

The holiday season in New York can be a bit maddening, an unrelenting assault to the senses amid the crush of humanity present throughout the city. Luckily, then, the Philharmonic provided an evening’s respite with powerful and largely understated works by Haydn, Schubert, and Ravel. After Haydn’s Symphony no.

Following the Philadelphia Orchestra’s stellar performance at last night’s Prom, Chief Conductor Charles Dutoit presented a second violinist with a bouquet of flowers. This unusual gesture, he explained, was a fond farewell to a man who has played in the orchestra for 50 years. During the past half-century, that violinist must have played last night’s pieces many times.

When recession strikes, Stravinsky’s your man! Nothing is wasted and everything is convertible. The fact that his world and style had changed beyond recognition between beginning his opera, Le Chant du Rossignol in 1908 and finishing it in 1914 – three epoch-changing ballets later – did not seem to faze him.

I confess to having known little about the Seoul Philharmonic before this evening's concert. However I did know something of tonight's conductor, Myung-Whung Chung, having seen him conduct one of his other orchestras, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France last month at the Proms in London. He is a wonderful musician who coaxes the music out of his players.

Vive la France! Last night’s Philharmonia concert was a very Gallic affair; a celebration of French music conducted by the French conductor Stéphane Denève. Fauré’s Pelléas et Mélisande, Debussy’s La Mer and Ravel’s La Valse were all written between 1898 and 1920. The composers are further linked by friendship and an entanglement à trois: Debussy’s second wife was previously the lover of Fauré.

London’s Wigmore Hall, famous for its elegant concert hall and outstanding acoustics, has become synonymous with exceptional piano music. Having played host to a number of celebrated performers and composers, from Arthur Rubinstein to Saint-Saëns, Benjamin Britten to Joshua Bell, Wigmore Hall also ushers in today’s latest classical stars.One such star is Boris Giltburg.

Pianists Charles Owen and Katya Apekisheva presented a lively recital programme in what might be better described as ‘an orchestral concert for two pianos’; such was the range of sounds the two were able to conjure from their instruments.Milhaud’s Scaramouche Suite was a frothy, joyful opener, as one might expect from a member of ‘Les Six’ in a work based on theatrical music.

Couple indissociable, Zubin Mehta et l'Orchestre Philharmonique d'Israël ont offert un concert de haute volée à la Philharmonie de Paris. Au programme : Schubert, Ravel et Beethoven. 

Jurowski treibt in der Rolle des Hoffmann’schen Kapellmeistersdie Musiker des RCO mit teuflischem Spaß zu immer mehr virtuosem Schabernack an.

Sous la baguette d'un de ses chefs favoris et en compagnie d'Anne Sofie von Otter, l'Orchestre des Champs-Élysées fait étape avenue Montaigne au début d'une tournée 100% Ravel.

Bei seiner Abschiedstournee mit dem Orchestre symphonique de Montréal zeigt Nagano nuancenreiche Interpretationen.

Sous la direction de Kent Nagano et en compagnie de Marie-Nicole Lemieux, l'Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal enchaîne les chefs-d'œuvre symphoniques à la Philharmonie, de Jeux au Sacre du printemps.

In einem reinen Ravel-Programm demonstriert das LFO einen Farbenreichtum sondergleichen, kombiniert mit Riccardo Chaillys untrüglichem Sinn für dramatische Entwicklungen.

Bei ihrem Auftritt mit François-Xavier Roth trafen die Musiker bei Ravel und Dukas in Mark und Bein, bis sie bei Debussy den Himmel teilten und über Wasser gingen.

Bei Bringuiers Abschied von der Tonhalle herrscht mit Strauss' Don Quixote musikalisches Theater auf dem Podium, bevor Yuja Wang Prokofjews Drittes spielt.