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Born to a Basque mother just ten miles from the Spanish border, Ravel excelled at authentic Spanish flavours as heard in this splendid festival concert by the Orchestre National de France.

Nikolai Lugansky's barnstorming performance of Rachmaninov's Third Piano Concerto is the centrepiece of the Philharmonia's end-of-season concert.

María Dueñas and Saioa Hernández anchor a Spanish programme in New York marked by a Hollywood detour. 

Conductor Speranza Scappucci led a vibrant programme of orchestral and vocal works, blending Spanish flair and humor in this enjoyable performance.

Gustav Holst's perennial audience favorite provides pure comfort food, paired here with Ravel and an organ rarity by Alfredo Casella.

John Adams returns to Toronto to conduct the TSO in an exciting and varied programme marked also by the debut of Spotlight Artist Anna Prohaska. 

In Miami, Isabel Leonard bewitches in Ravel’s Shéhérazade, while Stéphane Denève and the New World Symphony conjure up atmospherics galore in Roussel and Schmitt ballet scores. 

The inaugural mcr:classical weekend comes to a rowdy finish with Stravinsky's Rite of Spring at The Bridgewater Hall.

Gautier Capuçon gives the US premiere of Thierry Escaich's second cello concerto, Les Chants de l’aube. 

Domingo Hindoyan and Javier Perianes bring a Mediterranean themed evening to Liverpool on an autumnal evening. The Spanish sunshine shining on Philharmonic Hall was occasionally obscured by clouds. 

An evening of “French Beauties and Swedish Beasts” from the Swedish clarinettist, demonstrating phenomenal tone and dare-devil risk-taking. 

Conductor-composer John Adams put his own work in conversation with Ravel and Stravinsky.

How vital is a conductor? At Paris' Salle des concerts – the Philharmonie's second hall – Les Dissonances provided answers. 

Gustavo Gimeno conducted the Cleveland Orchestra in a colorful program inclusive of a pair of Spanish works, Stravinsky’s Firebird, and the Lalo Cello Concerto with soloist Johannes Moser.

The Orchestre Pasdeloup contributes tales to the Philharmonie's Mille et une Nuits festival of music inspired by the Orient. 

From dawn to nightfall in picture-postcard Spain followed by a detour to Kastchei’s magic garden, the Philharmonia didn’t stint on local colour.

Charles Dutoit's mostly Spanish program was highlighted by two major scores of Manuel de Falla.

Released from the Covent Garden pit, the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House enjoyed its moment on the stage, breathing in the sea breezes of Ravel and Chausson, strutting its stuff in Bernstein and basking in shimmering Scriabin.

The Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal’s matinee concert “Amor!” was a welcome excursion, sweeping the audience off through the colourful musical tradition of warm, sunny Spain.

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.

Richard Turp sees L’Orchestre symphonique de Québec and conductor Fabien Gabel impress greatly in a program of twentieth century classics by de Falla and Ravel at the Maison symphonique.

Daniil Trifonov dazzled, for sure, but at times he did slightly more than that. And when he did dazzle, it was always very musical dazzling; he is far from the empty dazzler one might expect so young a virtuoso to be. No – there’s no doubt that Trifonov is a highly intelligent musician, as well as a highly talented one, and there was much to enjoy in this varied programme for Wigmore Hall.

“Opening Night” at the New York Philharmonic is a gala affair, although it’s rarely the actual opening night of the season. The gala isn’t as gaudy as the one that takes place across the plaza at the Metropolitan Opera, but it’s an auspicious occasion nonetheless, filmed for broadcast on public television and usually featuring a soloist with the appropriate star wattage.

Susanna Mälkki, current Musical Director of the trail-blazing new music specialists Ensemble Intercontemporain conducted the SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg in a concert showcasing two French impressionists’ love affair with Spain, Brice Pauset’s fascination with the symphony orchestra’s timbral spectrum, and Alexander Scriabin’s Poem of Ecstasy.

“Cultural melting-pot” is a term so often used to describe Hong Kong that it has become a cliché. On Saturday, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra provided a living example of how the city relishes a mixture of cultural influences in a programme of works by French composers incorporating clear foreign influences, predominantly from Spain.

Chinese pianist Di Xiao is already making a name for herself with sell-out concerts in many of Europe’s most prestigious venues and a triumphant tour of China, as well as two recordings. Her debut recital at London’s Wigmore Hall was a programme conjuring up images of moonlight while “illuminating other byways along the way”.Di Xiao opened with Beethoven’s Sonata Opus 27 No.

Prom 10 was a heady mix of Franco-Spanish music, from Debussy’s evocative Images for orchestra to Manual de Falla’s exotic Nights in the Gardens of Spain, all under the baton, appropriately, of Basque-born conductor Juanjo Mena, who takes over as Chief Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in September.

The Robeco Summer Concerts at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam have for years now allowed lovers of classical music to still enjoy live music in the middle of summer when most orchestras are travelling or on a break. This year’s line-up is as impressive as ever, with many international orchestras gracing Amsterdam with their presence.

Clive James – with as much modesty as a self-publicist can pull off – says, "all I can do is turn a phrase until it catches the light." A similar ability enlivens the orchestration of masters such as Ravel and Falla.

Virtuose de l'erhu, Li Yiwen a emporté le public dans un concerto de Qigang Chen, avant que Ji-Yoon Park ne donne la réplique dans Tzigane puis Shéhérazade ; mais le chef a laissé un goût d'inachevé au voyage...

En un fructífero intercambio, la Euskadiko Orkestra ofreció un concierto en L'Auditori con un interesante programa y un sólido resultado.

Le pianiste tisse un fil rouge inattendu et subtil entre Bach/Busoni, Ravel et Rachmaninov, même si ses moyens pianistiques le limitent dans les numéros les plus virtuoses.

Si l'œuvre du jazzman exprime peu les couleurs d'un Orchestre national de Lyon au grand complet, elle a le mérite de son accessibilité, avant une seconde partie Strauss-Ravel plus volubile.

Retour sur un programme en forme de rencontre inspirante entre Ravel et de Falla, dans une ville française imprégnée de culture espagnole, Toulouse, accueillant un chef et un pianiste ibériques !

En ouverture du festival basque, la formation sur instruments d'époque a fait merveille sous la direction de Pierre Bleuse dans un programme intégralement ravélo-espagnol.

Le nouveau directeur musical de l'Opéra national de Paris Gustavo Dudamel peine à conférer à cette première série symphonique avec l'orchestre l'élan et la vivacité nécessaires. 

Remplaçant au pied levé Riccardo Chailly, Gustavo Gimeno dirige un florilège ravélien élégant mais un peu sage, pour le concert de rentrée de l'Orchestre de Paris.

Joaquín Achúcarro ofreció un emotivo concierto con motivo de sus 75 años sobre los escenarios y deleitó a un público, de por sí entregado, con su maestría habitual.

Mit einem Mozart-Klavierkonzert und Werken Ravels verabschieden die Berliner Philharmoniker erfolgreich das alte Jahr.

Un florilège de Ravel agrémenté de Manuel de Falla : la parenté entre musique française et la musique espagnole n’est pas un fantasme, un certain esprit commun les irrigue plutôt, fait de rutilance du détail et de précision des articulations.

El director francés condujo eficientemente a la Orquesta Nacional hacia un paroxismo de exuberancia orquestal.

Quand il joue, totalement absorbé en lui-même, les images vous arrachent subitement à votre siège pour recomposer d’immenses toiles. Alors, on ferme instinctivement les yeux, condamné à voyager à l’intérieur de soi.

Zum Auftakt von „Klassik am Odeonsplatz“ luden Julia Fischer und das Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks unter der Leitung von Pablo Heras-Casado zu einem Kurztrip nach Spanien ein

Mercredi soir au Victoria Hall, la flûte d'Emmanuel Pahud a fait merveille, comblant le public dans un programme hispanisant, sous la baguette d'Alain Altinoglu.

Devant un public euphorique, le West-Eastern Divan Orchestra a célébré la musique hispanisante dans un concert festoyant, sous la baguette bienveillante de Daniel Barenboim.