En direct, Vidéo: Rechercher des critiques de musique classique, opéra et ballet | Kelley O'Connor

Profound questions as the Tanglewood season closes with the traditional appearance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. 

The Scottish conductor held the podium and the piano bench in an expansive program that included Wagner, Britten, Debussy and the Georgia-based composer Carlos Simon.

Robert Spano and Kelley O'Connor produce a gossamer Shéhérazade in Atlanta.

The concert paired strong new works by Joan La Barbara, Nicole Lizée and Paola Prestini with compositions by Luciano Berio and George Crumb for a satisfying evening of adventurous works for voice.

The Philadelphia Orchestra's principal guest conductor offered a typically diverse program of Stravinsky, Peter Lieberson and Lera Auerbach.

Spano marshaled the vast forces with sensitive balance in many moments. But the difficulty of achieving a proper blend amidst the thick timbral texture prevented the performance from reaching transcendence.

In a failed mash-up, the Houston Symphony performed only the first movement (the three-minute “Prelude: Maestoso”) of Ives’ Fourth Symphony and continued attacca into the 80 minutes of Mahler's "Resurrection."

Alan Gilbert reaches a pinnacle at the end of his tenure at the New York Philarmonic.

A performance of John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary good enough to convert even the most conservative listener to the Church of New Music.

John Adams and Peter Sellars' biblical oratorio given a fine concert performance by the Berliner Philharmoniker under departing chief conductor, Sir Simon Rattle.

Not a single note, nor a single orchestral member, is superfluous in MTT's interpretation of Mahler's Second Symphony.

Expertly sung and conducted, this Mahler Second proved highly enjoyable and truly memorable.

Mezzo-soprano Kelly O’Connor proves herself a sensitive and dark-hued soloist, with fine support from the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus.

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra has an auspicious season-opening concert featuring Mahler's Second Symphony directed by Robert Spano.

Den Philharmonikern gelang ein gut aufeinander abgestimmtes, fein nuanciertes Zusammenspiel, mit dem sie die ganz unterschiedlich vertonte, tiefe Geistlichkeit der drei französischen Werke gekonnt herausarbeiteten.

At very short notice David Hill stepped in to conduct an all-French programme with the London Symphony Orchestra where serenity, elegance and passion were all beautifully communicated.

A blazing performance by violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja and a mildly disappointing Mozart Requiem round off New York’s annual Mostly Mozart Festival

Southbank Centre's The Rest is Noise festival came to an end with John Adams' oratorio El Niño, composed in 2000. The London Philharmonic Orchestra suited the piece well, and this was a performance to cherish.

In the 15,606 concerts given by the New York Philharmonic and its predecessors before this, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony had received nearly 200 renditions.

Have you heard the good news? The Los Angeles Philharmonic have recently formed a partnership with the Barbican, and they were strutting their impressive stuff in London last week for their first International Associate Residency. Also: Christ died for our sins and was reborn.

The sea has been the inspiration for many concert works; Debussy’s La mer springs to mind immediately as perhaps the most popular, but in England during the first half of the 20th century nautical themes sustained an important presence. Amongst Delius’ Sea Drift, Vaughan Williams’ A Sea Symphony and Britten’s Four Sea Interludes sits Frank Bridge’s short and splendid suite The Sea.

Boston Lyric Opera opened a new production of Madama Butterfly on Thursday night, with gorgeous results. From the beautifully articulated set to the connection of the singers, the production was clean and inspired. While the music and the libretto go unchanged, different productions bring out different aspects of the well-loved opera. In one, Butterfly’s lost honor may be central to the retelling.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic, under the direction of Gustavo Dudamel, brought its season to a close with a world premiere of an oratorio the orchestra commissioned from one of today’s greatest living composers. On paper the alignment of the LAPO, Dudamel, and John Adams appeared to augur well for a memorable close to a season abounding in memorable music-making.

The short life and terrifying death of Joan of Arc are the subject of Arthur Honegger’s Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher ("Joan of Arc at the Stake"), a curious masterpiece of an oratorio dating from 1938. The nearly-forgotten work received a well-deserved resurrection by Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall on Saturday night.

Opera Boston, whose mantra is “Only innovative repertory. Only original productions” has created a new production of Berlioz' Béatrice et Bénédict for Boston. Seductively charming, the production's depth and complexity become apparent with time and acquaintance – just like any worthwhile relationship.This little-seen opera is sung in French, with spoken dialogue.

If I had the use of the TARDIS for one night, I'd head for the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, May 29th 1913 – scene of the première of Stravinsky's, Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring).

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.

In spite of Mahler's disapproval, his eighth symphony is forever tagged as the "Symphony of a Thousand" because of the immense choirs which perform it.