Artiste: Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

Frank Dupree’s debut with the RLPO celebrates the 250th anniversary of the USA, with Liverpool audiences treated to sumptuous Copland and barn-storming performances of Gershwin and Duke Ellington.

Domingo Hindoyan nears his five-year anniversary at the RLPO with Mahler's Ninth Symphony. 

In an all-Russian programme in Liverpool, Alim Beisembayev gives a breathtaking performance of Prokofiev's fiendishly difficult Second Piano Concerto.

The Reims summer music festival returns this June, and includes appearances from the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Nikolai Lugansky, Julia Fischer, Ben Grosvenor and the Percussions de Strasbourg.

At the next general election, the former cellist in the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra could become UK Culture Secretary. She tells us about how her musical career has helped her in politics and her desire to rebuild music education.