Salle: Sheffield City Hall: Oval Hall

Dazzling young German pianist Julius Asal and stand-in conductor Duncan Ward breathe new life into the familiar in repertoire by Grieg and Sibelius.

That a Turkish orchestra excels in Turkish music is no surprise... but in mainstream Western repertoire too? BIPO and Carlo Tenan charm Sheffield with their fresh take on the classics. 

An evening of Vaughan Williams’ greatest hits? There’s always an appetite for that, as Andrew Manze and the Hallé prove at Sheffield City Hall. 

Though a perfect concert is hard to define, you know when you’ve attended one – and Beethoven and Shostakovich from the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra provide the proof.

A rare outing for Lili Boulanger’s Du fond de l'abîme is the high point of Delyana Lazarova’s concert with the Hallé in Sheffield, with fine performances of Debussy and Saint-Saëns running it close.

Tamsin Waley-Cohen’s Chausson is the high point of the China Shenzhen’s performance, alongside a whole symphony, but only half a concerto.

The theatrical flair of flamboyant conductor Maxime Pascal and rock-steady Beethoven playing from brilliant young pianist Tom Borrow illuminate the Hallé’s concert in Sheffield. 

Charismatic saxophonist Jess Gillam pulls in the crowds, but the CBSO proves it has ‘pizzazz’ of its own under flamboyant conductor Eduardo Strausser.