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The 2020–21 season at the New National Theatre Tokyo has something for all tastes, including new productions and a world premiere. 

In the Beethoven 250 anniversary year, Austrian legend Rudolf Buchbinder takes the cycle of five piano concertos to many cities and orchestras. Here, he explains why Beethoven is the centre of his musical thinking. 

We spoke to pianist and composer Nicolas Namoradze about what happened after his victory at the 2018 Honens International Piano Competition.

As the Belcea Quartet launches its complete cycles of Beethoven's string quartets in Paris, London and Berlin, viola player Krzysztof Chorzelski reflects on the challenges in revisiting these great scores. 

In December 1808, Ludwig van Beethoven staged an ambitious fundraising concert at the Theater an der Wien: four hours in length and containing four premieres! 

Is classical music getting more flexible? We take our usual January dive into last year's database, revealing plenty of continuity (spoiler: the winner is Beethoven) as well as some promising trends.

The highs – and lows – of 2019 in the world of opera, dance and classical music as reported on Bachtrack.

Grand tableaux, intimate moments, the surreal, the hilarious and the mythical: opera photographers in 2019 have done a fabulous job of capturing the best of opera in still images.

We spoke to the Japanese cellist about his success in Munich and his future plans.

We spoke to the young cellist who just won the latest edition of the OSM Competition about his successful experience in Montréal.

After last summer's successful launch, the festival again boasts four star orchestras for its second edition, with appearances by the Israel and St Petersburg Philharmonics, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Philharmonia. 

Headed by Sylvie Brély, the Centre for romantic pianos is staging a series of concerts on early instruments. We meet Edoardo Torbianelli, one of the performers.

We spoke to Paavo Järvi, Chief Conductor of the NHK Symphony, ahead of their 2020 European tour.

We spoke to countertenor Max Emanuel Cenčić ahead of his performance of Handel’s opera Orlando at the Barokkfest Trondheim.

We travel to Japan to discover more about its rich cultural offerings, from old traditions to new festivals and surprising artists.

We spoke to Japanese pianist Ryoma Takagi on how he found a second home in Bergen, Norway, and what came after his win.

Nemanja Radulović and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra conducted by Santtu-Matias Rouvali impress with works by Soviet-Armenian composer Aram Ilyich Khachaturian.

Ahead of a programme celebrating the Philharmonia's "horn sound", former principal Richard Watkins talks about the orchestra's debt to Dennis Brain, Britten's Serenade and a new concerto composed for him by Mark-Anthony Turnage. 

The Canadian bass-baritone marks his 30th anniversary at The Royal Opera with not just one new role, but seven, in a new production of Britten's Death in Venice.

Jordi Savall brings his musical family home to Barcelona with a complete performance over two nights of Bach's Christmas Oratorio in the glittering setting of the Palau de la Música Catalana

Wagner in Singapore: we find out more from the conductor of the Orchestra of the Music Makers, who are set to perform Die Walküre for the first time in January 2020.

Since winning the Silver Medal at the 14th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Beatrice Rana has exceeded expectations through her consistently soulful, honest performances and probing musical intelligence. 

We spoke to the Chief Conductor of Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal about their upcoming US tour, giving back, Bruckner and more.

Our columnist looks back on his experience as a juror in international competitions alongside some of the greatest pianists of his time.

We spoke to Nicholas Kitchen, first violinist of the Borromeo String Quartet, about what he found hidden in Beethoven's scores.

In 2009 a series of startling revelations came to light, shaking the Palau de la Música to its core. Ten years on, this unique case is coming to a conclusion.

The Israeli conductor and Music Director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra explains how the Bamberg Symphony's Mahler Competition provided a launchpad for his career.

We spoke to bass-baritone James Rutherford about his upcoming role as Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at Wagner Days in Budapest.

We spoke to the newly appointed interim Secretary General of the the World Federation of International Music Competitions (WFIMC) about his best tips for competitors and organisers alike.

Are there still discoveries to be made about Offenbach? More than you might think. The mastermind of the Offenbach Edition Keck tells us how things are, 200 years after the composer's birth.

Weimar-era Germany was fertile ground for radical artists like Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht, but their mutual obsession with control proved too toxic for such a fragile partnership to last.

To celebrate the centenary of Sir Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto we have asked some acclaimed cellists to share with us some of their personal memories connected to this masterpiece.

Musical theatre expert and writer Kurt Gänzl has selected ten operettas and musicals from different periods and countries so you can get an idea of how vast the genre has been.

There is plenty to look forward to in Japan thanks to the very rich orchestral scene in the capital and beyond.

We explored the cultural significance and enduring popularity of Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra and we asked András Keller, music director of Concerto Budapest, about it.

Daniel Froschauer, Chairman of the Wiener Philharmoniker, talks about the close bond between the orchestra and Suntory Hall.

Jason Cady, artistic director of Experiments in Opera and opera composer writes about all the exciting paths opera is taking nowadays.

“It’s just like learning to say Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch!!” The Welsh bass-baritone reflects on learning the patter for his latest role, Donizetti's Don Pasquale. 

We spoke to Daniel Bianco, set designer and Artistic Director at the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid about his goals and where he wants to take the genre of zarzuela.

German conductor Markus Stenz talks Kurt Weill, Bertold Brecht and the potency of their final collaboration in today’s political climate.

The GSO and Barbara Hannigan charm the audience with a fresh programme delivered with passion.

In conversation with David Mason, a pioneer of digital organs in the church and at home.

The Director of The Royal Ballet talks about the challenges of season planning, keeping everybody happy and two big new creations by Cathy Marston and Wayne McGregor. 

We talk to the director about the sparkling world of operetta and how exhausting yet rewarding it is to bring this genre to the stage.

Kevin Clarke takes us by the hand to explore the fascinating world of operetta, how it was really performed on its glorious days and how time and politics have changed it.

We spoke to James Conway, director of English Touring Opera's first Kurt Weill production, Der Silbersee.

The orchestra's new Chief Conductor talks about identity, Czechness, Tchaikovsky, Mahler, new music and why musicians must emulate the tiki-taka football of Barcelona.

Vibrato, chords of paradise, Casals playing Bach: find out a violist's musical universe with Hank Dutt, member of the Kronos Quartet.

Principal viola of the Berliner Philharmoniker, former member of the Jerusalem Quartet, Amihai Grosz shares his singular vision of orchestral and chamber music, his soon-to-be-released recording... and his favourite viola joke.

To celebrate Viola Month here at Bachtrack, editors Mark and Elisabeth have selected their favourite concertos and sonatas featuring the instrument.