Instrument: Drums

An eclectic programme including evocative Sámi joiks from and powerful Shostakovich performed from memory by the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin invites the Marcus Roberts Trio in place of a traditional soloist, and the group brings a freewheeling, improvisatory touch to Gershwin's masterpiece. 

This all-Duke programme punctuates choreography with comedy, which in turn merges with pathos. 

Two stimulating world premieres from Dwight Rhoden and Jenn Freeman, plus outstanding dancing, as always, from the powerful dancers of Complexions Contemporary Ballet at the Joyce Theater. 

In a former ballroom in the up-and-coming Neukölln district, the orchestra’s chamber ensemble presented an eccentric programme of music by oddballs and outcasts.

Part of a festival exploring technological innovations moving “beyond” the piano, Aufgang and Brandt Brauer Frick presented an evening of music in Paris that didn’t reinvent the instrument in quite the expected way.

The centrepiece of Nonclassical’s “Pioneers of Percussion” festival was a rousing marathon of a concert at Scala, a large (mostly) rock venue near King’s Cross. It was a rich, varied, high-energy, happily chaotic affair that lasted into the wee hours of the morning.