Instrument: Trombone

Rarely has so distinguished a group been assembled to give this work live; it would have shone as a highlight even in a normal year of visiting foreign ensembles and performers.

JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic's string players present intense Shostakovich and luminous Arensky in memorable performances.

The performers in Part 1 of aus LICHT at the Holland Festival are amazing, but the production doesn’t rev up until the Archangel Michael goes on his dizzying world tour.

The evening left you in no doubt that in Donnerstag aus Licht is more approachable than many would imagine, as well as being a major creative achievement that is crying out to be explored by opera houses.

John Casken's intriguing new work for trombone and orchestra presents a musical interpretation of a Michelangelo drawing, along with superb Mozart and powerful Prokofiev. 

Higgins never forgets that the concerto form has a playful element

Some 15 minutes long, in a slow-fast-slow form, Le Tombeau de Napoléon wraps a taxing solo part for tenor trombone in a dramatically compelling and sonically thrilling orchestral canvas.