Performer: Barnabás Kelemen

Barnabás Kelemen gave a strong performance of Shostakovich to last a dark polar night in Turku. 

Playing repeatedly in my mind as I walked home on 24 July was the spine-chilling orchestral performance of the "Dance of the Knights" from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet in the Franz Liszt Academy’s superb Solti Hall.

Soloist Barnabas Kelemen impresses in Szymanowski's Violin Concerto no. 2, while conductor Alexander Shelley impresses with a chirpy Classical Symphony and a brooding Walton First Symphony.

When is a quartet not a quartet? Answer: when the cellist breaks her wrist while surfing. Barnabas Kelemen and Katarina Kokas give a duo recital in place of Kelemen String Quartet at the City Recital Hall, Sydney.

Southbank Centre's The Rest is Noise festival continued its focus on politics and spirituality with Henryck Górecki's popular Third Symphony, coupled with Krzysztof Penderecki's lesser-known Violin Concerto – but it was the latter work which fared better.

The Budapest Festival Orchestra has played in Edinburgh before to great critical acclaim. Consequently, it was only to be expected that their concert last Sunday would be well attended, despite a late change of soloist. In fact, it was a virtual sell-out and we were not disappointed.