Performer: Gürzenich Orchestra

Cologne reopens its opera house after a 14-year refurbishment, but their new Rosenkavalier sells the performers and the occasion short.

The Flying Dutchman – or Le Vaisseau fantôme as it is known in French – makes a fleeting appearance at the Grand Théâtre de Provence in a rousing concert performance conducted by the dapper François-Xavier Roth. 

Schumann's Third returns to its spiritual home as François-Xavier Roth conducts the Gürzenich Orchestra in a fine Rhenish. 

An exciting, though brief, world premiere and Schubert’s turbulent Fourth Symphony were given impressive readings by the Gürzenich Orchestra under Michael Sanderling, with Raphaela Gromes sensitive and passionate in Schumann.

The players gathered at the bar for a Scotch as the credits rolled. After three hours and twenty minutes of note-taking, I decided to follow suit.

In Cologne, Stravinsky's neoclassicism comes up against the echt-romanticism of Schreker and Korngold, ending in a draw.

Rising in a distinctive terracotta above the medieval city of Bruges, the Concertgebouw presents a hugely multifaceted programme – and is driving new initiatives for decarbonisation and sustainability.

Ahead of Gürzenich Orchestra's live stream on 3rd October, we caught up with Chief Conductor François-Xavier Roth.