Performer: Sir Antonio Pappano

In a mismatched pairing of Elgar and Mahler, the London Symphony Orchestra produce immaculate instrumental sound quality, but is that enough?

At the Konzerthaus Dortmund, Sir Antonio Pappano and the LSO are joined by Russian pianist Denis Kozhukhin to plunge into the depths of despair in Bernstein’s melancholic The Age of Anxiety. 

Giving their 27th performance of the oratorio, the London Symphony Chorus excel as angelic angels and demonic demons. 

Vilde Frang joins Sir Antonio Pappano and the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican for transcendent Korngold alongside darker fare.

A revelatory orchestral performance and a cast led by Andreas Schager, Christopher Maltman and Elisabeth Strid make this a Siegfried for the record books.

Tchaikovsky and Vaughan Williams make rare bedfellows, but Pappano's grip on these disparate scores impresses, with the London Symphony Chorus and Orchestra on wondrous form. 

The King made a surprise visit to the prestigious conducting competition in London, currently being filmed for a Sky Arts series Making A Maestro, broadcast next spring. 

Buffetted from symphonies, opera and ballet to West End musicals, film scoring sessions, and maybe even Glastonbury, the life of the freelance musician can be as chaotic as it is thrilling.

The second half of this year’s Proms season heats up with visits from the Czech Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris and Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra – along with operas by Bizet and Britten.