Canticum and Southbank Sinfonia light up St Martin-in-the-Fields

The version of Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice sung last night at the Cadogan Hall was based on the original Italian version (1762) but included elements of a later French version. The various parts of nymphs, shepherds, Furies etc. were all sung by the ~150 strong London Concert Choir who produced a rich and well balanced sound which supported the main action very well.

Late Brahms, early Schoenberg: under Lahav Shani and the Rotterdam Philharmonic draw tenderness from two monumental scores. 

Songs and symphonies from Sir Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra, concluding with a vision of “heavenly life” from Gustav Mahler. 

Fragments by Brahms, Schoenberg and Schubert orbit Beethoven's Waldstein and Schumann's Carnaval in another masterful recital from Sir Stephen Hough.  

In Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto, Yulianna Avdeeva commands attention through sheer innate charisma, anchored in intense engagement.

Joanna MacGregor and the BPO pull off an excellent performance of Shostakovich's Tenth, alongside William Kentridge's evocative film, Oh to Believe in Another World.