A brilliant chamber music soirée: Isabelle Faust in trios at the Tonhalle

Energetic commitment from the ACO at the Barbican, with precision and edge from Alexander Melnikov and Jeroen Berwaerts in an evening of darkness and light.

Ponomarchuk and the LPO raise the spirits in Felix Mendelssohn's Scottish Symphony after an underwhelming first half at the Brighton Dome. 

Russian pianist Alexander Melnikov is joined on stage at the Philharmonie by Alexander Rudin, Nadezhda Pavlova and Olga Pashchenko to give the audience a taste of Rachmaninov's chamber repertoire. 

Three concertos and a symphony made for an unusual but generous programme, but Les Siècles illustrate that versatility can come with mixed blessings. 

Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra fills the Royal Albert Hall, while Schumann’s piano concerto is followed by MacMillan’s masterpiece The Confession of Isobel Gowdie. 

Alexander Melnikov and Andreas Staier's sensitive and insightful performances, combined with the fortepiano's freshness and added edge, make for a special evening of Schubert.