Beethoven Schubert, and a boisterous crowd: The Juilliard String Quartet in San Francisco

A broken string near the beginning of the “Große Fuge” was emblematic of the intensity the Juilliard String Quartet gave to their performances of Beethoven and Bartók.

Mit einem herausfordernden Programm aus Klassik und Moderne erspielte sich das Juilliard String Quartet im Stadttheater Fürth tiefen Eindruck.

A world premiere by Wang Chenwei, familiar Chopin and a rare outing for Bartók’s Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta make for satisfying fare in Jahcun Wong’s Singapore Symphony programme.

Yuja Wang and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra frame Chopin’s E minor concerto with two Prokofiev works, the First Symphony and Second Piano Concerto.

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. 

Balance issues mar an otherwise compelling programme from John Storgårds and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.