Onyx Brass: Tour de Brass reaches Durham

I must admit that Bach through Brass, as this concert was entitled, filled me with a certain amount of trepidation. Bach, on instruments for which the music in the programme was not designed, on instruments which were not even around in Bach’s time (at least not in their modern-day form), did not sound immediately appealing; nevertheless, something drew me in, and I was pleasantly surprised.

A concert celebrating the 250th anniversary of the USA saw Liverpool audiences treated to a sumptuous Copland as well as a symphony  as well as a barn-storming performance of Gershwin and Duke Ellington, performed by Frank Dupree who was making his debut with the RLPO. 

Two technical mishaps punctuate the evening, but Hilary Hahn maintains poise throughout a French programme crowned by a finely judged, deeply expressive performance of Fauré. 

Few violin concertos soar from the first bar as Erich Korngold’s does, especially as in Ray Chen's high-wire account at the Royal Albert Hall. 

With Petr Popelka on the podium, the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra brings a native feel and colorful exuberance to a cultural icon.