Vienna’s Mecca for “Modern” Music: Pierrot Lunaire and more at the Schönberg Center

The Philharmonia, Santtu-Matias Rouvali and Benjamin Grosvenor shine in the recreation of an all-Strauss extravaganza that was conducted in 1947 by the composer himself. 

From the earthy joy of Meistersinger to the sublime textures of Debussy, Daniele Gatti channels the Dresdeners' legendary, layered warmth into an unforgettable evening of pure acoustic luxury.

Two prodigies, with a surplus of imagination and more interest in the moment than in creating long arcs of music, join the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse in Paris. 

Vladimir Jurowski and the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin deliver a lean, razor-sharp exploration of captivity and survival, balancing Beethoven’s and Brahms’ structural clarity against the devastating, high-fidelity distortion of Henze’s Ninth Symphony.

Solomon Rosowsky, Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky form a matinee programme whose deeper connections gradually came into focus. 

French clarinettist Raphaël Sévère unearths beauty in Nielsen’s concerto and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta impress in two settings of Pan’s antics at the French May Festival.