In Auckland, Piers Lane finds diversity of mood in Chopin's Nocturnes

An afternoon programme by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra featuring Beethoven's Triple Concerto and Brahms' Third and shorter pieces by Schreker and Harry Sdraulig offers pleasant but somewhat underwhelming impressions.

Little had planned to quit in August, but Covid-19 threw all her concert plans into disarray, but last night took a significant step towards the exit, bidding farewell to London’s Southbank Centre.

The Seattle Chamber Music Society presented an ambitious program with a distinguished ensemble of performers.

What an auspicious first outing for Andrew Manze with the LPO, concluding with a definitive account of Walton's First Symphony. 

The intimacy of Schubert’s Lieder almost guarantees that no words can be missed. In comparison to say, a 100-strong choir competing with a full orchestra, the poetic element of Lieder is unmissable, and thus it occupies a larger part of the concertgoer’s attention. Schubert of course recognised this, and selected his wordsmiths carefully.

At first sight, last night’s London Philharmonic Orchestra concert at the Royal Festival Hall was a typical piece of programming: a well known, relatively undemanding opener, a big symphony to close, and a première of a newly written work sandwiched carefully in between.