RSNO chamber musicians play Bartók, Beethoven and Brahms

In one of Europe’s hottest capitals (that day), a sizeable Edinburgh crowd gathered in the shade of the Dovecot Studios for this season’s final RSNO chamber concert.

It was the first time I'd been fully clothed in this venue. Prior to its 2008 reinvention, Dovecot Studios was the oldest of Edinburgh's six Victorian swimming pools. Now a tapestry studio and exhibition space, it doubles as a resonant chamber music venue. The musicians occupied the shallow end, amply lit by bright Edinburgh skies through the lengthy cupola.

Viktoria Mullova is a superb soloist in Brahms' Violin Concerto, while an orchestra full of soloists play Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra with Kahchun Wong presiding. 

Kristiina Poska directs the RSNO in gripping Tchaikovsky and Pärt, but words and music only occasionally match in Elena Langer's new song cycle.

In Dublin, Jean-Luc Tingaud and Louis Lortie bring clarity and purpose to two composers often ill at ease with the orchestra.

At 92NY, the JACK Quartet performs four new works developed in their JACK Studio, including a commissioned premiere from the electrifying Tristan Perich.