Sweet Thunder Festival: San Francisco Contemporary Music Players

“Timber”, the word, conjures images of trees falling in the wilderness as lumberjacks yell out, of fragrant wood crackling in a fireplace, and of stacks of lumber waiting to be crafted into furniture by carpenters’ rough hands. Michael Gordon’s 2010 work Timber is just as evocative.

Sakari Oramo and Annsi Karttunen bring Northern lights and folklore to the Philharmonie, closing on a touch of Czech optimism with Dvořák’s Eighth Symphony.

A compelling concert at Liverpool’s Tung Auditorium offers a striking Josephine Stephenson’s UK premiere, dazzling John Adams and Steve Reich’s mesmerising Reich/Richter.

As part of the Southbank Centre's Multitudes festival, Unnatural Harmony: Sounds of Lee Alexander McQueen offers a multimedia tribute to the life and creative vision of the iconic British fashion designer. 

In an all-Russian programme in Liverpool, Alim Beisembayev gives a breathtaking performance of Prokofiev's fiendishly difficult Second Piano Concerto.