Venue: Birmingham Town Hall & Symphony Hall

A concert of French music reveals – and suffers from – contrasting styles, attitudes and coherence in works by Ravel and Poulenc. 

Kazuki Yamada and the CBSO give a poignant, haunting performance of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony, foreshadowed by Takemitsu’s miniature Requiem. 

Two very different natural worlds are connected in a compelling performance of Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony and Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, featuring Karen Cargill and Brenden Gunnell.

Kazuki Yamada and the CBSO and Chorus weave Baroque and Romantic allusions into Haydn’s Classical masterpiece, in a superb, at times operatic, performance at Symphony Hall.

Kirill Karabits leads the CBSO in an evening exploring Romeo and Juliet that shies away from real tragedy in favour of having fun. 

The CBSO gives a vivid account of Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony, its structural and emotional convolution laid bare, and an athletic account of Mozart’s Piano Concerto no. 26 featuring Martin Helmchen. 

Kazuki Yamada and the CBSO give an aimless, flabby account of Elgar’s Violin Concerto, but a rambunctious reading of Walton is filled with delirious joy. 

Anna Rakitina takes a strikingly Classical approach to classics of Romantic repertoire, yielding significant details and wonders.