Venue: Brighton Dome, Concert Hall

Madaras and the LPO rise above the routine in Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony, with an engaging performance of the Rococo Variations from Zlatomir Fung.

Delicacy and effortlessly flowing melodies in Mendelssohn and Schubert, with dazzling extremes and showmanship in Liszt at the Brighton Festival.

Energetic playing, clarity and precision from Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques in three dramatic pieces by Monteverdi, but some weighty singing obscures the detail. 

Intelligent and arresting Dvořák, warm and confident Humperdinck from Rory Macdonald's debut with the LPO, marred only by disappointing Chopin.  

Brighton Festival hosts the UK premiere of Talk to the Demon, a work full of uncomfortable questions, powerful performances and breathtaking dancing. Choreographed on Ultima Vez by Belgian choreographer Wim Vandekeybus.

After the overture, whose two movements, fast and slow, were adequately dispatched by a suitably small orchestra, the audience mistook the arrival of an orchestral horn player as that of the soloist himself, and burst into applause, which turned to laughter as the mistake became obvious.