Venue: City Recital Hall, Sydney

A most appealing Romantic programme by the French pianist at Sydney's City Recital Hall, played with accurate finesse in search of emotional highlights. 

A heartfelt performance from American countertenor with the Bach Akademie Australia with contrasting spiritual works by Bach and Vivaldi. 

Awe-inspiring performances of much loved classics in Sydney, yet the musical eyebrows have reasons to go (and stay) up. 

Handel's Giulio Cesare is heavily abridged in Sydney, but generally well-performed musically, albeit with a rather awkward staging by Neil Armfield. 

Japanese soprano Yukie Sato joins the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra for a concert of Handel arias and orchestral works by Vivaldi and Pisandel, with a significant contribution from concertmaster Shawn Lee-Chen. 

Mahler's epic five-movement symphonic song cycle is performed by a chamber ensemble with mixed results.

Kristian Bezuidenhout joins the ACO for a piecemeal programme leading to a complete performance of Beethoven's Emperor Concerto. 

Although abbreviated, Pinchgut Opera's production of Handel's Rinaldo makes a powerful dramatic impact and exemplifies high musical values, with excellent orchestral playing and consistently fine singing.