Work: Die Moritat von Mackie Messer (The Ballad of Mack the Knife)

Baritone Benjamin Appl and accordionist Martynas Levickis tour Europe and the USA in songs and solos demonstrating both the richness and simplicity of 19th- and 20th-century music. 

At their recital at the Bergen International Festival, Bryn Terfel and pianist Caradog Williams presented a programme of overwhelming sameness and neverending joviality.

The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra really has the perfect Wagner sound. Their full, vibrant string tone and magnificent pealing brass were fully in evidence in a thrilling rendition of the concert version of the overture from Tannhäuser. Few moments in music are as exciting as the build-up to the Big Tune in this piece, and the orchestra’s performance here was barnstorming yet perfectly accurate.