BBCSO/Kahchun Wong review – hints of musical adventure to come
The Singaporean conductor, soon to head the Hallé, chose a Shostakovich symphony for his London debut, along with two Japanese pieces forming a timely tribute to the late Seiji Ozawa
Bevan/BBCSO/Wigglesworth review – intensely personal and panoramic Magnificat from husband and wife team
Conducting his own setting, dedicated to wife and soloist Sophie Bevan, Ryan Wigglesworth captured the scale and scope of a text that spans ‘the history and future of humanity’. Bevan was also glorious in a tantalising fragment of Monteverdi
BBCSO/Oramo review – the freshness Oramo brought to Sibelius was a joyous revelation
Sakari Oramo presented the Finnish composer’s enigmatic Sixth symphony and the majestic Seventh as a single span in a concert that also included the UK premiere of Tebogo Monnakgotla’s Globe Skimmer Surfing the Somali Jet with violinist Johan Dalene
Berg: Wozzeck; Stravinsky: Capriccio album review – commemorating an ardent champion of European music
Recordings from the 40s, made available for the first time, feature postwar stars Heinrich Nillius and Suzanne Danco, their voices techincally impressive to this day
Bacewicz: Symphonies 3 & 4 album review – Oramo is a passionate advocate
Sakari Oramo and the BBCSO revel in the expert orchestrations of Grażyna Bacewicz’s music in this first instalment of recordings of the Polish composer’s orchestral works
BBCSO/Oramo review – a fresh take on Mahler’s Fifth
Sakari Oramo proved once again what a special Mahlerian he is with this outstanding performance, in a programme that also featured an early Ligeti work and the UK premiere of an underwhelming orchestral piece by Dora Pejačević
The week in classical: Prom 64: Les Troyens; Prom 65: Bruckner’s Eighth Symphony; Proms 62 & 63: The Rite by Heart– review
With a stand-in conductor and a stellar cast, Berlioz’s monumental opera came into its own at the Proms; the BBC Symphony Orchestra let Bruckner’s colours unfurl; and Aurora’s Stravinsky played from memory proved unforgettable
Prom 51: BBCSO/Oramo review – Tetzlaff’s Elgar is as good as one could wish
The violinist gave a masterly performance of Elgar’s violin concerto, well matched by a responsive Sakari Oramo. Judith Weir’s nature-filled Begin Afresh, receiving its premiere, was evocative and full of ideas
Proms 45 & 46: BBCSO/Oramo; Manchester Collective review – Mahler with martial zeal and shimmering electronic works
Mahler’s Third Symphony is a huge undertaking, impressively played by the BBCSO, followed by a rare late-night excursion into contemporary works
Prom 27: Yuja Wang / BBCSO/Mäkelä review – whoops, thrills and a virtuoso masterclass
The star pianist’s control of Rachmaninov left the audience exclaiming ‘How cool is she?’ – while partner Klaus Mäkelä and BBCSO kept up the excitement with a rattling Belshazzar’s Feast
Prom 1: BBCSO/Stasevska review – energy, ovations and defiance open season
A programme ranging from Sibelius, Grieg and Britten to a world premiere by Ukrainian Bohdana Frolyak opened the Proms with conductor Dalia Stasevska engaged and outgoing.
Everest review – opera strains to scale mountain tragedy
A concert staging of Joby Talbot’s opera by the BBC Symphony, complete with singers climbing blocks on stage, finds greatest drama in the terrible facts of the disaster it portrays
The week in classical: 74th Aldeburgh Festival; Werther – review
From thundering Thorvaldsdóttir to late-night Bach, it’s a standout year for Britten’s music festival, while at the ROH Jonas Kaufmann made a subdued Werther
Brahms By Arrangement Vol Two: Orchestrations by Robin Holloway review – dialogue with the past brings present benefits
The English composer pays reverent and inventive homage to music by the German grandee with the help of the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Paul Mann
BBCSO/Brabbins review – last-minute change adds drama to Beowulf premiere
With Charles Styles stepping in to sing the lead at short notice, the BBCSO’s world premiere of Iain Bell’s Wagnerian cantata had an extra edge