LSO/Pappano review – Musgrave’s Phoenix rises and Vaughan Williams’ London stirs the soul

An all British programme featured music by Thea Musgrave, Vaughan Williams and William Walton, with Antoine Tamestit an expressive and sensitive soloist in the latter’s Viola concerto

Pavel Kolesnikov review – he is a virtuosic sculptor in sound

A beautifully controlled programme of Chopin, Rameau, and the latter’s long-forgotten contemporary Duphly, showcased the pianist’s unerring sense of line

Ariodante review – dysfunctional royals and designer dresses in Handel with a disjunct

There’s a top-notch cast and detailed work from all involved in Jetske Mijnssen’s production that reframes Handel’s opera as a modern family psychodrama.

Hannigan/ Chamayou review – strange and beautiful musical magic

Barbara Hannigan and Bertrand Chamayou were exhilarating in John Zorn’s monumental Jumalattaret; a beautifully intimate performance of Messiaen’s Chants de Terre et de Ciel completed the evening

Last Days review – Leith’s opera imagining the final moments of Kurt Cobain is truly disturbing

An alter ego of the Nirvana frontman is hounded by a stream of fans, friends, Jehovah’s Witnesses, deliveries and even a private investigator

La Rondine review – new version of Puccini’s opera makes aftertaste bitter rather than sweet

Carlo Rizzi and the BBC Symphony Orchestra sparkled as Ermonela Jaho as Magda and Iván Ayón-Rivas as Ruggero delivered the composer’s long-lost preferred version

HMS Pinafore review – carry on up the poop deck in ENO’s daffy Gilbert and Sullivan staging

Packed full of physical comedy and double-entendres, Cal McCrystal’s production is brought to vibrant life by a strong cast, with Mel Giedroyc an engagingly anarchic presence

Strauss: An Alpine Symphony; Four Songs Op 27 album review – nothing is overblown or indulgent

Conductor Nicholas Collon keeps the sound clean and the pace dynamic in a bracing recording, while, in the Four Songs op 27, Louise Alder is unfailingly communicative

Nash Ensemble: Ravel album review – catches the music’s dazzling light and intriguing shade

The chamber group’s all-Ravel CD is an impeccable farewell to its much-missed founder

Philharmonia/ Rouvali review – Fazil Say’s concerto sounds an urgent wakeup call

The UK premiere of the Turkish composer’s piano concerto Mother Earth was balanced with theatrical Sibelius and a sure-footed reading of Dvorak’s upbeat Eighth Symphony

Nicola Benedetti and friends review – delicious bite-sized musical snacks from a violinist still top of her game

The violinist was joined by an unconventional ensemble of cello, guitar and accordion for a relaxed evening that felt like a super-polished jam session

Lachenmann: The String Quartets review – Quatuor Diotima draw you into his strange and compelling soundworld

The instruments mutter and shriek, dissolving the line between noise and music on this authoritative and fascinating disc

Beethoven & Brahms: Violin Concertos album review – as supple and coherent as ever as the ACO celebrates 50

Under Richard Tognetti the ACO has established itself as world-class and this 50th anniversary live recording of these two great concertos are a wonderful souvenir of a remarkable group

Hania Rani: Non Fiction review – atmospheric and absorbing storytelling by Polish composer

From ghost-story minimalism to wartime memory, Rani’s two new works, premiered here, shimmer with imagination, although issues of balance diminished the piano concerto

Huddersfield Contemporary Music festival review – ghostly echoes, fearless voices and the rattle of milk frothers

World and UK premieres launched the opening concerts of this compelling gala of new sounds, mixing precise ensemble play with electronic tracks and unlikely percussion sound effects