Jonathan Kuo: Java Dreams album review – young pianist brings unflashy exuberance to complex works
The Indonesian musician impresses in his debut solo recording of Godowsky’s Java Suite and Stravinsky’s piano arrangement of Petrushka
Brahms’ Last Concert review – OAE and Emelyanychev take audience back to 1897
This recreation of the final concert that the composer attended – only weeks before his death aged 63 – featured his fourth symphony, Dvorak’s Cello Concerto and Haydn’s symphony no 73.
Anna Netrebko review – high camp and bel canto brilliance as star soprano shows she’s still the real deal
In this London recital the Russian singer moved from Rachmaninov to Mozart and Strauss to Charpentier, showcasing in all her voice’s full range of plush, dark beauty and endless legato
Orchestral Works of Mel Bonis album review – full justice is done to her finely crafted and sensuous music
The French composer – a contemporary of Debussy’s – wrote slender but perfectly-formed pieces of beguiling beauty
Turandot review – Opera Holland Park celebrate 30 years with Puccini’s grand guignol
A concert performance in an orchestral reduction of Puccini’s colossal final opera was stylishly led by conductor Naomi Woo with José de Eça’s Calaf heading a strong cast
Monochromatic Light (Afterlife) review – Tyshawn Sorey’s meditations yield their mysteries slowly
The Pulitzer-winner’s sprawling amalgam of Morton Feldman and African American spiritual felt meandering, but the GBSR duo, the BBC Singers and Ruth Gibson’s viola were luminous and charismatic
Giulio Cesare review – nightmarish take on Handel has snakes, sadism and a mummy
David Alden’s blackly comic Kafkaesque production has a strong cast whose lively performances were not always matched by the Early Opera Company in the pit
Aldeburgh festival roundup – Tansy Davies and Freya Waley-Cohen premieres, plus blistering Shostakovich
The second weekend boasted brand new music by Davies and Waley-Cohen, the premiere of Alex Ho and Rockey Sun Keting’s Chronicle, and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales with Kevin Edusei on exhilarating form
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland review – Lewis Carroll’s familiar characters move in from the garden
Alice gets a musical-theatre belter, the ‘Drink Me’ Bottle performs soprano acrobatics and the Caterpillar smokes his hookah like Audrey Hepburn
Das Rheingold review – a sure-footed feast as Alberich descends into madness
With its aquatic opening, magic tricks and grand procession across a rainbow bridge, Charlie Edwards’s production manages to remain clear-sighted despite modest budgets
Il Ritorno d’Ulisse review – a sensuous slice of opulence and luxury
Director John Caird and conductor Laurence Cummings bring Monteverdi back to the Chiltern Hills with polished, festive inclusivity
Elgar and Dvořák: Cello Concertos album review – Gerhardt’s readings are forthright, refreshing and thoughtful
Alban Gerhardt eschews the romantic, heart-on-sleeve interpretations of these famous concertos, and finds nobility and poetry even in the most turbulent music
Brahms: Violin Sonatas album review – Ehnes and Armstrong’s performances exude an effortless rightness
The Canadian violinist and American pianist – musical partners for over three decades – bring assurance and grace to these three violin sonatas written by Brahms in his creative prime.
L’Orfeo review – Kentridge’s exhilarating creativity animates compelling Monteverdi
A visual whirlwind accompanies charismatic and stylish performances in William Kentridge’s new staging. In the pit, Jonathan Cohen and the OAE add light and shade
BBCSSO / Wigglesworth / Osborne review – jazz energy meets its match in French insouciance
Ryan Wigglesworth’s piano concerto, veering between tense, creepy and off-kilter, brought out the best in soloist Steven Osborne