Shibe/BBCPhil/Bihlmaier review – vivid, vibrant and exuberant virtuosity
Mark Simpson’s vibrant new work for Sean Shibe was the centrepiece of a polychromatic Prom that began with Strauss and ended with a vividly told Symphonie Fantastique
Lucia di Lammermoor review – Jennifer France is a delight in touching and convincing Donizetti staging
The unforced warmth of France’s heroine wins the audience’s sympathy from the outset in Cecilia Stinton’s thoughtful new staging of the bel canto bloodbath
First night of the Proms review – Batiashvili’s magnificent Sibelius opens the festival
An oddly disparate programme, including an Errollyn Wallen world premiere and a Vaughan Williams rarity, didn’t quite cohere in this opening concert, but all was outstandingly played
Chloe Chua: Mozart Violin Concertos album review – teenage prodigy’s interpretations are balanced and mature
The Singaporean violinist plays Mozart with a clean focused tone, an elegant turn of phrase and a quiet wit.
Julieth Lozano Rolong – Alma: Ibero-American Songs album review – Colombian soprano’s captivating debut
Supported beautifully by pianist João Araújo, and with songs by composers from seven countries, this recording offers a wealth of colour from a hugely promising performer
Salome review – a frankly astonishing concert performance
Asmik Grigorian heads one of the finest casts you could hope to hear, and every flicker of detail and colour in Strauss’s score hits home, as Antonio Pappano’s first season with the LSO climaxes in remarkable style
Recital for a World Gone to Sh*t review – full-throttle fury meets beautiful, blistering verse
Bridgerton star Adjoa Andoh’s outstanding delivery of poetry from the 2018 anthology was interspersed with excellent, yet slightly overshadowed performances from baritone James Newby and pianist Joseph Middleton
Schubert: Piano Sonata in A major, D959; Moments Musicaux album review – grandeur and grace from Steven Osborne
His grasp of Schubert’s scale and ebullience means this is among the finest recordings of one of the composer’s final sonatas
Steve Reich: Jacob’s Ladder; Traveler’s Prayer album review – at nearly 90, he’s as energetic as ever
The consistent harmonics of Traveler’s Prayer are an unfamiliar side to the US composer’s output while the exuberant Jacob’s Ladder brings back his familiar propulsive figures
Cover Her / Scenes from Under Milk Wood reviews – music for an unsettlingly vivid torture scene
New works at Spitalfields music festival by Litha Efthymiou and Ninfea Cruttwell-Reade brought a 3rd-century teenage martyr and the chattering rhythms of Dylan Thomas’s poetry vividly to life
Le Nozze di Figaro review – astute period staging of Mozart’s masterpiece is as poignant as it is funny
Glyndebourne, SussexMariame Clément allows the story of the predatory Count to resonate across the centuries in this exhilaratingly well performed and eye-catching production
Adès, Leith, Marsey: Orchestral Works album review – an impressive collection marks a productive association
This brings together new works of his own and by composers he admires that Thomas Adès has conducted at Bridgewater Hall during his residency with the Hallé
Shostakovich: Preludes & Fugues Op 87 album review – Avdeeva brings a light touch in an accomplished performance
It’s fascinating to compare this nuanced set with the performance by the Soviet pianist who inspired Shostakovich in 1950
Pelléas et Mélisande review – Longborough’s staging is accomplished and atmospheric
Anthony Negus is attentive to the subtleties of Debussy’s translucent score, and, matched by Jenny Ogilvie’s darkly mysterious production, this makes for one of the most successful shows Longborough festival has ever mounted
Les Indes Galantes review – popping, leaps and whoops in immersive and spellbinding Rameau
Director Bintou Dembélé infuses this potentially problematic colonial tale with an irresistible blend of pop culture and inclusivity for an imaginative first staging in the UK