L’heure espagnole/The Bear review – Scottish opera pairs Ravel with Walton in pacy pantomimic staging
Jacopo Spirei’s double-bill of Ravel’s L’heure espagnole and Walton’s The Bear is huge fun, with baritone Daniel Barrett particularly impressive
Nielsen: Clarinet Concerto; Helios; Symphony No 5 album review – suavity and elegance from Gardner’s Bergen Phil
The teeming textures of Nielsen’s 5th symphony are controlled with care and refinement by Edward Gardner, with the Bergen Philharmonic – and soloist Alessandro Carbonare – outstanding
Mozart: Six String Quintets album review – deep understanding of these under-appreciated works
Spunicunifait (their name taken from a nonsense word used by Mozart) perform these six quintets with flexibility and easy athleticism
BBCSO/Adès review – Adès held the orchestra as if under a spell
A Proms programme of the UK premiere of Gabriella Smith’s Breathing Forests, Sibelius, and Adès’s own music (Five Spells from The Tempest) was atmospheric and engaging
Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District review – semi-staged Shostakovich is vivid and claustrophobic
With Nicky Spence and Amanda Majeski the striking leads, the nastiness in Shostakovich’s ‘tragic satire’ was disturbing and powerful in an impressive Proms performance
Norwegian Chamber Orch/ Kuusisto/Barruk review – Proms first as Ume Sámi songs take centre stage
Pekka Kuusisto and his world-class NCO brought a programme blending classical, folk and pop with Sámi vocalist Katarina Barruk, in this thoughtful Prom
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra/ Martín review – soloist and players gather strength after protesters disrupt Prom
A rattled Khatia Buniatishvili delayed her driven rendition of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No 1 to the second half of a Prom overshadowed by Palestine protests, yet the orchestra found buoyancy in Dvořák to lift the mood
Lindberg & Aho: Clarinet Concertos album review – Julian Bliss’s performances are immaculate
With Taavi Oramo (also a clarinettist) conducting the BBC Scottish Symphony, Bliss is virtuosic in these two technically demanding but approachable concertos
Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1 album review – Mahan Esfahani’s reading is lucid and illuminating
The harpsichordist describes Bach’s Preludes and Fugues as a ‘challenge and a homecoming’. His thoughtful new recording has a sense of the work’s drama but is never wilful nor perverse
Leipzig Gewandhaus/ Nelsons review – poignancy, poetry and powerful Sibelius in wide-ranging Prom
The venerable orchestra – among the world’s oldest – brought Pärt, Sibelius and Dvořák to the Proms. Isabelle Faust’s sensitive reading of the latter’s Violin Concerto was sleek and organic; the Sibelius well-paced and weighty
Royal Concertgebouw / Mäkelä review – Proms showcase legendary orchestra and its star signing
The masterly Amsterdam ensemble were at the Proms for two concerts with their Chief Conductor Designate Klaus Mäkelä. In works by Berio, Mahler, Mozart, Prokofiev and Bartók there was dazzling playing and immaculate attention to detail
Danish National Symphony Orchestra review – punchy Prom reaches a triumphant conclusion
There was plenty to admire as a fine lineup of soloists stirred the emotions on a night that paired Beethoven’s Ninth with Anna Clyne’s subtle meditation on time
Terry Riley: The Columbia Recordings album review – early masterworks from a founding father of minimalism
Nothing can surpass the originality of 1968’s In C, repackaged here with three other discs to mark the composer’s 90th birthday
Tchaikovsky: The Seasons album review – exemplary playing but Yunchan Lim’s take is strangely sombre
(Decca)The young Korean gives these 12 miniatures more gravitas than most pianists
Breaking Bach review – breakdancing thrillingly animates 300-year-old music
In an exhilarating performance choreographer Kim Brandstrup collaborates with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment to make Bach feel new