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Sinfonia of London/ Wilson/ Kantorow review – pushing the limits of the well-oiled orchestral machine

Conductor John Wilson and players delivered an Enigma Variations that veered between whispers and full-throttle intensity. Soloist Alexandre Kantorow, too, proved a master of extremes with Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No 3

BBC Symphony Orchestra/ Oramo/ Son review – rainy days, rolling hills and enchanted creatures

Judith Weir’s salute to the Indian monsoon kicked off a concert on nature and folk themes, Korean pianist Yeol Eum Son brought poetic flourishes to works by Bartók and Finzi, while the magical Firebird made a rousing finale

BBCNOW/Djupsjöbacka review – Tower’s Love Returns is an uncommonly appealing piece

Joan Tower’s concerto for alto saxophone was brilliantly delivered by Steven Banks, part of a lively concert

Hallé/Chauhan/Helseth review – Muhly paints doom with Helseth’s gleaming trumpet

Bridgewater Hall, Manchester Receiving its UK premiere in a programme with Britten and Walton, Nico Muhly’s trumpet concerto is inspired by the instrument’s biblical – sometimes apocalyptic – associations

Elisabeth Leonskaja review – piano legend’s unerring sense of architecture reveals connections and kinships

In her recital programme of Beethoven, Schoenberg, Chopin, Webern and Schubert, the Austrian pianist brought new insights and expected delights

Diagonale des Yeux: Madeleine review – wacky multilingual outsider pop with winning quieter moments

Music boxes, miaows and strange melodies pepper the whimsical and charmingly lo-fi post-punk of Laurène Exposito and Théo Delaunay

James Blake: Trying Times review – platitudes about politics and Kanye can’t detract from an excellent album

Amid the stylistic shifts of Blake’s seventh record come samples of Dusty Springfield and Dizzee Rascal: gripping distractions from some preachy sentiments

Joseph Nolan: The Complete Alkan Organ Works, Vol 1 album review – seething with quasi-orchestral colour

From operatic frenzy in one moment to pianissimo whisper the next, Nolan does exhilarating justice to an extraordinary but little known repertoire

Nemanja Radulović: Prokofiev album review – thrills and spills from a fearless violin virtuoso

Radulović brings irresistible swagger to selections from Romeo and Juliet and Cinderella, while a more restrained duet fosters a fine sense of dialogue

Philharmonia/Alsop/Weilerstein review – tricky acoustic mutes the sonic drama

Weilerstein gave a virtuosic account of Gabriela Ortiz’s Grammy-winning Cello Concerto in a concert hall whose dry acoustic made things challenging at times

The Black Crowes: A Pound of Feathers review – pathos and profanity elevate peerless rock’n’roll pastiche

​With Keef-style riffs and full-blooded commitment to the bit, resurgent brothers Chris and Rich Robinson​ resurrect​ the rocker lifestyle of eras past

Monteverdi Choir/English Baroque Soloists/Whelan review – St John Passion of drama and authority

Peter Whelan conducted a performance of Bach’s oratorio that was full of driving cinematic excitement and touching humanity

Golden Plains 2026 review – Basement Jaxx turn a regional farm into a surreal and heaving club

With standout sets from Cut Copy, Marlon Williams and Water From Your Eyes, the cult favourite Victorian music festival has become the hottest ticket in town

Echo and the Bunnymen review – Ian McCulloch leaves it to the crowd to sing these timelessly great songs

The frontman struggled to get through most of the band’s choruses but that left space for Will Sergeant’s glorious psychedelic shapes and a supportive sing along

Harry Styles review – Netflix concert is a communal love-in with some big pop moments

Recorded for the streaming giant, this performance wrestles songs from the star’s new album into more interesting shapes

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  • Ibeyi: Offering review – French twin sisters master the balance between mysticism and edge
  • Joe Lovano: Paramount Quartet review – inspired sax maestro bounces from bebop to fertile improv
  • Elgar and Dvořák: Cello Concertos album review – Gerhardt’s readings are forthright, refreshing and thoughtful
  • Brahms: Violin Sonatas album review – Ehnes and Armstrong’s performances exude an effortless rightness
  • Myles Smith: My Mess, My Heart, My Life review – faceless, formulaic mush of Mumfords, Sheeran and Coldplay
  • Lily Allen review – West End Girl’s marital collapse is superbly evoked at arena scale
  • L’Orfeo review – Kentridge’s exhilarating creativity animates compelling Monteverdi
  • BBCSSO / Wigglesworth / Osborne review – jazz energy meets its match in French insouciance
  • Zach Bryan review – colossal US country star converts the UK to his inclusive take on the rodeo
  • Download festival review – Guns N’ Roses flop and Letlive thrive as metal’s biggest fest enters the future
  • Ariana Grande review – glittering hits and powerhouse vocals in stunning return to stage
  • Pelléas et Mélisande review – luminous semi-staging but Debussy’s elusive opera keeps its secrets
  • Olivia Rodrigo: You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love review – who’s she singing about? Who cares when the songs are this good
  • Pussy Riot: CYKA review – debut album from iconic Russian agitators is let down by blunt-force EDM
  • Brown Wimpenny: Long Live Brown Wimpenny review – Manchester folk collective get bawdy and shambolic
  • Sally Beamish: House of Wonder album review – a musical shapeshifter celebrates 70 years
  • Katia and Marielle Labèque: 55 album review – a handsome tribute to the sisters’ musical curiosity and brilliance
  • The Mahler Experiment review – physical drama comes at a musical cost in choreographed symphony
  • Lola Young review – buoyant, brilliant return from British pop’s great oversharer
  • Kelsey Lu: So Help Me God review – strange, graceful songs drifting from pop’s edgelands
  • Danish String Quartet review – captivating performance from a world-class group
  • Manchester Camerata review – mental torments build up to a royal meltdown
  • The Marriage of Figaro review – Danielle de Niese’s deft direction weds finery with fun
  • St Vincent review – majestic orchestral transformations of jagged art-pop
  • BBCNOW/Bancroft review – conductor takes final bow in imaginative programme of vivid colours and emotions
  • Krishna review – the mystery of John Tavener’s ‘mystic pantomime’ is why it has been staged
  • Taylor Swift: I Knew It, I Knew You review – giddy up! Song for Toy Story cowgirl Jessie is Swift’s best in years
  • Zoh Amba: Eyes Full review – raw, rugged country rock also has real tenderness
  • Gintė Preisaitė: Instruments of Forgetting and the Singing Bone review – atmospheric, unsettling ambience

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