Prom 50: Samson review – humour, chewy harmonies and Handel at his best
Allan Clayton’s rich tenor defied the tricksy acoustics of the great hall, while the Philharmonia Chorus were truly outstanding
Proms 45 & 46: BBCSO/Oramo; Manchester Collective review – Mahler with martial zeal and shimmering electronic works
Mahler’s Third Symphony is a huge undertaking, impressively played by the BBCSO, followed by a rare late-night excursion into contemporary works
Prom 44: BBCSSO/Kolesnikov/New review – expressive debut an exercise in delayed gratification
Samy Moussa’s second symphony was cinematic in sweep but lacked impact. Pavel Kolesnikov brought magic to Shostakovich and slow-burn Stravinsky was irresistible
The week in classical: Proms 38 & 39; Prom 40; Trouble in Tahiti – review
Three Hungarian-inspired proms combine sizzling energy, Bartók and dadaist absurdity, while an intimate staging ramps up the angst in a bite-size Bernstein
Prom 36 A Space Odyssey: LPO/Gardner review – unsettling and awesome
Intense and finely focused performances of the Ligeti and Strauss pieces used in Kubrick’s sci-fi epic revealed every detail of their unearthly majesty and awesome extremes
The week in classical: Proms 30: Sinfonia of London/Wilson; Prom 31: Dialogues of the Carmelites; Oxford piano festival – review
The Albert Hall swooned to the sound of the Sinfonia of London and was silenced by Glyndebourne’s semi-staged Poulenc, while in Oxford you couldn’t move for great pianists
The week in classical: Prom 19: SCO/ Emelyanychev; Prom 22: BBC NOW/ Bancroft; Prom 24: BSO/ Karabits – review
A Victorian warhorse springs into life under the baton of Maxim Emelyanychev; Isata Kanneh-Mason makes fiendish Prokofiev look easy; and German horn virtuoso Felix Klieser sets an example to all
Prom 21: BBCNOW/Bancroft review – all-American programme with a monumental finale
Derrick Skye’s ambitious Nova Plexus has power but felt earthbound ultimately; soloist Annelien Van Wauwe impressed with Copland’s Clarinet Concerto; and the 200-strong choir ensured a barnstorming second half
The week in classical: Itch; Semele; Prom 16: Hallé/Elder – review
Jonathan Dove transforms Simon Mayo’s ripping yarn into an exhilarating instant classic; it’s Thebes by way of Port Talbot in Adele Thomas’s Glyndebourne debut; and all hail the Hallé
Prom 16: Hallé/Elder review – orchestra and conductor seem to think, breathe and feel as one
Mark Elder marshals huge forces to bring compelling depths and power to Rachmaninov’s The Bells and Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony in an unmissable performance
Prom 13: BBCSSO/Volkov review – Lamb’s absorbing triptych shimmers amid the silences
The challenges of Catherine Lamb’s new Portions Transparent/Opaque were expertly navigated by Ilan Volkov and the BBC Scottish; Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony was purposeful and focused
The week in classical: BBC Proms week one; Ariadne auf Naxos – review
Record viewing and listening figures, plus keyboard wizardry from Paul Lewis, Benjamin Grosvenor and Stephen Hough, kicked off another year at the Proms. Elsewhere, Strauss’s Cretan romcom laid bare
Prom 1: BBCSO/Stasevska review – energy, ovations and defiance open season
A programme ranging from Sibelius, Grieg and Britten to a world premiere by Ukrainian Bohdana Frolyak opened the Proms with conductor Dalia Stasevska engaged and outgoing.
Prom 66: BBCSO/Canellakis review – Jolas puts her tongue in her cheek
Betsy Jolas’s bTunes is a witty ode to our attention-sapping times, while Karina Canellakis commanded Mahler’s First Symphony with an expressive and sharply etched performance
Proms & ENO: Glass Handel review – arias meet beatboxing in a creative but baffling cacophony
Anthony Roth Costanzo’s neon-lit ‘operatic experience’ brought together Handel and Philip Glass plus dancers, a painter … and films of erotic puddings