Weber, Beethoven, and Dvořák: Pierre-Laurent Aimard (piano), Philharmonia Orchestra / Manfred Honeck (conductor). Royal Festival Hall, London, 2.2.2025. (MB) Weber – Overture: Der Freischütz Beethoven – Piano Concerto No.3 in C minor, Op.37 Dvořák – Symphony No.9 in E minor, ‘From the New World’, Op.95 Manfred Honeck’s unfussy musicianship has long offered an antidote to ... Read more ..read more

Poulenc, Dialogues des Carmelites: Soloists, Chorus Generalitat Valenciana, Orchestra Comunitat Valenciana / Riccardo Minasi (conductor). Palau de Les Arts, Valencia, 2.2.2025. (JMI) What a splendid opera Dialogues des Carmelites is when it is done well! There are no famous arias that fans expect but simply music of superb quality. It is rare to have the opportunity ... Read more ..read more

LLOYD’S CHOIR SPRING 2025 CONCERT WILL FEATURE PREMIERE OF NEW WORK BY JACQUES COHEN, COMMEMORATING THE SINKING OF HMT LANCASTRIA DURING WORLD WAR II Lloyd’s Choir Spring Concert 27 March 2025, 7pm – St Giles Cripplegate Church, Fore Street, London, EC2Y 8DA Lloyd’s Choir Cohen Ensemble Jacques Cohen (conductor and music director) Mendelssohn – Psalm ... Read more ..read more

Sibelius, Mozart and Tchaikovsky: Benjamin Grosvenor (piano), London Philharmonic Orchestra / Andrey Boreyko (conductor). Royal Festival Hall, London, 29.1.2025. (CSa) Sibelius – En Saga, a symphonic poem for orchestra, Op.9 Mozart – Piano Concerto No.21 in C major, K467 Tchaikovsky – Symphony No.4 in F minor, Op.36 Unexpected illness resulted in the late substitution of ... Read more ..read more

Bologne, The Anonymous Lover: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of Opera Philadelphia / Kalena Bovell (conductor). Opera Philadelphia, Academy of Music, Philadelphia, 31.1.2025. (RP) Production: Director – Dennis Whitehead Darling Scenic coordinator – Baron E. Pugh Costumes – Leslie Travers Lighting – Driscoll Otto Choreographer & Assistant director – Felicity Stiverson Chorus master – Elizabeth Braden ... Read more ..read more

C. Schumann, Beethoven, Schubert: Júlia Pusker (violin), Christia Hudziy (piano). Wigmore Hall, London, 4.2.2025. (LJ) Clara Schumann – Three Romances, Op.22 Beethoven – Violin Sonata No.10 in G, Op.96 Schubert – Rondo in B minor, D895 It is wonderful to hear compositions by Clara Schumann performed at the opening of a concert. Júlia Pusker (violinist) ... Read more ..read more

Mozart and Janáček: Mahler Chamber Orchestra / Dame Mitsuko Uchida (piano, director). Royal Festival Hall, London, 1.2.2025. (MB) Mozart – Piano Concerto No.18 in B-flat major, KV 456; Piano Concerto No.21 in C major, KV 467 Janáček – Mládi for wind sextet Mitsuko Uchida’s series of Mozart piano concertos with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra reaches ... Read more ..read more

Various: Conrad Tao (piano and Lumatone). Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York, 31.1.2025. (ES-S) Debussy – Études, Books I & II Conrad Tao – Improvisations for Lumatone; Keyed In Harold Arlen (arr. Art Tatum) – ‘Over the Rainbow’ from The Wizard of Oz (transcr. Conrad Tao) R. Schumann – ‘Auf einer Burg’ from Liederkreis, ... Read more ..read more

Purcell/Britten, Bach, Bartók: Robert Taub (piano), Musica Viva Sinfonia / Mark Forkgen (conductor). Levinsky Hall, University of Plymouth, 1.2.2025. (PRB) Purcell (arr. Britten) – Chacony in G minor J. S. Bach – Concerto for Piano and Strings in D minor, BWV1052 Bartók – Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta The 2024-2025 Musica Viva season at ... Read more ..read more

Pavel Haas, Šarlatán (The Charlatan): Soloists, Chorus, Ballet and Orchestra of the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre/ Jiří Habart (conductor). Antonin Dvořák Theatre, Ostrava, 24.1.2025. (GT) Pavel Haas (1899-1944) was among a generation of Czech composers who were murdered in the Second World War. Haas’s friends and colleagues – Gideon Klein, Viktor Ullmann, and Hans Krása were ... Read more ..read more