Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks/Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra – Sir Simon Rattle conducts the premiere of Olga Neuwirth’s Zones of Blue (with clarinettist Jörg Widmann) and Hans Werner Henze’s Das Floß der Medusa. Live on BR-Klassik.

Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks/Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra – Sir Simon Rattle conducts the premiere of Olga Neuwirth’s Zones of Blue (with clarinettist Jörg Widmann) and Hans Werner Henze’s Das Floß der Medusa. Live on BR-Klassik.

Feb 6, 2026 | Concert Reviews, Hans Werner Henze centenary - born July 1, 1926, Outstanding [category w.e.f. January 2021]

BR photo taken during rehearsals for Henze’s The Raft of the Medusa Friday, February 6, 2026 Isarphilharmonie, Munich Ambitious. Challenging. Rewarding. Audacious is another word for Bavarian Radio able to put two demanding works together (twice, this programme...
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra – Jonathan Nott conducts Bruckner Six, and Hornroh Modern Alphorn Quartet gives Finnish premiere of Georg Friedrich Haas’s Concerto grosso No.1 for four alphorns and orchestra. Live YLA Areena webcast.

Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra – Jonathan Nott conducts Bruckner Six, and Hornroh Modern Alphorn Quartet gives Finnish premiere of Georg Friedrich Haas’s Concerto grosso No.1 for four alphorns and orchestra. Live YLA Areena webcast.

Feb 6, 2026 | Concert Reviews, Videos

Hornroh Modern Alphorn Quartet Friday, February 6, 2026 Concert Hall, Helsinki Music Centre, Mannerheimintie 13 A, 00100 Helsinki, Finland The surnames Haas and Bruckner are synonymous with each other, although the Haas represented here isn’t Robert (one of...
London Philharmonic Orchestra at Royal Festival Hall – Edward Gardner conducts Bacewicz, Lutosławski and Janáček, with Josef Špaček playing Martinů’s Violin Concerto No.2. Live on BBC Radio 3.

London Philharmonic Orchestra at Royal Festival Hall – Edward Gardner conducts Bacewicz, Lutosławski and Janáček, with Josef Špaček playing Martinů’s Violin Concerto No.2. Live on BBC Radio 3.

Feb 4, 2026 | Concert Reviews, Outstanding [category w.e.f. January 2021]

Wednesday, February 4, 2026 Southbank Centre, London – Royal Festival Hall Gratefully avoiding the regular repertoire, this ambitious and magnetic programme (albeit a test of box-office business and also the LPO’s rehearsal schedule) was a notable success...
Recorded at Barbican Hall on January 30, Sakari Oramo conducting BBC Symphony Orchestra in music by Cecilia Damström and Beethoven, with Elizabeth Bass playing Detlev Glanert’s Harp Concerto. Broadcast February 3 on BBC Radio 3.

Recorded at Barbican Hall on January 30, Sakari Oramo conducting BBC Symphony Orchestra in music by Cecilia Damström and Beethoven, with Elizabeth Bass playing Detlev Glanert’s Harp Concerto. Broadcast February 3 on BBC Radio 3.

Feb 3, 2026 | Concert Reviews, Outstanding [category w.e.f. January 2021]

What an unfortunate title! Given recent tragic headline-making events in Minneapolis then Cecilia Damström’s ICE might have taken on connotations unimagined by the composer. As it is, it’s the frozen-water kind, melting, and also standing for “In...
Berliner Philharmoniker – Kirill Petrenko conducts Scriabin’s The Divine Poem (Symphony No.3), with Janine Jansen playing Brahms’s Violin Concerto. Live Digital Concert Hall webcast (if, for this review, via the DCH’s second repeat showing).

Berliner Philharmoniker – Kirill Petrenko conducts Scriabin’s The Divine Poem (Symphony No.3), with Janine Jansen playing Brahms’s Violin Concerto. Live Digital Concert Hall webcast (if, for this review, via the DCH’s second repeat showing).

Jan 31, 2026 | Concert Reviews, Outstanding [category w.e.f. January 2021], Videos

Friday, January 30, 2026 Berliner Philharmonie, Herbert-von-Karajan-Straße, Berlin ‘The Divine Poem’/Symphony No.3 by Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915) – “mystic, devil worshipper, erotic composer” – had its premiere in Paris in 1905...