Alpesh Chauhan at the Hallé

This week sees Alpesh Chauhan’s debut performances with the Hallé at Manchester’s iconic Bridgewater Hall (25, 26 and 29 January) and Nottingham’s Royal Concert Hall (27 January). The programme features the deeply personal Tenth Symphony by Dmitri Shostakovich, a composer for whom Alpesh feels a particular affinity. In the first half, conductor and orchestra are…Read more ›

Piano Quartet dazzles in Cologne

Bravo to Hyeyoon Park, Benjamin Grosvenor and their fellow musicians Kian Soltani and Timothy Ridout on a sensational chamber performance last night at Kölner Philharmonie. These four world-class musicians delivered an exciting programme which included repertoire by Bridge, Schumann and Fauré. Next, Hyeyoon performs Korngold’s Violin Concerto in Mainz, and Benjamin performs Britten’s Piano Concerto…Read more ›

‘The Genius of Gershwin’: Julian Bliss Septet at Ronnie Scott’s

On Sunday 5th March, the Julian Bliss Septet will be performing at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, the home of jazz in the UK. Their programme, The Genius of Gershwin, celebrates the composer’s genius and his amazing talent for combining classical music with jazz. The septet will be performing some of his most beloved tunes, including…Read more ›

Francesca Dego debuts with LSO on Apple Music

LSO and Apple Music have released “A New Dawn” a powerful collection of familiar and lesser-known works, featuring the star violinist Francesco Dego in Bologne’s Concerto Op.5 no.2 in A major, which was featured as Gramophone’s video of the day earlier this week. For Francesca, Bologne’s music is a fairly recent discovery. “When first introduced…Read more ›

Henning Kraggerud directs the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

In Canada, Henning Kraggerud returns to the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra this week, play/directing the orchestra in three concerts featuring Amy Beach’s Romance for harp, violin and strings and Mozart’s Symphony No. 29. He also takes the lead in Grieg’s Violin Sonata No. 3 in c minor, arranged for violin and chamber orchestra by Henning himself…Read more ›

Benjamin Grosvenor’s forthcoming album

Decca Classics has announced Benjamin Grosvenor’s latest album ‘Schumann & Brahms’ from which Schumann’s Romance op.28 no.2 has been released today, ahead of the full album in mid-March. Grosvenor takes Robert Schumann’s haunting Kreisleriana as his starting point in his new album, Schumann & Brahms. This eight-movement work portrays the mercurial personality of the fictional Johannes Kreisler, created…Read more ›

Julian Bliss on tour with John Mackey’s Clarinet Concerto

This week, Julian Bliss begins his tour of John Mackey’s Clarinet Concerto Divine Mischief with the Baylor University School of Music Wind Ensemble and Director of Bands Eric Wilson. Starting at Baylor University in Waco (16 Dec), with further performances in Broken Arrow, OK (18 Dec), St. Louis, MO (19 Dec) and West Aurora, IL…Read more ›

Steffens performs Copland and Mahler in a double-role performance

This Friday and Saturday (9 & 10 December) with the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, Karl-Heinz Steffens picks up his clarinet for Copland’s Clarinet Concerto before he draws breath to conduct Mahler 5. Prior to his conducting career, Steffens was a highly respected solo clarinettist who also held several orchestral positions culminating in the successive posts of…Read more ›