Maria Włoszczowska directs the Royal Northern Sinfonia

Maria Włoszczowska directs the Royal Northern Sinfonia in an imaginative programme featuring Strauss’s late masterpiece Metamorphosen, which contrasts with the youthful vitality of Mendelssohn’s String Symphony No. 10 as well as exuberant dance suites by Bartok, Brahms and Skalkottas. More here.

Grosvenor celebrates World Piano Day & Prix Caecilia award

To mark World Piano Day, today sees the release of a gem from Benjamin Grosvenor’s archive on Decca Classics – Bach’s Siciliano BWV1031 arr. Kempf. You can download/listen here. This comes hot on the heels of his recent honour as recipient of the Prix Caecilia 2021 award for his Liszt Album which he accepted (in…Read more ›

Karl-Heinz Steffens: Schreker’s Der Ferne Klang in Prague

Karl-Heinz Steffens is at the Prague State Opera on Sunday 20th March conducting the premiere of Franz Schreker’s Der ferne Klang, the mysterious and passionate work that propelled Schreker to fame, in a new production by Timofey Kulyabin. This continues Steffens’ exploration of Musica non Grata, the series he initiated which is dedicated to “unwelcome…Read more ›

Moulds steps in to conduct Le Nozze di Figaro in Munich

Last night Christopher Moulds stepped in at short notice to conduct the opening night of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro at Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, and is now due to conduct the full run with performances on 11th, 15th and 20th March. Shortly after he returns from Munich, Moulds embarks upon the preparation for Handel’s…Read more ›

Grosvenor dazzles in his Chicago Symphony debut

Benjamin Grosvenor has performed Chopin’s Piano Concerto no. 2 no fewer than four times over the past week with Mo. Paavo Järvi and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to make his triumphant debut with the orchestra: “[In Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2, Grosvenor] captured the brooding agitation of the opening Maestoso, where he was in sync with the…Read more ›

Grant Llewellyn Stravinsky in Rennes

Grant Llewellyn has been busy in preparation for a month-long celebration of Stravinsky conducting his neo-classical masterpiece The Rake’s Progress at the Opéra de Rennes, which premieres today and is followed by a run of performances in Rennes and Nantes. In addition, together with dancers and narrator Jean-Philippe Lafont, he conducts musicians from L’Orchestre National…Read more ›

Alpesh makes his RFH debut

Congratulations to British conductor Alpesh Chauhan for jumping in for an indisposed Klaus Makela to make his Royal Festival Hall debut on Saturday night with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Given the current atrocities in Ukraine, the evening was made all the more poignant by opening the concert with a rousing performance of the Ukranian National…Read more ›

Out now!

  Today Francesca Dego releases her latest disc on CHANDOS with long time friend and collaborator, pianist Francesca Leonardi. This is the second in Francesca’s recent Mozart series, following the success of the disc featuring Sir Roger Norrington and Royal Scottish National Orchestra of Wales earlier this season. In this new album, Francesca takes us…Read more ›

Jonathan Berman steps in to conduct the LPO

Bravo to Jonathan Berman for stepping in at the eleventh hour to conduct a thrilling programme at the Royal Festival Hall with the LPO last night. The evening included the World Premiere of Nimmy Lopez’s new Piano Concerto written for Javier Perianes and R.Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra. “Berman’s greatest achievement was to have looked at…Read more ›

Karl-Heinz Steffens in Stockholm with Norrköping Symphony Orchestra

Karl-Heinz Steffens takes the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra to Stockholm’s Konserthuset this Saturday. Featuring soprano Siobhan Stagg, the French programme includes Rapsodie Espagnole, one of Ravel’s first major orchestral works, and Impressionist masterpieces, Ravel’s Shéhérazade and Debussy’s La Mer, as well as Brett Dean’s orchestration of Debussy’s Ariettes Oubliées. More about the programme