Alim Beisembayev review – intimacy and conviction in programme of Romanticism
Moving from Schubert through Chopin to Liszt, the young pianist brought deep interpretative insights
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic/ Candillari review – Simpson’s oratorio shrieks; Elgar and Sibelius stay polite
Elgar’s more-tea-vicar salon Victoriana sat primly beside Simpson’s cataclysmic celebration of occultism, while Sibelius’s climactic payoff needed a bigger buildup
LPO/Tan Dun review – a full battery of drums, dramatic inhalations and hints of Mongolian throat singing
The Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Beijing Olympics composer premieres his immediately appealing choral concerto with the London Philharmonic Orchestra
‘How can a TV show make you feel such emotions?’ The Bluey composer shares the trick to music that ‘hits you in the feels’
As the new Bluey album, Up Here, arrives – complete with chamber orchestra – Joff Bush describes how he ‘seeds’ musical elements to draw out powerful emotions
The Turn of the Screw review – gripping and unsettling water-logged staging of Britten’s ghost story
Natalie Abrahami and Michael Levine’s imaginative production is brilliantly creepy and insightful. A first-rate cast of adults and children do not put a foot wrong
Tamerlano review – Trump, Freud and a Bridgerton escapee struggle to get a handle on Handel
Orpha Phelan’s fun but confusing staging for the London Handel festival aligns the opera’s characters with recognisable famous figures. Fine singers and players led by Laurence Cummings ensure consistent musical excellence
Mendelssohn: Symphonies and Oratorios album review – Andris Nelsons’ prodigious talent on full display
The Latvian conductor finds dynamic light and shade in seven discs’ worth of special performances with an orchestra once led by the composer himself
Anne-Sophie Mutter: East Meets West album review – diverse, bold and brand new
A varied and engaging collection of four works written for the star violinist features music by Jörg Widmann, Unsuk Chin, Thomas Adès and Aftab Darvishi
Rigoletto review – strong revival of Mears’s violent take, with Elder revelatory in the pit
There is a touch of the Tony Sopranos about George Petean’s Rigoletto, in Oliver Mears’ 2021 staging that evokes a world of privilege, misogyny and abuse. Aida Garifullina is a convincing and elegant Gilda
The Passion of Mary Magdalene review – Tansy Davies’s score is taut and intriguing
John Butt’s Dunedin Consort premiered Davies’s new Passion: a startlingly sensual meditation with a sense of ritual – and an electric guitar hidden amid the baroque instrumentation
Can Bluey save classical music? Cartoon puppy’s all-encompassing soundtrack plays Bach and Beethoven to billions
In the hugely popular pre-school animation, composer Joff Bush references and rearranges classical tunes in all the right places – and never plays it for cheap laughs. Plus, the Wigmore Hall sees the writing on the wall
Shoplifting, sex shows and sheepdog-breeding: great artists and the side-hustles they did to get by
John Cage appeared on an Italian quizshow. Jean Genet stole rare books. Emily Carr reared bobtails. And Kathy Acker did X-rated acts with her boyfriend … we explore the unlikely sidelines of struggling artists
Imeneo review – Handel in mischievous mood handled with wit and care
Cambridge Handel Opera Company capture the self-referential charm of this mid-career novelty operetta
Punk masks, Walkmans and Choppers: Museum of Youth Culture to open in London
Opening in May, Camden museum has 100,000-item archive telling story of British youth subcultures, from mods and rockers, to ravers and emo
Pagliacci review – Leoncavallo’s grand guignol staged with insight and commitment
Nineteenth-century verismo becomes 21st-century psychodrama, as English Touring Opera dramatise this tawdry tale of jealousy and violence with a keen eye for the dramatic image