Lowe, The Mozartists, Page, Wigmore Hall - an education, not quite a triumph

★ LOWE, THE MOZARTISTS, PAGE, WIGMORE HALL An education, not quite a triumph

Curate’s-egg focus on the year 1773 finds first-rate performers sometimes in trouble

Ian Page’s “journey of a lifetime” with his Mozartists, taking the greatest genius year by year, lands us in 1773 with the adolescent Mozart's first durable crowdpleaser, the pretty-brilliant motet for soprano and orchestra Exsultate, jubilate (last night was its 250th anniversary). The boy wonder still needs annual support from his elders, though, and as usual we got more than just a sampler of what else was going on musically in that year.

Mithras Trio, Wigmore Hall review - exhilarating, highly-toned performance

★★★★ MITHRAS TRIO, WIGMORE HALL Exhilarating, highly-toned performance

A real sense of elemental energy, as if we were next to a turbulent sea

The adrenalin was in full flow yesterday lunchtime at the Wigmore Hall as the dynamic young Mithras Trio delivered a vigorous, toned performance featuring Beethoven, Bridge and an electrifying new work by Joy Lisney. The trio, who have been together for just over five years, are part of Radio 3’s New Generation Artists scheme and dispatched the repertoire with an intensity and expressive range that was often as beguiling as it was exhilarating.

Pavel Kolesnikov, Wigmore Hall review - conjuring spirits from solstitial darkness

★★★★★ PAVEL KOLESNIKOV, WIGMORE HALL Conjuring spirits from solstitial darkness

Master of colour sheds special light on three masterpieces and two surprises

Quite apart from the stunning range of colours and phrasing, Pavel Kolesnikov’s recitals always give you much more than the programme promises. A golden thread through shorter pieces has been one approach, but here he did something different – sailed for the deep waters only in three chameleonic masterpieces, but suggested the connections by unveiling an unnamed work he asked us to listen to in “metaphorical darkness”.

Dunedin Consort, Butt, Wigmore Hall review - Christmas glory in Venice and Dresden

★★★★ DUNEDIN CONSORT, BUTT, WIGMORE HALL Christmas glory in Venice and Dresden

Heaven on earth: a full-bodied festive treat

St Mark’s shadow fell gloriously over the Wigmore Hall last night with a programme of Christmas music performed in, or inspired by, the great basilica of Venice. The Dunedin Consort braided festive works from pioneers who wrote for its grandly sonorous spaces – Gabrieli, Monteverdi, Grandi – with pieces by their German visitor and student Heinrich Schütz, culminating with his Christmas Story (1660).

William Thomas, Malcolm Martineau, Wigmore Hall review - a richly modulated journey

Bass and pianist take us everywhere from the Danube to Hades

William Thomas has fast made an impact as a rapidly rising (or should that be descending?) star of the bass world. Though he has only recently graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, his awards include Winner of the Veronica Dunne International Competition and Winner of the Critics’ Circle Award for Young Talent.

Christian Gerhaher, Gerold Huber, Wigmore Hall review - muted regret and distant longing

★★★★ CHRISTIAN GERHAHER, GEROLD HUBER, WIGMORE HALL Muted regret, distant longing

Distinctive tone and controlled emotions ideal for an all-Schubert programme

There is no mistaking Christian Gerhaher. His voice is a light, agile baritone, and it is utterly distinctive. He is a very verbal singer, and is as happy delivering his lines in a toneless parlando as he is full voice. But when he does increase the colour, a burnished, slightly nasal tone appears, rich but still light. Emotions are always controlled, and the passion will often build gradually but steadily.

Kristian Bezuidenhout, Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Wigmore Hall review - fires of London

Uplifting Purcell and Handel in expert German (and Australian) hands

A dream pairing of the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra and early-keyboard wizard Kristian Bezuidenhout marked St Cecilia’s Day at the Wigmore Hall with a programme that celebrated music made not in the Black Forest but beside the Thames.

Leif Ove Andsnes, Wigmore Hall review - brooding richness and fiery fervour

★★★★★ LEIF OVE ANDSNES, WIGMORE HALL Brooding richness and fiery fervour

Diverse programme of bold, physical music plays to the Norwegian’s strengths

Leif Ove Andsnes has a distinctive voice at the piano; clear, controlled and powerful. He sits upright; his body barely moves, and his head sways gently to the melodies. But he never loses himself in the music, he is always in control.

Roderick Williams, Nash Ensemble, Wigmore Hall review - sunshine and serenity

★★★★ RODERICK WILLIAMS, NASH ENSEMBLE, WIGMORE HALL Sunshine and serenity

A quicksilver 'Trout', and both Mahlers in mellow mood

The Nash Ensemble’s concerts dedicated to “Beethoven and the Romantics” not only trace the flowering of the Romantic spirit in music from the Vienna of the 1800s through a continent and across the century. They also give a place at the top table for works by once-sidelined helpmeets of the movement’s giants: Fanny Mendelssohn, Clara Schumann, Alma Mahler.

Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective, Wigmore Hall review - nine haute cuisine courses, twelve happy musicians

Sensuous and joyous French delights in two daytime concerts

How do they do it? Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective ticks all the boxes of diversity and reaching out to all ages without needing to draw attention to it all. The answer is quite simple: the repertoire – in Saturday’s morning and afternoon concerts, French chamber music both known and unfamiliar – is beautifully chosen and programmed, the performers all born communicators as well as musicians at the highest level.