Kolesnikov, Aurora Orchestra, Collon, BBC Proms review - dazzling musicianship and insight

★★★★ KOLESNIKOV, AURORA ORCHESTRA, COLLON, BBC PROMS Who knew being back in the classroom could be this much fun?

Who knew being back in the classroom could be this much fun?

It’s nobody’s fault, but – try as they might – the BBC Proms can often feel rather middle-aged. Whether it’s the lumbering albatross of a building, the ushers in their dated, casino waistcoats or the tone of zealous jollity (Have fun! But silently and according to the rules!), it somehow all adds up to a lack of freshness, spontaneity. Thank goodness for Aurora Orchestra.

BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2021 Final, BBC Four review – an embarrassment of vocal riches

★★★★★ BBC CARDIFF SINGER OF THE WORLD 2021 FINAL An embarrassment of vocal riches

This year’s choice wasn’t easy – but Korean baritone Gihoon Kim deserved the prize

A massive musical hope for the future is what we all need right now, after 14 stop/semi-start months and a threatened decimation of the concert and opera scene, the danger of which isn't over yet. This year’s BBC Cardiff Singer of the World delivered that hope in frissons and plenty of tear-inducing moments, even though the live audience in St David’s Hall consisted of only three empathetic judges.

BBC Young Musician 2020 Finale, BBC Four review - poise versus extraterrestrial ecstasy

★★★★ BBC YOUNG MUSICIAN 2020 FINALE, BBC FOUR One of three finalists has the X-Factor

After a year's wait, three finalists serve up first-rate professionalism - and something more

“You have to be careful you’re not judging the piece,” cautioned a pearl-necklaced Nicholas Daniel, great oboist and winner of the 1980 BBC Young Musician (of the Year, as it then was).

Best of 2020: TV

BEST OF 2020: TV A terrible year for many, but a priceless opportunity for television

A terrible year for many, but a priceless opportunity for television

Okay, so some people taught themselves the violin or wrote a novel, but under this year’s circumstances, it was inevitable that television (terrestrial, cable, online or otherwise) was going to clean up. With large chunks of the population forced to stay home, what could be more natural than to reach for the remote controller to magic up another bingeable boxset or Walter's latest noir thriller?

theartsdesk Q&A: screenwriter Jed Mercurio

Q&A JED MERCURIO On creating an online screenwriting course for the BBC

The mastermind of 'Line of Duty' and 'Bodyguard' has created an online screenwriting course for the BBC

So you want to be a TV screenwriter? You might do a lot worse than to sign up for Jed Mercurio's new online course at BBC Maestro, where over 28 lessons he explores the pitfalls and hurdles of a screenwriter's life, from the nuts and bolts of creating a workable script to ways of gaining access to the right people in the TV industry who can help bring your work to the screen.

Glastonbury Festival 2020: Beyoncé, Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E., marijuana and time travel

GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL 2020 Beyoncé, Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E., marijuana and time travel

With Glastonbury halted, our intrepid reporter attempts to recreate it, while dreaming of the 1990 Festival

Coronavirus blah blah blah. Glastonbury cancelled. What to do? Didn’t go to the 2010 festival for reasons too tedious to go into. Suffered the worst FOMO of my life. This is different. There is no Glastonbury. But sitting around at home… we’ve all been doing that for months…

New Music Lockdown 12: Glastonbury Festival Special

NEW MUSIC LOCKDOWN 12 Glastonbury Festival special

Check out the wealth of online happenings that make up Glastonbury 2020

This morning at 9.00 AM would be when Worthy Farm opened its gates to the hedonistic hordes. The weather is scorchio and Glastonbury 50 would have been such a party. Instead, that will all be Glastonbury 2021. So right now, those who love their annual Pilton pilgrimage need to get inventive: the festival and the BBC have laid on a feast of allsorts. It’s about to kick off. Let’s get amongst it…

The Luminaries, BBC One review - one of the most visually arresting dramas of the year

★★★★ THE LUMINARIES, BBC ONE One of the year's most visually arresting dramas

Based on the Booker Prize-winning novel, this new big budget murder mystery sparkles and shines

Alarm bells start ringing whenever you discover an author is adapting their own work for a screenplay. In the case of New Zealand novelist Eleanor Catton, the alarm proves to be false. 

Stephen Hough/Lucy Crowe, Anna Tilbrook, Wigmore Hall online/BBC Radio 3 review - the end of the beginning

HOUGH/CROWE, TILBROOK, WIGMORE HALL ONLINE/BBC RADIO 3 The end of the beginning

Comfort and joy as live performance returns to top chamber music venue - at a distance

After a devastating drought, even a light shower can feel like something of a miracle. Under normal circumstances, a 60 minute lunchtime piano recital from the Wigmore Hall would represent wholly unremarkable business as usual for BBC Radio 3.

Tectonics Rewind, BBCSSO review - new music festival revisits past gems

★★★★ TECTONICS REWIND, BBCSSO New music festival revisits past gems

Digital delights abound in this expertly curated online festival

As Covid-19 puts a halt to live events around the world, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra has delivered its annual festival of new music, Tectonics, online, with a selection of recordings from past performances.