Alina Ibragimova, Samson Tsoy, Fidelio Orchestra Café review – cataclysms and calm on the Clerkenwell Road

★★★★★ ALINA IBRAGIMOVA, SAMSON TSOY, FIDELO ORCHESTRA CAFÉ Cataclysms and calm on the Clerkenwell Road

Febrile Beethoven and Janáček, unadvertised profundity from Pärt and Messiaen

The Fidelio Orchestra Café is where you go for electric-shock and deep immersion therapy from the greatest of musicians.

'She spoke through her violin': Steven Isserlis on extraordinary meetings with Ida Haendel (192?-2020)

STEVEN ISSERLIS ON MEETING IDA HAENDEL 'She spoke through her violin'

One great and characterful instrumentalist remembered by another

So Ida has left us – a legend has departed. What a violinist! What a woman! Magnificent, unique, incorrigible – she was a law unto herself.

Frang, LSO, Pappano, Barbican review - hearing the silence

★★★★★ FRANG, LSO, PAPPANO, BARBICAN Timely, shattering Britten and Vaughan Williams

A timely, daunting programme of three great works by Vaughan Williams and Britten

Three deep-veined masterpieces by two of the 20th century's greatest composers who just happened to be British, all fading at the end to nothing: beyond interpretations of such stunning focus as those offered by violinist Vilde Frang, conductor Antonio Pappano and the London Symphony Orchestra, these works could ask for nothing more than intense silence from the third point of what Britten called the magic triangle with composer and performers - the audience.

Ibragimova, LSO, Stutzmann, Barbican review – grace and gravity

★★★★ IBRAGIMOVA, LSO, STUTZMANN, BARBICAN Grace and gravity

Memorable Mendelssohn, bookended by hearty but classy Brahms and Wagner

Alina Ibragimova’s solo journey (in 2015) through the peaks and abysses of Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas gave me vivid Proms memories to treasure for a lifetime. The Russian-born violinist’s Bach abounds in both majesty and tenderness, as well as a consuming fire of intensity when the music so demands. She brought something of the same quality to her performance last night of Mendelssohn’s E minor concerto at the Barbican.

O/Modernt Soloists, Sonoro Ensemble, Wimbledon International Music Festival review - pure instrumental poetry

★★★★ O/MODERNT SOLOISTS, SONORO ENSEMBLE Pure instrumental poetry

Hugo Ticciati programmes superbly, but the choral side lets the peerless players down

If you're going to run a music festival with flair, it's not enough just to have a run of star performers who pop up for single events. The 11th Wimbledon International Music Festival can offer those – Christian Tetzlaff and Lars Vogt, for instance, were there a week ago.

Fischer, LPO, Jurowski, RFH review - total focus in shattering threnodies

★★★★★ FISCHER, LPO, JUROWSKI, RFH  Total focus in shattering threnodies

Superb concerto partnership in Britten, and a Tchaikovsky interpretation perfected

Throughout his 11 years as Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra to date, Vladimir Jurowski has focused on two elements, programme-wise: tellingly-linked concerts of the rich and rare, and fine-tuned interpretations of the repertoire's cornerstones over the seasons.

Prom 12: Benedetti, National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, Wigglesworth - adrenalin highs and string sound to die for

★★★★★ PROM 12: BENEDETTI, NYO, WIGGLESWORTH Adrenalin flows through three remarkable interpretations

164 teenagers burn for two inspiring mentors in spectacular Russian programme

In the Netherlands, Mark Wigglesworth is already a musical legend for his work with Dutch youth orchestras. Hopefully, in addition to the year and a bit when he wrought miracles at English National Opera, he will become so in the UK after his training of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. That culminated in last night's Prom, with more than a little help from co-inspirer Nicola Benedetti.

theartsdesk in Svalbard: cultural excellence at the top of the world

THEARTSDESK IN SVALBARD Cultural excellence and polar bears at 78 degrees north

At 78 degrees north, polar bears outnumber people - but Norway's musical flag flies high

You should not die or be born on Svalbard, 1,985 kilometres above Norway's northernmost coast, and at 18 you work or leave for the mainland. Hunting is over, mining nearly so. Tourism, carefully managed, and Arctic research are the future; the Global Seed Vault is also here, and Syria has been the first country to take from it. Excursions outside the biggest settlement, Longyearbyen, are advisable only with an armed guard; dangerous polar bears outnumber inhabitants and occasionally crash into town.

Benedetti, SCO, Birmingham Town Hall review - a powerful musical alliance

★★ BENEDETTI, SCO, BIRMINGHAM Real teamwork with great leaders at the helm

Real teamwork with great leaders at the helm

Playing with such energy, such synergy and such general camaraderie at the start of a tour must surely pave the way for even greater things to come. The Scottish Chamber Orchestra with Nicola Benedetti kicked off their European tour at Birmingham Town Hall, ahead of performances in Denmark, Switzerland and Germany.