Hallé, Berglund, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - taking Beethoven seriously

★★★★ HALLÉ, BERGLUND, BRIDGEWATER HALL, MANCHESTER Taking Beethoven seriously

A young conductor brings confidence and maturity to the fore

Tabita Berglund is that rare species, an up-and-coming orchestral conductor attracting enough attention to secure repeated international bookings in even these straitened times. She also happens to be female and young, which until relatively recently would have been seen as another major handicap to success.

Victoria Mas: The Mad Women's Ball review - compelling plot meets disquieting history

★★★★ VICTORIA MAS: THE MAD WOMAN'S BALL  Compelling plot meets disquieting history

Reimagining the lives of the women incarcerated in the Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière

To this day, if you take a stroll down Paris’ Boulevard de l’Hôpital, you’ll come across an imposing building: the Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière. It’s one of Europe’s foremost hospitals. It’s the place where 20th-century icons Josephine Baker and Michel Foucault departed this world, and its halls buzz with budding young medical students from La Sorbonne. But this is only the most recent chapter in the Salpêtrière’s long history.

Turner's Modern World, Tate Britain review - the universal artist

★★★ TURNER'S MODERN WORLD, TATE BRITAIN The universal artist

The great painter resists the confines of his own era, despite Tate's best efforts

When Turner’s Modern World opened at Tate Britain last autumn only to close again days later, we might have felt then an echo of sensations and sentiments powerfully expressed in the exhibition itself. Its subject is the dirty cacophony of newly industrial Britain, the startling modernity of which is often neglected in discussions of Turner that focus instead on the visionary aspects of his style.

Hough, Hallé, Elder, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester online review - brassy, bouncy optimism

★★★★★ HOUGH, HALLÉ, ELDER, MANCHESTER Brassy, bouncy optimism

World premiere of Huw Watkins’ Second Symphony in filmed performance

Sir Mark Elder is back with the Hallé for the latest (and penultimate) filmed concert in their “Winter Season” of 2020 and 2021, including the world premiere of Huw Watkins' Second Symphony. He introduces it from the Bridgewater Hall foyer, and mentions plans for a six-concert summer series with audiences present in the hall – well, let’s hope so.

Shakespeare Re-Shaped, Opera Up Close online review - Verdi on the sofa

★★★★ SHAKESPEARE RE-SHAPED, OPERA UP CLOSE ONLINE Verdi on the sofa

The latest of a series of operatic caffeine shots

The screen lights up, the Zoom link connects and there, blinking back at you (30% awkward, 70% enthusiastic) is a familiar face. Is it definitely working? Can you hear me? What do we say now? God, I'm getting old. Even after 12 months of conversation through webcams it still feels forced to me; something to one side of real life, simultaneously weird and routine, intimate and alienating, even as memories of the Old Normal grow increasingly remote. Is that a piano? Well, why not, these days?

Isata Kanneh-Mason, Hallé, Elder online review - triumphant film return

★★★★ ISATA KANNEH-MASON, HALLÉ, ELDER ONLINE Triumphant film return

Extraordinary value for money in a full concert plus cinematic extras

Sir Mark Elder and the Hallé are back in the Bridgewater Hall for the first programme in the second tranche of the orchestra’s digital Winter Season – filming that had to be postponed from its original planned date but is triumphantly achieved now. As before, the full orchestra is accommodated with a monster extension of the platform to allow for adequate distancing.

Hughes, Manchester Collective, Lakeside Arts online review - creating the occasion

★★★★ HUGHES, MANCHESTER COLLECTIVE, LAKESIDE ARTS ONLINE Creating the occasion

From gentle melancholy to burning conviction in a single stream

There’s an atmosphere of tender restraint through most of the programme created by Ruby Hughes and Manchester Collective for Lakeside Arts at the University of Nottingham. It was streamed live yesterday afternoon, and, as is the way with most performances just now, was in an empty hall, with its slightly strange "empty" acoustic affecting the spoken word as the artists introduced their music.

Der Freischütz, Bavarian State Opera online review – marksmen as marketeers

★★★★ DER FREISCHUTZ, BAVARIAN STATE OPERA Marksmen as marketeers

Tcherniakov’s staging heightens the psychological drama, but his feminist angle falls flat

Bavarian State Opera has led the way for live performances and associated broadcasts during the pandemic. Their series of weekly “Montagsstück” events have presented innovative chamber operas, specifically for web streaming. Their next goal is full-size opera with a live audience. That is not possible yet, so instead they are premiering a new production of Weber’s Der Freischütz. Initially it is just for the cameras, but when the doors finally open, it will be ready to go.

Christian Blackshaw, Wigmore Hall online review - pure as the driven snow

★★★★ CHRISTIAN BLACKSHAW, WIGMORE HALL Mozart and Schubert on their own terms

The British pianist takes Mozart and Schubert on their own terms

From a distance, the pianist Christian Blackshaw bears an uncanny resemblance to Franz Liszt, silver hair swept back à la 19th century. At the piano, though, you could scarcely find two more different musicians. There seems not to be a flamboyant bone in Blackshaw’s body.

Vienna New Year’s Day Concert, BBC Two/Radio 3 review - noble integrity and missionary zeal

★★★★ VIENNA NEW YEAR'S DAY CONCERT, BBC TWO / RADIO 3 Riccardo Muti brings aristocratic melancholy to a surprisingly moving, audienceless ritual

Riccardo Muti brings aristocratic melancholy to a surprisingly moving, audienceless ritual

“Without a care” (Ohne Sorgen, the title of a fast polka by Josef Strauss performed here with deadpan sung laughs from the players) was never going to be the motto of a Vienna Philharmonic concert without an audience. Introspection and even sadness seemed frequent companions in the interesting New Year’s Day bill of fare.