Marwood, Crabb, Wigmore Hall review - tangos, laments and an ascending lark

Accordion virtuoso’s brilliant arrangements showcase the possibilities of the instrument

James Crabb is a musical magician, taking the ever-unfashionable accordion into new and unlikely places, through bespoke arrangements of a spectrum of pieces which brim with wit and inventiveness. This lunchtime concert with violinist Anthony Marwood was a sheer joy, as they together traversed a range of style and tone, richly entertaining a very decent Bank Holiday crowd in the Wigmore Hall.

Dennis, RSNO, Dunedin Consort, Søndergård, Usher Hall, Edinburgh review - potted Ring and deep dive into history

Ancient Scottish musical traditions explored through the lens of today, and a short teaser for some of opera's greatest moments

"How long is Wagner’s Ring Cycle?" That’s not the opening to a joke, it’s a genuine question asked by a friend who I’d met up with before heading to Edinburgh’s Usher Hall to hear the Royal Scottish National Orchestra perform "Wagner’s Ring Symphony". His question is one I really don’t know how to answer: technically it’s 15 hours, but does a cycle ever really end? Is a piece of string as long as the ties that bind? How long would it take to wrap up the whole world?

Batiashvili, LSO, Pappano, Barbican review - French and Polish narcotics

★★★★ BATIASHVILI, LSO, PAPPANO, BARBICAN French and Polish narcotics

Szymanowski’s fantasy more vague than Berlioz’s, but both light up the hall

Three live, very alive Symphonie fantastiques in a year may seem a lot. But such is Berlioz’s precise, unique and somehow modern imagination that you can always discover something new, especially given the intense hard work on detail of Antonio Pappano and what is now very much “his” London Symphony Orchestra. They and Lisa Batiashvili also helped to keep Szymanowski’s hothouse First Violin Concerto in focus, too.

Owen, Manchester Camerata, Takács-Nagy, Stoller Hall, Manchester review - more Mozart made in Manchester

Another breath of fresh air in the chamber orchestra’s approach to the classics

Manchester Camerata spent eight years performing and recording a complete edition of Mozart’s piano concertos with Jean-Efflam Bavouzet as soloist, together with conductor Gábor Takács-Nagy, and inevitably there was the question: what next?

Josefowicz, LSO, Mälkki, Barbican review - two old favourites and one new one

★★★★★ JOSEFOWICZ, LSO, MALKKI, BARBICAN Two old favourites and one new one

Julia Perry well worth her place alongside Stravinsky and Bartók

Every now and then a concert programme comes along that fits like a bespoke suit, and this one could have been specially designed for me. Two established favourites from big names of the 20th century plus a new-to-me piece by a forgotten figure worthy of re-discovery.

Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Wigmore Hall review - too big a splash in complete Ravel

★★★ JEAN-EFFLAM BAVOUZET, WIGMORE HALL Too big a splash in complete Ravel

Panache but little inner serenity in a risky three-part marathon

It was a daring idea to mark Ravel’s 150th birthday year with a single concert packing in all his works for solo piano. Jean-Efflam Bavouzet knows them by heart, has bags of charisma and energy, so why not? I could give more than one reason, but the main problem was that while Bavouzet perfectly embodied Scarbo, the monster-Puck of Gaspard de la nuit, and other nocturnal flitters, he seemed careless with Undine and her watery companions, of which there were many.

Karim Said, Leighton House review - adventures from Byrd to Schoenberg

★★★★ KARIM SAID, LEIGHTON HOUSE The Jordanian pianist ventures from Byrd to Schoenberg

The Jordanian pianist presents a magic carpet of dizzyingly contrasting styles

William Byrd, Arnold Schoenberg and their respective acolytes go cheek by jowl, crash into one another, soothe, infuriate and shine in their very different ways This is all in a typical programme of pianist, conductor, composer and all-round pioneer Karim Said, and last night in the studio of Leighton House, it nearly all worked (when it didn’t, that was the nature of the beast, not the pianist).

Stile Antico, Wigmore Hall review - a glorious birthday celebration

★★★★★ STILE ANTICO, WIGMORE HALL A glorious birthday celebration

Early music group passes a milestone still at the top of its game

There was a wonderful festal spirit at the Wigmore Hall last night, as the vocal ensemble Stile Antico ran through a Greatest Hits selection in celebration of their 20th anniversary, in front of a packed and enthusiastic audience. The 12-strong group still boasts four founder members, but this was swelled to 10 for the final item, as a swarm of alumni joined in a beautiful rendition of Gibbons’ The Silver Swan.

Hallé, Elder, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - premiere of new Huw Watkins work

Craftsmanship and appeal in this 'Concerto for Orchestra' - and game-playing with genre

Huw Watkins’ Concerto for Orchestra, the fourth new work of his to be commissioned and premiered by the Hallé and Sir Mark Elder, is another beautifully crafted and highly appealing construction.

It’s also intriguing in its game-playing with genre, in almost a mirror image of the way his First Symphony was back in 2017. That, a two-movement piece, was undoubtedly symphonic by the time it reached its somewhat surprising ending, but managed to give the impression of being a concerto for orchestra at many points along the way.