Cooper, Bournemouth SO, Wigglesworth, Lighthouse, Poole review – musical sunbursts

★★★★ COOPER, BOURNEMOUTH SO, WIGGLESWORTH, LIGHTHOUSE Musical sunbursts

Vivacious teamwork in Dove, Mozart and Schubert

With reference to smiles beginning to emerge from behind our masks, Mark Wigglesworth, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra’s new Principal Guest Conductor, wrote the most hopeful and optimistic note of welcome in the programme for this concert featuring Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 22, K482 and Schubert's “Great” C major Symphony.

Klieser, Driver, Bournemouth SO Soloists, Lighthouse, Poole review - a celebration of E flat

★★★★ KLIESER, DRIVER, BOURNEMOUTH SO SOLOISTS, LIGHTHOUSE A celebration of E flat

Phenomenal horn player and colleagues offer intuitive vision

Although the large auditorium of Lighthouse, Poole may not offer the most favourable scale and intimacy for a chamber recital, the high quality of communicative chemistry and performance readily reached out to engage and hold the audience spellbound for the whole evening.

Fischer, LPO, Søndergård, RFH review - poised Mozart, lean and hungry Strauss

★★★★ FISCHER, LPO, SONDERGARD, RFH Lightweight concertos series launched in high style

The German violinist launches a lightweight concertos series in high style

Mozart’s early violin concertos are precociously well-tailored and full of fun ideas, but are they “teenage masterpieces”, as Julia Fischer asserts? That special honour goes to the likes of Mendelssohn’s Octet and the most famous of Schubert’s 1815 songs.

Le nozze di Figaro, Royal Opera review - New Year champagne

★★★★ LE NOZZE DI FIGARO, ROYAL OPERA Perfect ensembles and recits as Pappano returns

Perfect ensembles and recits with Antonio Pappano's return as conductor and fortepianist

One of the galvanizing wonders of the operatic world happened when David McVicar’s production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro was new, back in 2006: the sight and sound of Royal Opera music director Antonio Pappano in seamless dual role as conductor and recitative fortepianist.

Ólafsson, Philharmonia, Järvi, BBC Proms review - a ravishing Proms debut

★★★★ OLAFSSON, PHILHARMONIA, JARVI, BBC PROMS A ravishing Proms debut

Musical time-travel from top Icelander, Estonian and great London orchestra

What does it mean to be Classical? It’s the question award-winning Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson has consistently asked in a career that has collided music from Bach to Debussy, presenting them as part of a single conversation and continuum. Here, in a striking BBC Proms debut, he continued to probe and challenge, with a little help from the Philharmonia Orchestra and Paavo Järvi.