Beethoven Weekender, Barbican review - genius at work and play

★★★★ BEETHOVEN WEEKENDER,  BARBICAN Kirill Karabits shines in symphonies cycle

Insights galore in music that never gets old

Where to begin with the most appropriated musician in history? The Barbican’s Beethoven 250 celebrations got off to an auspicious start with a weekend of events, styled like a pop festival, which nonetheless put the composer back where he belonged – in Vienna, at the turn of the 18th century – and set fire to some tenacious myths.

Denis Kozhukhin, QEH review - lyric mastery and subtle elegance

★★★★ DENIS KOZHUKHIN, QEH Lyric mastery and subtle elegance in Schubert and Grieg

Iridescent song in Schubert and Grieg, compelling lines in Beethoven and Ravel

In Beethoven anniversary year, there will probably be many more "Moonlight"s, meaning the Sonata, than the real thing (though we've been lucky to see the crescent in close conjunction with Venus these past two nights). Not many pianists would dare to place it at the beginning of a programme.

Schiff, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Fischer, Barbican review – generosity and geniality

★★★★★ SCHIFF, BUDAPEST FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA, FISCHER Generosity and geniality

Post-imperial Beethoven and convivial Dvořák from two Hungarian masters

There are encores and encores – most a friendly, minimal farewell gesture from the soloist; some a jolly, festive unwind after a particularly taxing piece. And then there’s the luxury free gift that Sir András Schiff bestowed on us during the second of two Barbican concerts with Iván Fischer and his Budapest Festival Orchestra.

Fry, AAM, Egarr, Barbican review – revival and revolution

★★★★ FRY, AAM, EGARR, BARBICAN The will of the people writ large in Beethoven’s music for the barricades

The will of the people writ large in Beethoven’s music for the barricades

Second performances are even more valuable than premieres, composers say, when it comes to launching a piece into the world. Spare a thought, then, for Jan Ladislav Dussek, who has had to wait over two centuries for this prize to be awarded to his Mass in G – really, a Missa solemnis – of a scale to rival Beethoven’s example.

10 Questions for Cellist Raphael Wallfisch

On composers in exile, the forgotten beauty of English cello concertos, and why you shouldn’t mess with Beethoven

Cellist Raphael Wallfisch thinks outside of the box. His concert repertoire spans the popular concerto choices – the Elgar, the Dvořák – but he doesn’t stop there, and makes a point of seeking out the lesser-known and the little-heard.