DVD: Turned Towards the Sun

DVD: TURNED TOWARDS THE SUN An extraordinary 20th-century life recalled in age

An extraordinary 20th-century life recalled in age

The phrase “improbable life” crops up more than once in Greg Olliver’s highly engaging documentary Turned Towards the Sun about the poet Micky Burn (its title is that of the writer’s autobiography).

Hannigan, Britten Sinfonia, WRCH Cambridge

HANNIGAN, BRITTEN SINFONIA, WRCH CAMBRIDGE An evening which needed stronger works and more convincing playing

An evening which needed stronger works and more convincing playing

“Songs of Vienna” by the Britten Sinfonia turned out to be a concert of chamber works, with never more than six performers on the stage at any time. It was built around two appearances by the Canadian soprano Barbara Hannigan, who performed pieces with voice by Chausson and Schoenberg. They are clearly part of her core repertoire, and she sings them with passion and from memory.

Król Roger, Royal Opera

KRÓL ROGER, ROYAL OPERA A triumphant return to the stage for Szymanowski's neglected score

A triumphant return to the stage for Szymanowski's neglected score

Let’s get one thing straight at the outset: Szymanowski’s 1926 opera Król Roger isn’t a lovely occasional oddity, a rarity whose appeal is largely novelty, or a dust-it-off-once-a-decade sort of piece. It’s that rarest of things, a real and original masterpiece whose worth has been unaccountably undervalued. This new production by Kasper Holten does nothing to obscure its beauty, making a strong case not only for the work’s sensual appeal, but also the larger philosophical architecture underpinning this maverick score.

Grivnov, LPO, Jurowski, RFH

GRIVNOV, LPO, JUROWSKI, RFH Rachmaninov's dark heart encapsulated in the London Philharmonic's festival finale

Rachmaninov's dark heart encapsulated in the London Philharmonic's festival finale

Deep pain and sadness expressed through intense creative discipline aren’t qualities noted often enough in the music of Sergey Rachmaninov. Yet they’ve been consistently underlined, with rigour to match, in Vladimir Jurowski’s season-long “Inside Out” festival with his London Philharmonic Orchestra playing at a consistent white heat.

Stephen Hough, RFH

STEPHEN HOUGH, RFH Bewitching pianism with powers of transformation make an evening to remember

Bewitching pianism with powers of transformation make this an evening to remember

It took just two bars of Debussy's La plus que lente for Stephen Hough to transport the entire Royal Festival Hall to Paris. The nearest thing the French composer ever wrote to a café waltz – inspired by a gypsy band in a local hotel – this bewitching, louche yet elusive little piece might in other hands make a more suitable encore than opener.

Three Tales, Ensemble BPM, IMAX Science Museum

STEVE REICH'S THREE TALES, IMAX SCIENCE MUSEUM Dynamic reflections on 'progress' with video artist Beryl Korot get new life from a young ensemble

Reich and Korot's dynamic reflections on 'progress' get new life from a young ensemble

Poised vibrantly enough between the buried-alive monotony of Philip Glass and the dynamic flights of John Adams, Steve Reich’s Three Tales deserves a special place in music-theatre history ("opera" it is not). Ironically, since it deals with the two-edged sword of the 20th century’s major scientific developments, the video work with which the music interacts so brilliantly – by Reich’s former wife and long-term collaborator Beryl Korot – has been left looking a bit dated by rapid progress in that field since its 2002 premiere.

Man to Man, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff

MAN TO MAN Margaret Ann Bain faultless in Manfred Karge's ageless and grim parable, now a hit in Edinburgh

Margaret Ann Bain faultless in Manfred Karge's ageless and grim parable

There can be few modern plays as testing for a female actor as Manfred Karge’s Man to Man. When Tilda Swinton took it on at the Royal Court in 1987 and brought to the many roles of this one woman show her androgynous intensity it was the performance that made her name. Here in Cardiff for the Wales Millennium Centre’s revival, Margaret Ann Bain gives one of the most tireless and faultless performances a Welsh stage has seen in some time; a breathless, kinetically poetic 70 minutes that is never anything less than entirely captivating.

Bronfman, LPO, Jurowski, RFH

BRONFMAN, LPO, JUROWSKI, RFH Two playful Ballets Russes scores outdance the UK premiere of an elephantine concerto

Two playful Ballets Russes scores outdance the UK premiere of an elephantine concerto

Over the past two Saturdays, Vladimir Jurowski and a London Philharmonic on top form have given us a mini-festival of great scores for Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes.

Total Immersion: Boulez at 90, Barbican

TOTAL IMMERSION: BOULEZ AT 90, BARBICAN A detailed and engaging portrait of the iconic composer

A detailed and engaging portrait of the iconic composer

Pierre Boulez sits in the back of a car as it drives across Westminster Bridge. He is talking about the audience appeal of his music, and he is characteristically direct. If the performance is good, and the situation is right, he insists, then audiences will come. That was back in 1968. The interview was featured in one of the documentaries that began today’s event, and it proved prescient. Boulez at 90, the day-long festival of music by the BBC Symphony Orchestra's former chief conductor, was well planned (by the BBCSO) and well performed.

Serenade/Carmina Burana, Birmingham Royal Ballet, London Coliseum

SERENADE/CARMINA BURANA, BIRMINGHAM ROYAL BALLET, COLISEUM Balanchine and Bintley showcase BRB's contrasting talents

Balanchine and Bintley showcase BRB's contrasting talents

Serenade seems to be one of George Balanchine’s most evanescent works, a floating, delicate skein of movement that is over almost before it begins, leaving nothing but memory behind. In reality, it is tough as old boots, a warrior of a ballet, one that endures, survives – and enchants over and over.