Guercœur's neglect, inversely proportional to its qualities, is wholly unjust: its score is satisfyingly late-romantic in its orchestration and thematic intensity

With a strong cast and focussed direction from Sir Donald Runnicles, the production struck an unusually fine balance between narrative subversion and musical excitement

While 'Fin de partie' could not be described as conventional entertainment, the economic brilliance of its musical language and the subtle force of its drama make it a remarkably rewarding experience for anyone willing to surrender to its particular vision

The Eighth offers perhaps the most fully-realised expression of Bruckner's vision, and when one is fortunate enough to experience a performance as great as the one given by Andris Nelsons and the Berlin Philharmonic, it is impossible to emerge from the concert hall unmoved

Das Gehege, described as a ‘night scene’ for soprano and orchestra, was written initially for the stage, and while its most obvious precursor is Schönberg’s Erwartung, its intoxicating mixture of sensuality and violence has arguably more in common with the final scene of Strauss’ Salome

With reliably taut musical direction from Mazzola and a cast that gained in distinction as the evening progressed, the evening was a rewarding addition to the Deutsche Oper’s recent run of intelligent and provocative new Verdi productions

In the past several years, the Deutsche Oper Berlin and director Christof Loy have been mining the neglected margins of the early-twentieth-century operatic repertoire … and more often than not they’ve managed to strike gold.

If the passing of Rihm gave the first part of the evening a sombre cast, the performance of IN-SCHRIFT led by Kirill Petrenko served as a fitting tribute to an extraordinary career

The best concerts can arise from the simple combination of familiar works, a superlative orchestra, and a conductor with a strong vision for how the music should sound

In both Schönberg’s Central Europe and Ives’ New England one could hear the piano straining to liberate itself from the formal constraints of classical tradition