Modified rapture: Delius’s A Mass of Life at the BBC Proms

United KingdomUnited Kingdom BBC Proms 2025 [17] – Delius: Jennifer Davis (soprano), Claudia Huckle (mezzo-soprano), David Butt Philip (tenor), Roderick Williams (baritone), BBC Symphony Chorus, London Philharmonic Choir, BBC Symphony Orchestra / Sir Mark Elder (conductor). Royal Albert Hall, London, 18.8.2025. (CK)

Sir Mark Elder conducts A Mass of Life at the BBC Proms 2025 © Chris Christodoulou/BBC

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Breaking the code: Collon and his Aurora Orchestra unlock the secrets at the heart of Shostakovich’s Fifth 

United KingdomUnited Kingdom BBC Proms 2025 [16] – Shostakovich’s Fifth by Heart: A musical and dramatic exploration of Shostakovich’s Symphony No.5: Max Revell (actor/dancer), Polly Frame, Craig Stein, Sarah Twomey (actors), Samuel West (Voice of Stalin), Petroc Trelawny (Voice of Telephone Operator). Aurora Orchestra / Nicholas Collon (conductor). Royal Albert Hall, London. 16.8.2025. (CSa)

Shostakovich’s Fifth by Heart with the Aurora Orchestra conducted by Nicholas Collon © BBC/Andy Paradise

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Determined yet flexible, Slobodeniouk and Thibaudet return to Tanglewood

United StatesUnited States Tanglewood 2025 [4] – Still, Liszt, Sibelius: Jean-Yves Thibaudet (piano), Boston Symphony Orchestra / Dima Slobodeniouk (conductor). Koussevitzky Music Shed, Lenox, 17.8.2025. (ES-S)

Dima Slobodeniouk conducting the BSO in Tanglewood © Hilary Scott

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Anna Handler makes an outstanding debut with the Boston Symphony at Tanglewood

United StatesUnited States Tanglewood 2025 [3] – Brahms, R. Schumann, Tchaikovsky: Augustin Hadelich (violin), Boston Symphony Orchestra / Anna Handler (conductor). Koussevitzky Music Shed, Lenox, 16.8.2025. (ES-S)

Violinist Augustin Hadelich with the BSO conducted by Anna Handler © Hilary Scott

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Ben Grosvenor and the BBC NOW fill the Royal Albert Hall with a collage of sounds

United KingdomUnited Kingdom BBC Proms 2025 [15] – Gubaidulina, Ravel, Shostakovich: Benjamin Grosvenor (piano), Kostas Smoriginas (bass-baritone), BBC National Chorus of Wales (chorus master: Adrian Partington), Synergy Vocals, BBC Orchestra of Wales / Ryan Bancroft (conductor). Royal Albert Hall, London, 15.8.2025. (LJ)

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The EIF now relies more on concert opera, but if it’s all as good as Suor Angelica there’s no complaint

United KingdomUnited Kingdom Edinburgh International Festival 2025 [8]: Puccini, de Sabata: Soloists, Edinburgh Festival Chorus, RSNO Youth Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra / Sir Antonio Pappano (conductor), Usher Hall, Edinburgh, 16.8.2025. (SRT)

London Symphony Orchestra’s Suor Angelica in Edinburgh © Jess Shurte

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