UK Concerts

All concert reviews from the UK.

Anniversary celebrations of Rubbra and Cecilia McDowall at the Three Choirs Festival

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Three Choirs Festival [6] – McDowall, Rubbra, Beethoven:  Charlotte Bowden (soprano), Olivia Ray (mezzo-soprano), Mark Padmore (tenor), John Savournin (bass). Three Choirs Festival Chorus, Philharmonia Orchestra / Samuel Hudson (conductor). Gloucester Cathedral, 29.7.2026. (JQ)

Composer Cecilia McDowall at the Three Choirs Festival © TCF/James O’Driscoll

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Turnage turbulence, Britten brilliance, Sibelius semblance: Johnston, Oramo and the BBC SO

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom BBC Proms 2026 [8] – Turnage, Britten, Sibelius: Guy Johnston (cello), BBC Symphony Orchestra / Sakari Oramo (conductor). Royal Albert Hall, London, 28.7.2026. (AV-E)

Sakari Oramo conducts the BBC SO © BBC/Mark Allan

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Gardner and the LPO scale new heights at the Proms with Richard Strauss’s Alpensinfonie

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom BBC Proms 2026 [7] – From the Alps to the Auvergne, Tjøgersen, Canteloube, R. Strauss: Louise Alder (soprano), London Philharmonic Orchestra / Edward Gardner (conductor). Royal Albert Hall, London, 27.7.2026. (CC)

Conductor Edward Gardner and soprano Louise Alder © BBC/Chris Christodoulou

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Roderick Williams and the Three Choirs Festival Youth Choir crest the waves

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Three Choirs Festival [5] – Mendelssohn, Wood, Elgar, Sumsion, McDowall, Stanford: Roderick Williams (baritone), Hannah Etherington (soprano), Three Choirs Festival Youth Choir, Philharmonia Orchestra / Martyn Brabbins (conductor). Gloucester Cathedral, 28.7.2026. (JQ)

Baritone Roderick Williams, conductor Martyn Brabbins, TCFYC and Philharmonia Orchestra © TCF/Dale Hodgetts

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Sophisticated Poulenc and seismic Janáček at the Three Choirs Festival

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Three Choirs Festival [4] – Elgar, Poulenc, Janáček: Katelyn Emerson (organ), Rachel Nicholls (soprano), Hilary Summers (contralto). Gwyn Hughes Jones (tenor), Ashley Riches (bass), Three Choirs Festival Chorus, Philharmonia Orchestra / Adrian Partington (conductor). Gloucester Cathedral, 27.7.2026. (JQ)

Katelyn Emerson at the Three Choirs Festival © TCF/Dale Hodgetts

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Piquant Poulenc, archaic Adams: Jussen jouissance and colossal choruses at a protean Prom 

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom BBC Prom 2026 [6] – Poulenc, Adams: Lucas and Arthur Jussen (pianos), CBSO Chorus, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra / Kazuki Yamada (conductor). Royal Albert Hall, London, 26.7.2026. (AV-E)

Kazuki Yamada conducting the CBSO © BBC/Chris Christodoulou

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A carefully curated collection of eclectic but thematically interrelated songs from La Locura

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom ‘Invisible Threads’ – Various: La Locura: Ana Beard Fernández (soprano), Iain Hall (cello and recorders), Louise Anna Duggan (percussion), Oliver Wass (triple harp). St Clement Danes Church, London 26.7.2026. (PC)

Composer Emma-Ruth Richards (far left) and La Locura at St Clement Danes Church (courtesy of @_fotai_ )

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An idiomatic, memorable performance of Rachmaninov’s All-Night Vigil by Ex Cathedra

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Three Choirs Festival [3] – Rachmaninov, Skidmore: Martha McLorinan (mezzo-soprano), James Robinson (tenor), Simone Rebello (bells), Ex Cathedra / Jeffrey Skidmore (conductor). Gloucester Cathedral, 26.7.2026. (JQ)

Ex Cathedra and conductor Jeffrey Skidmore (front l, alto soloist Martha McLorinan) © TCF/James O’Driscoll

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