Festival 2024

Garsington Opera’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream was a Proms evening of musical magic

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom PROM 68 – Garsington Opera’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Soloists, Garsington Opera Youth Company, Philharmonia Orchestra / Douglas Boyd (conductor). Royal Albert Hall, London, 10.9.2024. (KMcD)

Lucy Crowe (Tytania) and Daniel Vening (Bottom) © BBC/Chris Christodoulou

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Il Pomo d’Oro remain a class act, though Bruno de Sá is a disappointing substitute at Bayreuth Baroque

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GermanyGermany Bayreuth Baroque 2024 [1] – Gala Concert: Bruno de Sá (male soprano), Il Pomo d’Oro / Alfia Bakieva (violin/director). Markgräfliches Opernhaus, Bayreuth, 6.9.2024. (CC)

Male soprano Bruno de Sá and Il Pomo D’Oro © Clemens Manser Photography

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Excellent performances from the Berlin Phil and Jonathan Nott in a varied Musikfest programme

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GermanyGermany Musikfest Berlin 2024 [5] – Mazzoli, Eötvös, and Ives: Pierre-Laurent Aimard (piano), Ernst Senff Choir (chorus master: Steffen Schubert), Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Gregor A. Mayrhofer (co-conductor), Jonathan Nott (conductor). Philharmonie Berlin, 8.9.2024. (MB)

Pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard at the Philharmonie Berlin with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra © Stephan Rabold

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Full-throttle celebration of Die Fledermaus at Musikfest Bremen

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Musikfest Bremen 2024 [2] – Johann Strauss II, Die Fledermaus: Soloists, Musikfest Bremen Chorus, Les Musiciens du Louvre / Marc Minkowski (conductor). Die Glocke, Bremen, 6.9.2024. (DMD)

Marc Minkowski, Alina Wunderlin, Rachel Willis-Sørensen, and Christoph Filler © Patric Leo

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Manacorda’s patient direction is amply rewarded in Musikfest Berlin’s Ives, Kloke, Mahler, and Dvořák

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GermanyGermany Musikfest Berlin 2024 [4] – Ives, Kloke, Mahler, and Dvořák: Anna Prohaska (soprano), Mahler Chamber Orchestra / Antonello Manacorda (conductor). Philharmonie Berlin, 5.9.2024. (MB)

Antonello Manacorda conducts the Mahler Chamber Orchestra © Berliner Festspiele/Fabian Schellhorn

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RPS Gold Medal for Thomas Adès and a stirring Bruckner 4 from Simon Rattle and his Bavarian orchestra

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom PROM 61 – Adès, Bruckner: Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra / Sir Simon Rattle (conductor). Royal Albert Hall, London, 5.9.2024. (JR)

Sir Simon Rattle conducts the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra © BBC/Chris Christodoulou

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French themed evening at the Proms and a show-stopping return for the Orchestre de Paris and Klaus Mäkelä

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom PROM 58 – Debussy, Stravinsky and Berlioz: Jean-Baptiste Doulcet (piano), Orchestre de Paris / Klaus Mäkelä (conductor). Royal Albert Hall, London. 3.9.2024. (CSa)

Pianist Jean-Baptiste Doulcet at the BBC Proms © BBC/Chris Christodoulou

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