Germany Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival 2026 – Royal Swedish Orchestra: Catherine Foster (soprano) / Alan Gilbert (conductor). Hamburg, Elbphilharmonie, 18.8.2026. (DM-D)
Playful musical battles in Alan Gilbert’s Wagner and Stenhammar in Hamburg
Festivals
Amy Harman steals the show at her first, and hopefully not last, BBC Prom
United Kingdom BBC Proms 2026 [20] – Britten, Mozart, Musgraves, Elgar: Felix Klieser (horn), Amy Harman (bassoon), Academy of St Martin in the Fields / Benjamin Marquise Gilmore (leader). Royal Albert Hall, London, 23.8.2026. (LJ)
Nelson Goerner captures magic in Ravel in his Cleveland Orchestra debut at Blossom
United States Blossom Music Festival [7] – Various: Nelson Goerner (piano), Cleveland Orchestra Youth Chorus (chorus director: Daniel J. Singer), The Cleveland Orchestra / Antonello Manacorda (conductor). Blossom Music Center, Cuyahoga Falls, 22.8.2026. (MSJ)
Calvinist austerity and bel canto passion in Berkshire Opera Festival’s Lucia di Lammermoor
United States Berkshire Opera Festival – Donizetti, Lucia di Lammermoor: Soloists, Berkshire Opera Festival Chorus and Orchestra / Brian Garman (conductor). Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, Great Barrington, 22.8.2026. (RP)
Disappointment elsewhere but much to relish in Hadelich’s Brahms Violin Concerto in Salzburg
Austria Salzburg Festival 2026 [3] – Brahms: Augustin Hadelich (violin), Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra / Christian Thielemann (conductor). Grosses Festspielhaus, Salzburg, 22.8.2026. (MB)
Jamie Barton and Clay Hilley shine in a fine Das Lied von der Erde at the Proms
United Kingdom BBC Proms 2026 [19] – Bushra El-Turk, Haydn, Mahler: Jamie Barton (mezzo-soprano), Clay Hilley (tenor), BBC Philharmonic Orchestra / Anja Bihlmaier (conductor). Royal Albert Hall, London, 21.8.2026. (CK)
A handsome centenary tribute to Hans Werner Henze at the Salzburg Festival
Austria Salzburg Festival 2026 [2] – Henze, Der Prinz von Homburg (concert performance): Soloists, ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra / Ingo Metzmacher (conductor). Felsenreitschule, Salzburg, 20.8.2026. (MB)
Stunning realisation of Messiaen’s visionary Saint François d’Assise at the Salzburg Festival
Austria Salzburg Festival 2026 [5] – Messiaen, Saint François d’Assise: Soloists, Concert Association of the Vienna State Opera (chorus director: Jozef Chabroň), Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra / Maxime Pascal (conductor). Felsenreitschule, Salzburg, 23.8.2026. (MB)
