United Kingdom Sibelius, Say, Dvořák: Fazil Say (piano), Philharmonia Orchestra / Santtu-Matias Rouvali (conductor). Royal Festival Hall, London, 30.11.2025. (AV-E)
Earthshaking Piano Concerto from Fazil Say and the Philharmonia Orchestra
London
Ballet Icons Gala 2026 celebrates 20 years at the London Coliseum on 15 February
BALLET ICONS GALA at the London Coliseum – 15 February 2026, 7pm
BALLET ICONS GALA 2026 celebrates 20 years at the London Coliseum with a dazzling anniversary tribute to the art of ballet honouring distinguished ballet personalities and bringing awareness to the environmental crisis
Celebrate the magic of live ballet – tickets are available through the London Coliseum website here or via the London Coliseum box office.
Edward Gardner and the LPO shine in Robert Laidlow’s new Exoplanets, Bloch and Rachmaninov
United Kingdom Laidlow, Bloch, Rachmaninov: Nicolas Altstaedt (cello), London Philharmonic Orchestra / Edward Gardner (conductor). Royal Festival Hall, London, 29.11.2025. (CK)
High-quality Haydn, OAE and Schiff
United Kingdom Haydn: Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment / Sir András Schiff (fortepiano, director). Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, 27.11.2025. (AK)
Rafael Payare has a fine rapport with the Philharmonia Orchestra and is a star in the ascendent
United Kingdom Berlioz, Ortiz: Pacho Flores (trumpet); Philharmonia Orchestra / Rafael Payare (conductor). Royal Festival Hall, London, 27.11.2025. (CC)
Elegant Elgar from Edward Gardner and the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the RFH
United Kingdom Elgar: Beth Taylor (mezzo-soprano), London Philharmonic Orchestra / Edward Gardner (conductor). Royal Festival Hall, London, 26.11.2025. (AV-E)
Elgar’s The Kingdom with two choirs under David Temple at the Royal Festival Hall on 29 January
Elgar’s choral masterpiece
Firmly rooted in the belief that The Kingdom is the greatest of Elgar’s oratorios, David Temple, Music Director of Crouch End Festival Chorus and Hertfordshire Chorus, has long been a champion of the work. With its beautiful, gentle conversational sections, astonishing dramatic passages, iridescent colours and some of Elgar’s finest orchestral writing, Temple believes that ‘it is a gem from the first note to the last’.
The two choirs, under Temple, will join forces with soloists Francesca Chiejina, Dame Sarah Connolly, Benjamin Hulett and James Platt for a performance at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall on Thursday 29 January 2026.
Carmen was an excellent evening of opera at the Royal Academy
United Kingdom Bizet, Carmen: Soloists, Royal Academy Opera Chorus, Royal Academy Sinfonia / Christopher White (conductor). Susie Sainsbury Theatre, Royal Academy of Music, London, 19.11.2025. (MB)
