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Jean Sibelius

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Mariss Jansons is simply the best

02.09.09

Opening with Haydn's Symphony No 100, the so-called “Military”, Mariss Jansons sculpted rhythms with absolute precision.... more

Herbides Ensmeble takes no prisoners

26.06.09

The Hebrides Ensemble played as if it was a matter of life and death.... more

Maazel shows his magic touch

03.04.09

If a little dramatic character went missing, the closing funeral march had a real feeling of grief barely choked back in Maazel's show.... more

Segerstam conducts in commendable style

09.01.09

The London Schools Symphony Orchestra delivers a performance of the highest calibre.... more

Wave of emotion in Riders to the Sea

28.11.08

Death permeates Ralph Vaughan Williams’s Riders to the Sea, and it hovers tragically over English National Opera’s production.... more

Vlad the impaler

26.11.08

The London Philharmonic's intense Russian conductor Vladimir Jurowski will continue to take the orchestra to new heights.... more

Drawn to Toradze's vision

16.10.08

Toradze's performance of Rachmaninov's Third Piano Concerto with the LPO injected new life into what too often sounds like a knackered warhorse. ... more

Compelled to listen to Jugendorchester

02.09.08

The Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester won over a spellbound Albert Hall through sheer vitality, panache and brilliance.... more

Anna Meredith is prom queen

06.08.08

How will Anna Meredith's gutsy, wild new composition for 800 performers be received by the Last Night audience?.... more

The 25 must-see Proms

16.07.08

The 2008 Proms caters for all tastes, prejudices and proclivities as never before. Here are the moments you can't miss.... more

The Vaughan identity

30.04.08

He has been out of fashion for more than 50 years, but now composer Ralph Vaughan Williams's vision of Englishness is being celebrated once again.... more

Emperor loses some grandeur

01.02.08

In constantly pushing on in pursuit of a more dynamic approach, Kirill Karabits sacrificed the opulence the Emperor Concerto surely demands.... more

Fine Finnish band

06.12.07

While the Tampere Philharmonic may not be a Premier League orchestra, it's a fine band that suited Jennifer Pike's assured reading.... more

Ice, great rivers and the hand of man

02.11.07

Last night's account of Sibelius was characterised by taut rhythmic control and driving momentum.... more

Double dose of brilliance

30.08.07

Both Mariss Jansons and Oliver Knussen put in five-star performances at the Albert Hall.... more

Fresh Norwegian debut

17.08.07

Under the expert guidance of music director Andrew Litton, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra made its Prom debut playing Grieg last night.... more

Rare Sibelius gets overdue airing

16.08.07

The seven symphonies of Sibelius are firm fixtures at the Proms and this year were performed by the Lahti Symphony Orchestra under Osmo Vanska.... more

A jittery and fast late-night Prom

01.08.07

Ivan Volkov enjoyed an enterprising programme with the BBC Singers, while the late night Prom from London Sinfonietta was a dazzling affair.... more

Edinburgh Festival highlights

24.07.07

From theatre to comedy, music and film, our critics pick the best of the Edinburgh Festival.... more

Proms takes inspiration from Hurricane Katrina

26.04.07

The BBC Proms will tackle the subject of global warming with a musical drama inspired by the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina.... more

Dam Busters fly in for film night at the Proms

25.04.07

The 113th BBC Proms will celebrate great British films with a concert of scores from classics such as The Dam Busters and Shakespeare In Love.... more

Last blast at the Proms

25.04.07

As his final, typically eclectic Proms line-up is announced, Nicholas Kenyon reflects on his years in charge of 'the greatest musical festival in the world'.... more

Lessons by a virtuoso

20.02.07

A large, young crowd was at Wigmore Hall for an object lesson in how to make the viola sing.... more

A star in the making

16.02.07

Hailed as a superstar in the making, Gustavo Dudamel's account of Sibelius's Fifth Symphony teemed with lively detail and pulsated with energy, says Barry Millington.... more

A brisk canter on a venerable warhorse

09.02.07

This Philharmonia programme desperately needed either a charismatic conductor or a revelatory soloist for the Grieg. It had neither, says Barry Millington. ... more

Pianist shows strength and weakness

25.09.06

Pianist Evgeny Kissin has great talent, but as he demonstrated at the Barbican, he often squanders it in displays of crashing insensitivity. Conductor Colin Davis didn't help matters either.... more

In search of Mozart's inner peace

29.08.06

Phillippe Herreweghe steered the Orchestre des Champs Elysées down an alternative path at its Proms performance of Mozart's Requiem, and the less intense approach proved successful.... more

Critic's Choice: Top Five Classical Events

24.08.06

Barry Millington's pick of the weekend's top classical events includes some Mozart at Greenwich park and the Minnesota Orchestra at the Proms with phenomenal pianist Llyr Williams...... more

Three of a kind

17.08.06

Barry Millington picks out three must see classical performances to go and see in London.... more

The masters of elegy

15.08.06

A mood of elegy spun its web over the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra's Prom. But two masterworks from Strauss and Bartók weren't quite delivered with the precision and colour required.... more