Siren songs & serenades: Ben Goldscheider, Laurence Kilsby & London Mozart Players, conductor Jonathan Bloxham, in Anna Clyne premiere, Britten's Serenade & Mendelssohn at St Martin in the Fields. My concert review: www.planethugill.com/2026/05/sire...

Authenticity in song: I chat to pianist James Baillieu about his new role on the Britten Pears Arts Young Artist Programme, performing with soprano Lise Davidsen & the future of song. My interview: www.planethugill.com/2026/05/auth...

April on Planet Hugill: 50s frivolity, cross-cultural currents, and Young Artists on terrific form The monthly digest of reviews and interviews from the online classical music magazine, Planet Hugill: mailchi.mp/planethugill...

Five days in the Welsh Marches: Presteigne Festival 2026 with Michael Zev Gordon in residence & celebrating Cecilia McDowall, Sally Beamish and Adrian Williams. My preview: www.planethugill.com/2026/05/five...

Classicism, humour, energy: Trio Bohémo and the first complete recording of Anton Reicha’s trios on Supraphon. My article: www.planethugill.com/2026/05/clas...

Anna Clyne in residence, collaborations with Jess Gillam, Alice Sarah Ott & Rushil Ranjan, Britten's War Requiem at Coventry Cathedral: the CBSO 2026/27 season. My preview: www.planethugill.com/2026/05/anna...

Tales of Love & Loss: virtuosity from the Royal Opera's Jette Parker Young Artists in a satisfying & unusual triple bill from Elizabeth Maconchy, Charlotte Bray & Elena Langer. My review: www.planethugill.com/2026/05/tale...

Youthful promise: four young artists in the Musicians' Company concerts at Wigmore Hall with Danushka Edirisinghe & George Herbert in Dani Howard & Poulenc, & Jay Broadhurst & Zany Denyer in Schumann's Dichterliebe. My review: www.planethugill.com/2026/05/yout...

Das Klagende Lied: Adrian Partington on the fascination & mysteries of Mahler's astonishing early symphonic work which he conducts at this year's Cheltenham Music Festival, & looking forward to the Three Choirs Festival. My interview: www.planethugill.com/2026/05/das-...

Prokofiev Studio: new gallery devoted to the abstract art of Oleg Prokofiev son of the composer & father of composer Gabriel Prokofiev. My article: www.planethugill.com/2026/05/prok...

10th anniversary: Fantasia Orchestra celebrates with a busy summer featuring a return to the BBC Proms, festival appearances at Cheltenham, Snape and more. My preview: www.planethugill.com/2026/05/10th...

Windrush & Migrations - An Evening of Opera in Concert: Pegasus Opera Company & Brixton Chamber Orchestra join forces for Windrush Day with music by Will Todd, Des Oliver, Philip Hagemann. My preview: www.planethugill.com/2026/05/wind...

A little summer magic: Anush Hovhannisyan & Sam Jewison in Broadway Rhapsody, at Opera Holland Park for one night only. My preview: www.planethugill.com/2026/04/a-li...

Amidst the hills of Southern Tuscany, Amiata Music, a new music festival with local roots and British connections now looked after by Nicholas Chalmers and Rosenna East. My article: www.planethugill.com/2026/04/amid...

Berlioz, Bartok, Bach and a focus on Beethoven: Scottish Chamber Orchestra's 2026/27 season with principal conductor Maxim Emelyanychev who is confirmed until at least 2031. My article: www.planethugill.com/2026/04/berl...

Invincible: Gay Men’s Chorus of South Florida & composer Saunder Choi mark 10 years since the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida with new work at Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale. My preview: www.planethugill.com/2026/04/invi...

Transatlantic vision: American conductor Irene Messoloras describes her British choir, Meridian's new disc Finding Light on Signum Classics as a shared act of expression that spans centuries, cultures, & traditions. My interview: www.planethugill.com/2026/04/tran...

Still handsome: Hansung Yoo, Robyn Allegra Parton & Liparit Avetisyan in Verdi's Rigoletto at Royal Opera conducted by Sir Mark Elder. My opera review: www.planethugill.com/2026/04/stil...

Gluck in French, Sullivan & a contemporary focus on Kaija Saariaho, Elena Langer, Missy Mazzoli, Du Yun & Philip Glass: ENO's 2026/27 season www.planethugill.com/2026/04/gluc...

America's 250th, 50 years since Britten's death, Miles Davis's centenary, anniversaries for Weber's Oberon & Varèse's Amériques: BBC Proms 2026. My preview: www.planethugill.com/2026/04/amer...

America's 250th, 50 years since Britten's death, Miles Davis's centenary, anniversaries for Weber's Oberon & Varèse's Amériques: BBC Proms 2026. My preview: www.planethugill.com/2026/04/amer...

send back the echo: exploring marginalised voices through the stories and music of deaf composers with Julian Azkoul, United Strings of Europe & Vilma Jackson at Southbank Centre. My preview: www.planethugill.com/2026/04/send...

The War Requiem, Gerontius, a complete Sleeping Beauty, Tippett's fourth: the London Philharmonic Orchestra's 2026/27 season at Southbank Centre. My preview: www.planethugill.com/2026/04/the-...

In his music for Daudet's L'Arlésienne, Bizet demonstrated his dramatic talent, yet the original is almost unknown: the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment is set to change that with Mark Elder at Southbank Centre. My article: www.planethugill.com/2026/04/in-h...

B:Classical - B:Music's 2026/27 classical season in Birmingham mixes local & home-grown talent & international visitors, whilst Birmingham City Organist Thomas Trotter celebrates his 900th recital. My preview www.planethugill.com/2026/04/bcla...

Winners of the National Centre for Early Music Young Composers Award 2026, in partnership with BBC Radio 3, for a new piece for The Gonzaga Band. My article: www.planethugill.com/2026/04/winn...

First recording of an early 19th century Portuguese radical chamber version of Mozart's Requiem from Ricardo Bernardes & Americantiga Ensemble, onHora recordings. My article: www.planethugill.com/2026/04/firs...

Six new operas about Brummies past and present: Birmingham Opera Company invites you to RE-WIRE your mind. My preview: www.planethugill.com/2026/04/six-...

A delightful jeu d'esprit: a strong cast has great fun with Peter Tranchell's 1950s operetta Twice a Kiss. My review: www.planethugill.com/2026/04/a-de...

The piece that made me fall in love with song: Helen Charlston - Mezzo Soprano on recording Schumann's Dichterliebe & Heloise Werner for BIS with Sholto Kynoch, premiering Michel van der Aa's Theory of Flames with Dutch National Opera & more. My interview: www.planethugill.com/2026/04/the-...

A vividly theatrical mix of Eastern folk traditions & 17th century Italian music: MOURN from Alkanna Graeca & Figure at Stone Nest, devised by Frederick Waxman & Arianna Achillea. My review: www.planethugill.com/2026/04/a-vi...

Opera North's Orpheus returns, raag & rhythm at the Darbar Festival & a new sitar concerto with BBC Symphony Orchestra: Jasdeep Singh Degun to be artist in residence at Barbican Centre for 2026/27. My preview: www.planethugill.com/2026/04/orph...

Beautifully wrought & intensely serious: Kitty Whately & Julius Drake explore the songs of Madeleine Dring on Chandos. My record review: www.planethugill.com/2026/04/beau...

March on Planet Hugill: Titus, Rinaldo, Tamerlano, Acis, Galatea and Friends. My e-newsletter on Mailchimp: mailchi.mp/planethugill...

An evening of connection, reflection, & celebration: Renell Shaw's The Windrush Suite and Echo in the Bones as part of his artist residency at Kings Place for their Memory Unwrapped season. My preview: www.planethugill.com/2026/04/an-e...

Music at the Heart of the Community: Sinfonia Cymru take us from Latin America and France to concerts in local venues across Wales. My preview: www.planethugill.com/2026/04/musi...

Signs, Games & Messages: Lewes Chamber Music Festival 2026 celebrates Kurtág's 100th anniversary under artistic director Beatrice Philips alongside 14 fellow musicians. My preview: www.planethugill.com/2026/04/sign...

A new festival in Galsgow and Edinburgh recalls a forgotten 19th century Scottish musical pioneer, Helen Hopekirk. My preview: www.planethugill.com/2026/04/a-ne...

From London to Jerusalem: America period instrument ensemble Apollo's Fire return to London for a second residency at St Martin in the Fields. My preview: www.planethugill.com/2026/04/from...

Cross-cultural cross currents: Jasdeep Singh Degun with Tom Fetherstonhaugh & Fantasia Orchestra in Terry Riley's iconic In C performed by string orchestra, piano, sitar and tabla at Smith Square Hall alongside Degun, Glass & Rameau. My concert review: www.planethugill.com/2026/04/cros...

Fellow Travelers: Gregory Spears' opera celebrates its 10th anniversary with a nationwide USA tour collaborating with the American LGBTQ+ Museum's Lavender Names Project. My article: www.planethugill.com/2026/04/greg...

Bridging worlds: premiere of Eleanor Alberga's Symphony No. 2 by Academy of St Martin in the Fields alongside music by Grazyna Bacewicz, Florence Price, Carolyn Shaw. My concert review: www.planethugill.com/2026/04/brid...

Elaborate vocal lines, aching beauty & expressive pain: The Portrait Players & Dame Emma Kirkby in I Voci Segreti at City Music Foundation concert at St Bart's Great Hall www.planethugill.com/2026/04/elab...

1976 and All That! Spitalfields Music Festival celebrates 50 years since its founding with contemporary music, classical repertoire and cross-artform collaborations including 20 premieres. My preview: www.planethugill.com/2026/04/1976...

French pianist and composer Sofiane Pamart explores Cinematic Horizons with his new album "MOVIE" with Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir. Sofiane's interview: www.planethugill.com/2026/04/sofi...

Maundy Thursday concert: Edmund Finnis, Allegri, Barber, Victoria, James MacMillan from Tenebrae, Britten Sinfonia at Snape Maltings. Tony's review: www.planethugill.com/2026/04/the-...

Decadent & modernist: director Max Hoehn & designer Darko Petrovic on working on the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, Lisbon's first staging of Wagner's Tannhäuser for nearly 30 years. My interview: www.planethugill.com/2026/04/deca...

Drama & presence: Bach's St Matthew Passion at the Barbican Centre with Arcangelo, Jonathan Cohen, Nick Pritchard, Alex Rosen, Carolyn Sampson, Hugh Cutting, Hugo Hymas & Thomas Bauer. My review: www.planethugill.com/2026/04/dram...

A sonic extravaganza: Alex Paxton's Candyfolk Spacedrum demonstrates his gift for carefully crafted music that has the energy & engagement of a communal jam session. On Jonah Records with Jennifer Walshe, Riot Ensemble, London Sinfonietta. My review: www.planethugill.com/2026/04/a-so...

Act Four: Young Artists from the National Opera Studio on terrific form at Bishopsgate Institute in scenes directed by Ruth Knight in a show created in collaboration with Welsh National Opera. My review: www.planethugill.com/2026/04/act-...