Igor Stravinsky: Late Works album review – kudos to Reuss for bringing this spellbinding music to life

Noord Nederlands Orkest and Cappella Amsterdam breathe colour and light into work from the composer’s most austere period

The Makropulos Affair review – Simon Rattle leads a sensational and thrilling semi-staging

The tension barely let up for two hours as Rattle led the London Symphony Orchestra and a commanding cast through this vital account of Janáček’s opera.

Are ‘Friends’ Electric? review – Elaine Mitchener redefines what singing means in virtuoso tour-de-force

The vocalist travels the full spectrum of the human voice, from subdued sounds of mouth and breath to an exhilarating remix of her own hyper-exuberant electronic soundscape

An English Song Winterreise review – Roderick Williams masterfully mirrors Schubert’s iconic song cycle

The baritone has refined his playlist to include Vaughan Williams, Ina Boyle and Gerald Finzi, lending this enthralling cycle deeper melancholy than the original

BBCNOW/ Bancroft/ Gerhardt review – intriguing connections, magic and melancholy beauty

An imaginatively programmed concert featured Anders Hillborg alongside Sibelius and Shostakovich – with Alban Gerhardt the impeccable soloist in the latter’s second cello concerto

In Search of Youkali album review – Katie Bray is outstanding in this voyage around Weill

The easy fluency of Bray and pianist William Vann guides us through familiar and less well known Kurt Weill songs with the haunting Youkali as the lodestar on our journey

Eric Lu: Schubert Impromptus album review – mature and mesmerising

In this recording of the eight Impromptus, some of Schubert’s most profound music, Lu cements his place as a serious talent

Brendel is celebrated in a glorious musical evening of silliness, sublime playing and warm affection

On what would have been Alfred Brendel’s 95th birthday, some of the world’s greatest musicians performed in a relaxed and joyous celebration of an outstanding musician and benevolent mentor

Shimmer review – National Youth Orchestra welcome the new year in bracing, stylish style

In a programme of early 20th- and 21st-century music, it was in the contemporary works that the new cohort of teenagers were most impressive

Boulanger: La Ville Morte album review – The celebrated teacher’s early opera is brought back to life

This early work by Nadia Boulanger - better known as the influential teacher – was never performed and survived only in vocal score. Despite the best efforts of conductor Neal Goren and his hard-working cast it never quite coheres

Radu Lupu: The Unreleased Recordings album review – treasures from the vaults are a wonderful surprise

This six-disc collection to mark the late pianist’s 80th birthday is full of treats and includes rare ventures into Chopin and Copland, along with Lupu’s legendary rendition of Bartók at Leeds in 1969

Hugh Cutting/ Refound review – countertenor’s darkly compelling recital is an imaginative treat

Cutting’s programme of songs and music were all connected to the theme of night, in an evening that felt more cabaret than concert

MacMillan’s Christmas Oratorio review – a magical choral performance

Roderick Williams and Rhian Lois were the perfectly matched vocal soloists as James MacMillan conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in a ferociously committed performance of his own Christmas story

Beare’s Chamber Music festival review: string supergroup dazzle with Schubert, Strauss and Schoenberg

The likes of Janine Jansen, Timothy Ridout and Kian Soltani were part of a starry lineup giving this London audience a taste of heaven on earth

Turandot review – Anna Netrebko brings greatness to Royal Opera’s classic staging

Andrei Serban’s 40-year-old production is confidently revived by Jack Furness, while the vocal richness of the Russian soprano as its eponymous heroine takes things to another level