The Kingdom: Oxford Bach Choir, BSO/Nicholas review – Elgar’s unloved oratorio sounds expansive and convincing

The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, the Oxford Bach Choir and a fine quartet of soloists made the case for Elgar’s oratorio

Sinfonia of London/ Wilson/ Kantorow review – pushing the limits of the well-oiled orchestral machine

Conductor John Wilson and players delivered an Enigma Variations that veered between whispers and full-throttle intensity. Soloist Alexandre Kantorow, too, proved a master of extremes with Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No 3

BBC Symphony Orchestra/ Oramo/ Son review – rainy days, rolling hills and enchanted creatures

Judith Weir’s salute to the Indian monsoon kicked off a concert on nature and folk themes, Korean pianist Yeol Eum Son brought poetic flourishes to works by Bartók and Finzi, while the magical Firebird made a rousing finale

BBCNOW/Djupsjöbacka review – Tower’s Love Returns is an uncommonly appealing piece

Joan Tower’s concerto for alto saxophone was brilliantly delivered by Steven Banks, part of a lively concert

Hallé/Chauhan/Helseth review – Muhly paints doom with Helseth’s gleaming trumpet

Bridgewater Hall, Manchester Receiving its UK premiere in a programme with Britten and Walton, Nico Muhly’s trumpet concerto is inspired by the instrument’s biblical – sometimes apocalyptic – associations

Elisabeth Leonskaja review – piano legend’s unerring sense of architecture reveals connections and kinships

In her recital programme of Beethoven, Schoenberg, Chopin, Webern and Schubert, the Austrian pianist brought new insights and expected delights

James Blake: Trying Times review – platitudes about politics and Kanye can’t detract from an excellent album

Amid the stylistic shifts of Blake’s seventh record come samples of Dusty Springfield and Dizzee Rascal: gripping distractions from some preachy sentiments

Joseph Nolan: The Complete Alkan Organ Works, Vol 1 album review – seething with quasi-orchestral colour

From operatic frenzy in one moment to pianissimo whisper the next, Nolan does exhilarating justice to an extraordinary but little known repertoire

Nemanja Radulović: Prokofiev album review – thrills and spills from a fearless violin virtuoso

Radulović brings irresistible swagger to selections from Romeo and Juliet and Cinderella, while a more restrained duet fosters a fine sense of dialogue

Philharmonia/Alsop/Weilerstein review – tricky acoustic mutes the sonic drama

Weilerstein gave a virtuosic account of Gabriela Ortiz’s Grammy-winning Cello Concerto in a concert hall whose dry acoustic made things challenging at times

Monteverdi Choir/English Baroque Soloists/Whelan review – St John Passion of drama and authority

Peter Whelan conducted a performance of Bach’s oratorio that was full of driving cinematic excitement and touching humanity

LSO/Hannigan review – intensely fluent soprano switches into full command as conductor

Barbara Hannigan began the evening singing an intense monodrama based on Han Kang’s The White Book, then led the orchestra through unsparing Ligeti and Strauss

Feshareki/BBC Singers/Goddard review – goddess-inspired soundscape stuck in the great unknown

Shiva Feshareki’s Divine Feminine fails to find its focus despite soprano Emma Tring’s incandescent, fearless performance of Celtic deity Brigid

Hallé: Huw Watkins album review – Covid-era commissions capture energy and hope after lockdown

Watkins’s symphony, fanfare and concerto make for a spirited showcase of the orchestra’s clean harmonies

Lise Davidsen and James Baillieu: Live at the Met album review – electrifying renditions make the momentous intimate

Recorded in New York in 2023, the soprano sings Strauss, Wagner, Grieg and more to thrilling effect, her sincerity and passion matched perfectly on piano