Guardian Music — Barbican, London This was the second of two concerts originally scheduled to be conducted by Pierre Boulez. However, they were taken over, programmes unchanged, by  Peter Eötvös at the request of Boulez, who is recovering from an eye condition.... more info

Guardian Music — Coliseum, LondonEnglish National Opera's new staging of The Flying Dutchman marks the Wagnerian debuts of both Jonathan Kent as director and Edward Gardner as conductor. In a recent interview, they promised us a "white-knuckle ride", and in some resp... more info

Guardian Music — Barbican, LondonPerformances of Weber's Gothic tale of demonic pacts and shooting trials have become few and far between, so we should be grateful to Colin Davis for presenting it in concert with the London Symphony Orchestra. He feels great fondness... more info

Guardian Music — Vogt/Uhl/Deutsche Oper Berlin/Schneider (Sony)We've heard too little of tenor Klaus Florian Vogt in the UK and next to nothing of him in the 18th and 19th century German roles that have made him popular on the European mainland. Helden ("Heroes"), hi... more info

Guardian Music — Millennium Centre, CardiffAppropriately enough, the Mariinsky theatre's brief visit to Britain this week is dominated by an opera that ends on Good Friday. Wagner's Parsifal has been a central part of the St Petersburg company's repertoire ever since... more info

Guardian Music — Claire Booth, Gordon Gietz etc (soloists), Ictus Ensemble/Brabbins(Cypres)Jonathan Harvey has described his opera – given its recent UK concert premiere at the Barbican – as about the clash of two cultures: late Romanticism and knowledge through ... more info

Guardian Music — Barbican, LondonFor much of his life, Wagner was drawn to eastern philosophy, and from 1856 repeatedly toyed with the idea of an opera on a Buddhist subject called Die Sieger (The Victors). Only the briefest of sketches remain, though he intended to ... more info

Guardian Music — Mixing Sabbath heaviness with Wagnerian bombast, this ludicrously OTT anthem thrills me now as it did when I was 15Even as an impressionable, not very discerning 15-year-old determined to buy every heavy metal album that had ever been released, I kne... more info

Guardian Music — Queen Elizabeth Hall, LondonPierre-Laurent Aimard's response to the Liszt bicentenary has been as probing as one would expect from the French pianist. Earlier in the year, he recorded two Vienna recitals for a live double CD, putting the composer's w... more info

Guardian Music — Ibragimova/Tiberghien (Hyperion)Alina Ibragimova and Cédric Tiberghien have become today's partnership of choice for violin and piano repertory. Their reputation is founded on their Beethoven, but they are just as compelling on this disc of music by... more info