Allmusic Blog — Undoubtedly the most famous disability endured by any classical composer was Ludwig van Beethoven's total deafness, which he overcame through his genius and force of will. But there are many other cases where composers have persevered through grave i... more info

Guardian Music — Capuçon/Braley(Virgin Classics, three CDs)Though other versions now in progress (especially the live recordings from the Wigmore Hall by Alina Ibragimova and Cédric Tiberghien) may well emerge soon to rival it, this is the finest new cycle of the B... more info

Guardian Music — Royal Festival Hall, LondonMost of those lucky enough to hear the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra, when it rolled onto London's South Bank some 18 months ago, were knocked off their feet by the bewildering skill and bursting effervescence of the youn... more info

Guardian Music — Colston Hall, BristolLest anyone imagine that Shostakovich's 10th Symphony could be taken more lightly than when it was written, after Stalin's death in 1953, conductor Kyrill Karabits had his own way of making the point. Taking the podium, he waited... more info

Guardian Music — Too many ballgowns, and not enough Beethoven. Alison Balsom talks to Erica Jeal about life as a classical trumpeter'Brahms, Beethoven, Schubert …" Trumpeter Alison Balsom sighs as she reels off the names – and in that sigh lies the reason why the... more info

Guardian Music — Royal Festival Hall, LondonThis is Julian Anderson's final season as artistic director and presenter of the Philharmonia's Music of Today series. As the evening began, Unsuk Chin was announced as his successor, after which Anderson presided over the... more info

Mercury News, California — The terrific program -- Schumann's 'Spring' Symphony, Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 and Mahler's 'Songs of a Wayfarer' -- continues at San Jose's California Theatre through Sunday. more info

Guardian Music — Bridge House, WarwickOf all the great composers, Monteverdi is perhaps the most elusive. There's no popular caricature of the man, as there is of Bach, Mozart or Beethoven. That is part of the justification for this production, woven around the compo... more info

All About Jazz — After years of labor, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey's reinterpretations of Beethoven's 3rd and 6th Symphonies premiered in June as a project entitled "Ludwig." The project, which rearranged Beethoven's 3rd and 6th symphonies, was premiered alongside a 50 p... more info

Guardian Music — Bridgewater Hall, ManchesterThis is Gianandrea Noseda's last season as the BBC Philharmonic's chief conductor and there is already a sense of retrospection in the air. His repertoire, in part, peers back over his tenure to remind us self-consciously ... more info