Guardian Music — A female conductor is still seen as such a novelty in the UK, yet one of our most internationally acclaimed maestros is a womanJulia Jones rightly upbraided me when I interviewed her for tomorrow's Music Matters on Radio 3. "It's only in England that... more info

Mercury News, California — With ten productions, including Wagner's epic four-work 'Ring' cycle, the new season is bigger than the current season, which has nine productions. The company has even managed to boost its operating budget, from $61 million in 2009-10 to $69 million... more info

Guardian Music — St George's, BloomsburyThe now-cultish Swiss composer Frank Martin wrote his setting of the Tristan and Isolde legend between 1938 and 1941. In essence a chamber oratorio – though occasionally staged, especially in Germany – Le Vin Herb... more info

Guardian Music — Wigmore Hall, LondonDaniel Grimwood's recording of Liszt's Transcendental Studies, played on an Erard piano of the 1850s, was one of the most rewarding keyboard releases of last year. He's clearly a pianist who revels in technical challenges, for Gri... more info

Altsounds — The renowned producer *Ashley Beedle* discusses his upcoming *Mavis* project on !K7, which incorporates influences ranging from 60s soul to reggae soundsystem culture to shimmering Phil Spectre style production. The album also boasts an array of gues... more info

Guardian Music — Wigmore Hall, LondonSergei Leiferkus's recital opened with Schumann's Op 39 Liederkreis, and it was soon apparent that his choice was a mistake. Leiferkus, one of classical music's great communicators, was on this occasion projecting comparatively l... more info

Guardian Music — Last week we asked for songs with great intros. To herald the coming of 2010, we want songs about new beginningsSo that was a large one then, as the ??? said to the ??? (I'm a Guardian hack, my double entendres are neither gender nor orientation spec... more info

Guardian Music — Royal Festival Hall, LondonBleeding chunks is what they used to call Wagner concerts of this kind back in the days before complete recordings, when such programmes provided the only way for many people to hear Wagner's music. Today, an evening of hi... more info

Guardian Music — Too big, and you risk giving yourself gangrene. Too small, and ... well, actually you don't even need one. Are maestros too attached to their batons?Of all the conductorly fetishes, this, surely, is the most ridiculous of all. The hair? The intense s... more info

Guardian Music — Watching Verdi's Falstaff at Milton Keynes Theatre was all the sweeter with a glass in handThat rarest of beers: a lager you can take in to the second act of the opera! Falstaff, to be precise, in Glyndebourne on Tour's production at the Milton Keyne... more info