Mercury News, California — Often described as the most perfect opera ever composed, 'Figaro' opens Saturday at the California Theatre for eight performances with a pair of revolving casts. more info

Buffalo News, New York — Buffalo, what a town! Last night it was close to zero degrees, and still, thousands of people braved the cold to hear Mozart. Kleinhans Music Hall was packed for the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra's Mozart birthday celebration. It is becoming an annu... more info

For 90 years, the Virginia Symphony Orchestra has been showing up and making a joyful noise. That's a lot of history: a lengthy roster of conductors and classical musicians, several name changes, and a gazillion performances of Beethoven and Mozart. more info

Guardian Music — Royal Festival Hall, LondonAfter the huge success of Daniel Barenboim's cycle of the Beethoven piano sonatas two years ago, his return for the five piano concertos was the natural sequel. Yet while it was natural he would be keen to play and conduct ... more info

Guardian Music — Symphony Hall, BirminghamAndris Nelsons's dynamic ­performances of Richard Strauss with the City of ­Birmingham Symphony Orchestra have been one of the strongest indicators of his exceptional gifts as a conductor. The latest Strauss score to ge... more info

Mercury News, California — In a video on the San Francisco Symphony Web site, Tilson Thomas, 65, called this week's program (which repeats through Saturday) 'a last stand of getting my piano playing back to a certain level.' Sorry to say it, but his Mozart performance was dist... more info

All About Jazz — Dave Brubeck, one of the most well-known jazz pianists of all time, has for some time explored new avenues in composition and performance--including his many choral compositions. This album features the first recording of Brubeck's Sacred Choral mu... more info

Guardian Music — The Beeb and ITV each want to sing opera's praises – the former with a full season celebration, the latter with a reality show. Who do you think will do a better job?Only the most heartless curmudgeon could possibly fail to be moved, uplifted ... more info

Guardian Music — In his classic book Naples '44, Norman Lewis, then a British soldier in occupied Italy, describes how an orchestra playing a wartime concert at Naples's Teatro di San Carlo returned to their places after the interval to discover that thieves had stol... more info

Guardian Music — Royal Festival Hall, LondonTo See the ­Summer Sky, a work by the ­increasingly ­prominent 28-year-old ­Scottish composer Helen Grime, had its ­premiere in the latest of the ­Philharmonia's series, and was vividly ­performed by Â... more info