Review - Beethoven Symphony 7, Berliner Philharmoniker / Kirill Petrenko (Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings) It's always a pleasure to see new releases from the once-renowned Berlin Philharmonic, an orchestra we've associated with the big yellow banners...

Review - Bruckner Symphony 8, Christian Thielemann / Vienna Philharmonic / Sony Classical The High Arts Review Rating ★★★(★)☆ The booklet informs us that this is a captured live performance from Vienna, recorded in October 2019...

Review - Beethoven Symphonies 1-9, The Creatures of Prometheus Overture & Nos. 9 & 16, Coriolan Overture, Leonore Overture no. 3 (op. 72b), Fidelio & Egmont Overtures, Symphony 10 First Movement realised and completed...

Review - Beethoven, Symphonies 1-9, Marek Janowski/WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, WDR Rundfunkchor Köln NDR Chor / Christian Elsner, Andreas Bauer Kanabas, Regine Hangler, Wiebke Lehmkuhl The High Arts Review Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ Janowski's is a solid,...

Midsummer Night’s Dream (2015) / Alexander Ekman (Choreography & set designs) /  Royal Swedish Ballet / Mikael Karlsson (music) An audacious stage work True, this has nothing to do with Shakespeare's play apart from sharing the...

Film review: MS Slavic 7 / Director: Sofia Bohdanowicz/ Released: 2019 I have nothing but praise for this contemporary masterpiece which I discovered through MUBI. Director Sofia Bohdanowicz has crafted a genuine work of art,...

Music Review: Beethoven, Triple Concerto & Symphony 7 / Anne-Sophie Mutter (violin), Yo-Yo Ma (cello), Daniel Barenboim (piano & conductor) / West-Eastern Divan Orchestra / Deutsche Grammophon The High Arts Review Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★...

Film review: 1917 / Director: Sam Mendes / Released: 2019 1917 is one of those rare films that appear every once in a while, to remind you what great cinema is all about. And not from...

Review: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood / Director: Quentin Tarantino / Released: 2019 That Tarantino is the creator of visually stunning set pieces is a known fact. And his latest instalment, a tour de...

Like last year, here are my top picks for the best classical music albums released in 2019. These are presented in random order, except for my selection for the Best Classical Album of the...