As gifts to the Philarmonia's 80th birthday season, Nicola Benedetti gives a barnstorming account of Elgar's Violin Concerto before Cristian Mӑcelaru gets emotionally drained by La Mer.
Vibrant, colourful music is played with every last ounce of enthusiasm as the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia rounds off its UK tour at Sheffield City Hall.
Less a symphony, more a force of nature, Sir Simon Rattle conducts the Vienna Philharmonic in a turbulent, yet spacious reading of Mahler's Ninth Symphony in the Musikverein.
Aurel Dawidziuk and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra explore darkness and light, although the drama does not always bringing the audience to the edge of its collective seat.
