The week in classical: Das Rheingold; Lucerne festival review – all about oil
From an all-consuming performance of Barrie Kosky’s fierce new Rheingold to a stage invasion in Lucerne, musical excellence and the climate emergency went hand in hand
October 2022
Hans Rott, Symphony No 1/Mahler review – friends but not equals
Royal Opera House announces Jakub Hrůša as its new music director
April 2022
The week in classical: Lohengrin; The Paradis Files
Lohengrin review – powerful and prescient production strips Wagner’s opera of its romance
September 2020
Novák: Piano conc, Toman and the Wood Nymph etc review – a composer worth knowing?
‘Vítězslav Novák is worth knowing about and we must play his music,’ says Hrůša, and the later works have a pictorial energy that is vividly realised here
March 2020
Observer critics special
Mahler versus Slowthai! - what happened when our pop and classical critics traded jobs?
Kitty Empire and Fiona Maddocks stepped into each other’s shoes to review the NME awards and the Philharmonia
August 2018
Vanessa review – Barber's opera finds its time with intelligent, gripping staging
Keith Warner’s new production features a compelling performance by Emma Bell at its centre, with the London Philharmonic under Jakub Hrůša also very impressive
February 2018
Carmen review – Bizet meets Busby Berkeley
Big numbers and bohemian loucheness characterise Barrie Kosky’s uneven production
August 2016
A Midsummer Night's Dream review – Peter Hall revival retains its magic
A Midsummer Night’s Dream review – the return of a sweet enchantment
June 2016
Eugene Onegin; Iris; La Bohème; The Cunning Little Vixen – review
The Cunning Little Vixen review – pulsing with life
February 2016
Philharmonia/Hruša review – ravishing textures and self-conscious languor
Mahler’s metaphysical Third Symphony is arguably his most ambitious and Jakub Hrůša’s reading was remarkable
Daniil Trifonov was on vivid, commanding form in the second piano concerto while Hrůša’s Dvořák caught fire
September 2015
Tom Service on classical music
The latest from the maestros' merry-go-round
Young Czech conductor Jakub Hrůša will take over from Jonathan Nott at the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, plus other conductorial comings, goings and reunions
June 2014
Smetana's Má Vlast, featuring the Moldau
Smetana's Má Vlast, featuring the Moldau
April 2014
Philharmonia/Hrůša review – Suk's Praga glows with conviction
Hrůša's direction of the colossal 1904 symphonic poem Praga placed Suk's works firmly alongside the works of Dvořák and Janáček, writes Martin Kettle
November 2012
BBCSO/Hrůša – review
Soloist James Crabb overcame interruptions to make a mark in Rolf Hind's accordion concerto in a concert that lacked vigour and drive, writes George Hall
