1. The Cumnock Tryst
Ayrshire; October
Founded by composer James MacMillan in his ex-mining home town, this plucky annual event grows ever more capacious and inclusive. As well as star soprano Danielle de Niese, a highlight was a new work created by 350 local people, A Musical Celebration of the Coalfields. If anything deserves the epithet “making change through music”, it’s the Cumnock Tryst.
2. Manchester Classical
Manchester; June
The inaugural gathering of the city’s musical groups – the Hallé and BBC Philharmonic orchestras, Manchester Camerata, Manchester Collective, students, the locally based Indian Choir of England and more – under one roof at the Bridgewater Hall: 16 performances in two days, creating an infectious festival weekend.
3. In the Realms of Sorrow
Stone Nest, London; February
Four Handel cantatas linked to make a physically daring show in a former church turned nightclub, the whole ignited by the directorial imagination of Adele Thomas and the musical leadership of Laurence Cummings.
4. Blue
Coliseum, London; April
A family drama about activism set to jazz, gospel, blues and more, by American composer Jeanine Tesori. A surprise hit for ENO (in a year of woes ending with news of a move to Manchester) with zinging singing and huge panache.
5. Requiem
Grand theatre, Leeds; May
Would Mozart’s Requiem survive a mashup between Phoenix Dance Theatre and Opera North with South Africa’s Jazzart Dance Theatre and Cape Town Opera? A resounding you bet for this affecting, inspired project.
6. Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool; February
Benjamin Grosvenor played Rachmaninov’s familiar Piano Concerto No 2 with the freshness of discovery in a concert that celebrated the RLPO’s acquisition of massive church bells, which raised the roof in Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition.
7. Least Like the Other
Linbury theare, Royal Opera House, London; January
A disturbing new opera about the tragic Rosemary Kennedy, sister of US president John F Kennedy, created from redacted archive material by composer Brian Irvine and director Netia Jones. Performed by the exciting Irish National Opera, conducted by its artistic director, Fergus Shiel.
8. The Art of Being Human
Aldeburgh festival, Suffolk; June
A bold title for an extraordinary work: Laurence Dreyfus and viol ensemble Phantasm performed 16th- and 17th-century English consort music on stage with five dancers amid strange sculptural landscape. A hushed mystery unto itself.
9. The Dream of Gerontius
Symphony Hall, Birmingham; March
Stepping in at short notice to make his debut in Elgar’s epic choral work, Ryan Wigglesworth conducted as if his life depended on it, with white-hot results. The CBSO, chorus and soloists soared to the holiest heights.
10. Aurora Orchestra
Bristol Cathedral; March
Also triumphing with The Rite of Spring from memory at this year’s BBC Proms, Aurora and conductor Nichola Collon played Beethoven’s Symphony No 5 for an audience, elderly and frail, from care homes. They listened agog, immersed, rejuvenated.
