Classical

Coruscating Latin rhythms with a four-mallet attack, folk-jazz from a guitar-ukelele-vocal duo, and baroque-jazz crossover from the late bassoonist Daniel Smith

The members of this adventurous quartet proved themselves masters of tonal variation, broad technique, and compositional creativity in a fascinating program that transformed and adapted Bach and Haydn and presented modern works that nod to the Baroque.

One could view 'In Winter' as a stylish stopgap between Melua's last recording 'Ketevan' and her next album. However, one should embrace it as an inspired seasonal concept album that ties 'The House' as her most ambitious undertaking yet.

A joyful, optimistic, brilliantly composed vision, Haydn's great oratorio jibed perfectly with Enlightenment philosophy, and went on to offer a couple of hours of comfort and relief as war darkened the start of the 19th century. Today, it continues to bring joy.

With polished young performers on many different instruments at her disposal, Podger presented a wide range of music that featured flutes, oboes, and bassoon as well as strings.

The pianist captures the essences of small works by Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland as sensitively as she does songs and pieces by Irving Berlin, Duke Ellington and Howard Arlen.

On the surface, you might think that limiting the songs of a band that thrived on the interplay between various parts – most importantly the lead and rhythm guitars of Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir – wouldn't work, but you’d be mistaken. There is power and subtlety in these reinterpretations that I think Garcia would have admired, as his own personal tastes seemed to range to the more subdued and authentic soul of acoustic performances.

Soprano Lisa Delan's direct, humanistic approach and pianist Kevin Korth's sensitive musicality strike just the right balance between liquid emotion and straightforward braininess.

Knowing that Eyck conceived and recorded the album for 12" vinyl made even my digital listening experience feel somehow richer – as if I were in the presence not just of new avant-garde music but of the whole weird history of the theremin.

It was nice to see a warmer side to the cellist's chill, hyper-modern aesthetic as she introduced songs and asked the audience for vocal and smartphone participation. At the end she sent us out to wander the crowded desert of Greenwich Village, inspired by her musicianship but even more so by her distinctive dark aesthetic.