Our Choices The BBC Music Magazine team’s current favourites

Charlotte Smith Editor

A trip to the BBC Proms in September afforded me the opportunity to hear the Berlin Philharmonic live for the very first time – and what a performance it was! Conducting Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony was Daniel Harding (right). The work’s rumbling chords showcased a string sound of astonishing richness and a superbly balanced brass section. And in Harding’s hands, Bruckner’s epic architecture was never less than transparent.

Jeremy Pound Deputy editor

Given it was the beginning of the school year, for the Choir of St Paul’s Cathedral to appear at short notice at the live-televised service of reflection and prayer for Queen Elizabeth II on 9 September was a case of jumping in at the deep end.

And to sing with such poise and balance was exceptional. Harris’s unaccompanied anthem Bring Us O Lord God was a perfect choice – restrained, reflective and sublimely beautiful.

Michael Beek Reviews editor

I took a trip to Wolf Hall recently, in music and words at least! The Locrian Ensemble of London, which recorded Debbie Wiseman’s original score for the 2015 BBC drama, performed selections with the composer on piano. Actor Anton Lesser performed riveting readings from Hilary Mantel’s texts which, added to Wiseman’s music, left the The Hurlingham Club audience enraptured.

Steve Wright Content producer

The last three Dvoˇrák symphonies get most of the attention, but I’m an admirer of their predecessors. I’ve been returning to the Fifth – such a sunny, beguiling piece – as the nights draw in. The opening clarinet motif is the perfect curtain-raiser to the first movement’s high spirits. Later, Dvoˇrák shows off his gift for a good Scherzo, setting off on a streak: all his symphonies from now on will have a belter of a fast movement.

Alice Pearson Cover CD editor

Tchaikovsky’s First Symphony accompanied me on a chilly journey from the Isle of Skye to London a couple of years ago. I remember repeating the second movement ‘Land of gloom, land of mist’ many times – I find it one of the most heartfelt of slow movements. The rest of the symphony is packed with enchanting melodies. A favourite recent recording is by the Tonhalle Orchestra under Paavo Järvi.