All just my personal opinion
Tonhalle Zurich, 2015-10-03: The Basel Sinfonietta, directed by Daníel Bjarnason, and Víkingur Ólafsson (piano) with the program “Epicycle 1”, featuring exclusively works of composers from Iceland, namely Jón Leifs, Þráinn Hjálmarsson, Anna S. Þorvaldsdóttir, Hlynur Aðils Vilmarsson, and Daníel Bjarnason
2015-09-16, Season’s Opening Concert with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich under Lionel Bringuier — Johannes Brahms: Double Concerto in a-minor, op.102, with Lisa Batiashvili (Artist in Residence) & Gautier Capuçon; compositions by and with Jörg Widmann, clarinet and Creative Chair; Alexander Scriabin: Symphony No.4, “Poème de l’extase”, op.54
Concert matinée at the Tonhalle Zurich, featuring Bach (excerpts from “The Art of the Fugue”, BWV 1080) and his re-discoverer, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (String Quintet No.1 in A major, op.18), with members of the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich
My first reaction in writing this short review was to use a title such as “Bach’s Christmas Oratorio — How Not To” — but let me start properly: This year’s Christmas concert in the Tonhalle Zurich (on Friday, 2014-12-19) was given by the Zürcher Sing-Akademie (Zurich Singing Academy), the professional choir, founded in 2011, following the footsteps of the Schweizer Kammerchor (Swiss Chamber Choir)…
Igor Levit was born 1987 in Nizhny Novgorod (Gorky); in 1995 his family moved to Germany; he grew up with the piano (his mother is a pianist whose teacher had once studied with Heinrich Neuhaus), did his musical studies at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover and finished with the best notes ever given by that institution. Aged 17, he was the youngest participant at the International Arthur Rubinstein Piano Master Competition in Tel Aviv, in 2005; he won the second prize, plus several special awards, such as the special prize for chamber music, and the audience award…