The Traveller at Salisbury Catherdal

An exciting collaboration between the composer Alec Roth and the writer Vikram Seth with Eastern inflections

First Night of the Proms

I think this might have been my 25th First Night of the Proms as a critic. Undoubtedly it was the weirdest

Cheltenham Music Festival

Through brief, interlinked character pieces, instruments creep, chew or scud to create some overwhelming harmonies

Mercedes Sosa

One of the titans of Latin American music delivered a magisterial, impressively focused and consistent performance

Pavel Haas Quartet/Counterpoise

It was up to Mahler to round off the City of London Festival, but the pleasures have been many throughout

Juan Diego Florez

The tenor battled a chesty cough to deliver a no-holds-barred performance that remains an acquired taste

Amy Winehouse T in the Park

The singer concentrated so hard on swivelling her hips or tugging down her red shorts that she barely bothered with vocals

McFly

Still all in their early twenties, McFly have already enjoyed an astonishingly successful career. But now they're giving their music away

Barbirolli String Quartet/Psappha

The Barbirolli String Quartet should be watched closely after their performance of music by Rigaki, Cutler, Beethoven and Brahms

Justice

It soon became apparent that the good feeling was down to people's determination to enjoy themselves on a wet Friday night

Monteverdi Choir/Gardiner

The presence of two Requiem settings on the anniversary of the July 7 London bombings created a thoughtful concert

The Play of Daniel

Even small parts in this liturgical drama arrived stamped with character as we were guided through the narrative, touching

Eddy Grant

With his zest for performing rekindled, Grant was a mischievous presence at the front of an overcrowded stage

LSO/Gergiev

Thousands of notes from hundreds of lungs converged into one cluster encompassing every semitone and overtone known to Man

Branford Marsalis/Andrew McCormack

The intricate close harmony passages in Andrew McCormack's composition Junket were dazzlingly clever

Jason Mraz

Mraz had a sunny disposition and there were no bad songs as such, but several fell into the category of inoffensive folk-pop

The Blue Nile

Crowd singalongs greeted the best-known songs, bejewelled reveries united by their urban-vista settings and achingly romantic mood

BBC Philharmonic/Dworzynski

Alongside the mostly spine-judderingly loud concert, the dynamic singers Trio Mediaeva gave an imaginative presentation

Gnarls Barkley

The show’s first half felt muted and airless but excitement levels picked up with Callaway’s volcanic voice and operatic pitch

East Neuk Festival

For many, this will have been the year of the Welsh pianist with wizardry at his fingertips, Llyr Williams