Marin Alsop ends her inspirational tenure as Principal Conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra when she gives her last concerts this month at the Orchestra’s home in Poole, conducting Mahler’s symphonies No.s 9 and 10.

Click here to listen online to BBC Radio 3's recording of the 7 May concert at the Lighthouse, Poole. Marin conducts the Bournemouth Symphony in Christopher Rouse's Percussion Concerto: Der Gerettete Alberich with percussionist Colin Currie, followed by Mahler Symphony No.9.

Last month, Marin conducted the Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala in Milan in a programme of Liszt Les Preludes, Bartok The Miraculous Mandarin and Dvorak Symphony No.9.

"Alsop characterised the piece with broad strokes of late romantic, quasi Strauss-like colour. The similarities with the havens of Dvorak's New World Symphony were obvious: solemn opening; slow movement smug in its melodic suavity, made even more hypnotic with its breathing and continuous rallentandi; and the whole performance was confident with a certain musical idea which aimed to tame without losing a priori the orchestral rhetoric... And so, with each thematic explosion the conductor's gestures grew, calling upon a wholeness and instrumental élan with an accomplished executive eloquence that today is so difficult to find."
La Repubblica, April 2008

"All go crazy for Alsop, first woman on the podium at La Scala ... In 230 years of operatic and symphonic seasons, no 'female quota' has ever succeeded in overcoming what has been in effect the stronghold of Toscanini, Abbado and Muti. The weight of responsibility of being a pioneer and - as many would expect - of the pace set by her peers, did not seem to intimidate the New York artist, who trained at Yale University and Julliard... Founder of the Taki Concordia competition - dedicated solely to female orchestra directors - Alsop happily made her debut in Milan on Sunday at the helm of La Scala achieving a warm success."
Avennire, April 2008

This month HK Gruber conducts the world premiere of Busking, his second trumpet concerto. Written for virtuosic trumpeter Håkan Hardenberger and commissioned by the Amsterdam Sinfonietta, Essen Philharmonie, Swedish Chamber Orchestra and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Busking will be performed during May by the Amsterdam Sinfonietta at Amsterdam's Muziekgebouw and Essen Philharmonie. Gruber also conducts the Swedish Chamber Orchestra this month in a programme of Schwertsik and Schubert alongside his own Violin Concerto, and begins recording a new disc of his own works for BIS.

Richard Hickox embarks on his series of some 20 concerts with the Philharmonia at the Royal Festival Hall and across the UK, presenting the entire cycle of Vaughan Williams Symphonies to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the composer's death. As part of this celebration, he conducts two semi-staged performances on 20 and 22 June of Vaughan Williams’ rarely performed opera Pilgrim’s Progress at Sadler’s Wells, also with the Philharmonia Orchestra.

This month Colin Currie performs the world premiere of Simon Holt's A Table of Noises with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Martyn Brabbins. He also performs James MacMillan's Veni, Veni, Emmanuel with the Netherlands Radio Kammer Filharmonie and Thierry Fischer at Amsterdam's Muziekgebouw, Joe Duddell's Ruby with the Malaysian Philharmonic and Paul Mann and Rouse's Concerto for percussion and orchestra: Der Gerettete Alberich with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Marin Alsop.

This month, Intermusica looks forward to touring the Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra in Spain under the baton of American conductor Lawrence Foster. Performing in Pamplona, Castellon, Madrid and Oviedo, they will be joined by world-renowned pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet performing Saint-Saëns' fifth piano concerto. Other works on tour include Debussy's La Mer, Suite No.2 from Roussel's Bacchus et Ariane and Franck's Le Chausseur Maudit.

Following her much acclaimed performance of Book One of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier in the Royal Festival Hall, London in January, Angela Hewitt returns to the venue on 4 May to perform Book Two of the work. Click here to read the Guardian's review of the January recital. Following this London performance, Hewitt travels to Munich to make her recital debut in the city's Herkulessaal.