Monthly Archives: March 2016

Dancing bear, tame beasts: Insula Orchestra tackles Beethoven

Posted on March 9, 2016 by Mark Pullinger

Beethoven: Angelich; Insula/Equilbey *** Philharmonie, Paris, 8th February 2016 Orpheus taming the wild beasts: for years, this description of the slow movement in Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto was attributed to Franz Liszt. The strings growl angrily, the solo piano (Orpheus … Continue reading →

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Fabulous, flamboyant Liszt from Khatia Buniatishvili in Paris

Posted on March 8, 2016 by Mark Pullinger

Khatia Buniatishvili **** Philharmonie, Paris, 7th March 2016 There are few composers for the piano as viscerally exciting as Franz Liszt and there are few pianists today who perform his music with as much visceral excitement as Khatia Buniatishvili. The … Continue reading →

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Profound and sublime: Maurizio Pollini rolls back the years

Posted on March 3, 2016 by Mark Pullinger

Schumann, Chopin: Maurizio Pollini **** Royal Festival Hall, 2nd March 2016 An expectant hall crackled with anticipation. For a recital, the stage was far from bare. A phalanx of red seats on the platform were taken by students, eyes trained … Continue reading →

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Zukerman drives an unsteady Russian troika with the RPO

Posted on March 2, 2016 by Mark Pullinger

Glinka, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov: RPO/Zukerman *** Royal Festival Hall, 1st March 2016 A troika of Russian warhorses trotted out from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra stable, with Pinchas Zukerman guiding the reins. The trouble is, once into the paddock they veered off in … Continue reading →

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