Author Archives: Mark Pullinger

An ecstatic, fevered Tatiana from Natalia Osipova as Cranko’s Onegin returns

Onegin Royal Ballet, 18th January 2020 Call it an occupational hazard, but there’s a danger when reviewing a work you love deeply of setting the bar impossibly high. Can the soprano singing the leading lady possibly match your favourite interpretation? … Continue reading

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A Brahms clarinet feast from Michael Collins and friends at Wigmore Hall

Stephen Hough: Brahms Residency Wigmore Hall, 6th January 2020 The playing of Richard Mühlfeld inspired Johannes Brahms to come out of self-imposed early retirement to compose four of the greatest clarinet works. The indefatigable Michael Collins very nearly did a … Continue reading

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Alexander Vedernikov and the BBCSO take a troika ride through the snow

Vedernikov/ BBCSO Barbican, 18th December 2019 Dreaming of a White Christmas? Just a week to go and not a single flake of snow has fallen on London, so there’s no imminent threat of travel chaos at the merest hint of … Continue reading

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A trip down memory lane for Martin Fröst at Wigmore Hall

Martin Fröst Wigmore Hall, 16th December 2019 “French Beauties and Swedish Beasts” was the title given to this Wigmore Hall recital by Martin Fröst and Roland Pöntinen, including classic clarinet repertoire by Debussy, Poulenc and Chausson interspersed with Swedish works … Continue reading

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Erina Takahashi sparkles as English National Ballet’s Nutcracker returns

The Nutcracker English National Ballet, Coliseum, 11th December 2019 ‘Tis the season to be jolly, yet for balletomanes and thousands of wide-eyed children Nutcrackers are thin on the ground in London. The Royal Ballet has gone down another ETA Hoffmann … Continue reading

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