Tag Archives: Saint-Saëns

Prom 42: An exotic banquet to savour from François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles

Posted on August 17, 2017 by Mark Pullinger

Les Siècles/Roth ***** Prom 42, Royal Albert Hall, 16th August 2017 My reputation in certain quarters for having a sweet tooth is done no favours by delectable concerts like this one. French composers led the orientalist charge in the 19th century, … Continue reading →

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For whom the bell tolls: Saint-Saëns’ Le Timbre d’argent chimes again at the Opéra Comique

Posted on June 10, 2017 by Mark Pullinger

Saint-Saëns: Le Timbre d’argent *** Opéra Comique, Paris, 9th June 2017 Asked to name an opera by Camille Saint-Saëns, the chances are that Samson et Dalila is the first answer to trip from your tongue. Now name a second! In recent years Palazzetto … Continue reading →

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Le Bœuf sur le toit: Paris in the Roaring Twenties celebrated at the Institut français

Posted on April 3, 2017 by Mark Pullinger

Paris, Crazy Paris ! *** Institut français, 2nd April 2017 Picture the scene: Jean Wiéner playing Gershwin, accompanied by Jean Cocteau and Darius Milhaud on percussion; among the audience, Pablo Picasso, Sergei Diaghilev, Maurice Chevalier. The 1921 opening night of … Continue reading →

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Karina Canellakis skippers a French voyage with the Oxford Philharmonic

Posted on January 29, 2017 by Mark Pullinger

Saint-Saëns, Debussy: Canellakis/Oxford Philharmonic *** Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford, 28th January 2017 Oxford may well be far from the coast, but it played host to a bracing French voyage last night at the Sheldonian Theatre. Cramped in the decks beneath Sir … Continue reading →

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Listen with Aurora: an exploration of childhood at Kings Place

Posted on December 17, 2016 by Mark Pullinger

L’Enfance: Aurora Orchestra/Collon **** Kings Place, 16th December 2016 “Are you sitting comfortably? Then we’ll begin.” For all but the youngest sprogs in the audience, Fauré’s Berceuse instantly brings to mind Listen with Mother, the BBC radio programme that ran … Continue reading →

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