Tag Archives: Tchaikovsky

Nelsons’ manicured Mahler a slow burn with the Gewandhaus

Posted on October 10, 2018 by Mark Pullinger

Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra/ Nelsons *** Royal Festival Hall, 9th October 2018 It only takes a few bars for the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra to demonstrate its class. Its rich string sound is only matched by its rich history, its brass has a mellow, … Continue reading →

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Rachmaninov with an authentic Russian flavour at Cadogan Hall

Posted on October 5, 2018 by Mark Pullinger

Russian State Symphony Orchestra/ Petrenko **** Cadogan Hall, 4th October 2018 What’s in a title? The Russian State Symphony Orchestra isn’t exactly a familiar name to UK audiences. Their official moniker provides a clue: the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia “Evgeny … Continue reading →

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Superb Yulia Stepanova takes flight to save St Petersburg Ballet Theatre’s drab Swan Lake

Posted on August 26, 2018 by Mark Pullinger

Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake *** St Petersburg Ballet Theatre, Coliseum, 25th August 2018 The sets are dowdy and the creased moon looks like a crinkle-cut crisp, but beggars can’t be choosers. Without a Mariinsky or Bolshoi Ballet tour this summer, London … Continue reading →

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Jansons and the Vienna Phil trump Neuenfels’ tame Pique Dame in Salzburg

Posted on August 11, 2018 by Mark Pullinger

Tchaikovsky: Pique Dame *** Salzburg Festival, 10th August 2018 Tomsky taunts the obsessive gambler in Hermann with his Ballad of the Three Cards. The Countess recounts singing for the king in Versailles. But it is arguably the orchestra itself which … Continue reading →

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Alina Cojocaru charms as Aurora in a Sleeping Beauty lacking lustre

Posted on June 7, 2018 by Mark Pullinger

Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty *** English National Ballet, Coliseum, 6th June 2018 While Nutcracker is a sugary confection bursting with toothsome numbers and Swan Lake seeps tragedy from its first watery bars, Sleeping Beauty is the Tchaikovsky ballet for the connoisseur. It marks the apex of … Continue reading →

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