Bachtrack top ten: Antonio Vivaldi

By Mark Pullinger, 04 March 2023

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“a sinister atmosphere, reminiscent of the fog that shrouds Venice during the winter months”

Lawrence Dunn, 28th May

Giulio Prandi, conductor of Coro e Orchestra Ghislieri, and violinist and concertmaster Gabriele Pro talk about crossing borders, adopting shared sensibilities, and the challenges facing historically informed musicians in Italy today.

Diversity and recovery: Early music in Croatia

Lawrence Dunn, 13th May

A group of younger Croatian musicians, including new ensemble Gli Schiavoni, are determined to recover the historical music of Croatia, despite a devastating series of earthquakes and armed conflicts.

Bach transformed: Jean Rondeau on remaking the Goldberg Variations

Bachtrack, 1st April

Renowned harpsichordist Jean Rondeau presents a new view of Bach’s Goldberg Variations at this year’s Bachfest Schaffhausen, including in arrangement for Baroque ensemble, and as a new composition for piano, percussion and electronics inspired by the cycle.

Cosmopolitan commonwealths: Natalia Olczak on Early music in Poland

Lawrence Dunn, 20th March

The young Polish harpsichordist with the Cohaere Ensemble talks about the Early music scene in Poland, her investigations into music of 18th-century Danzig, one of Europe’s most cosmopolitan cities.

Rare symphonies: Masaaki Suzuki returns to Singapore

Nahoko Gotoh, 19th March

Renowned Japanese conductor returns to the Singapore Symphony Orchestra to perform unusual music from Johann Wenzel Kalliwoda – an influence on Robert Schumann, who described him as “unique in the world of symphonies”.

Follow your ears: Ida Meidell on Early music in Scandinavia

Danny Riley, 27th February

We talk to Baroque violinist and folk fiddler Ida Meidell about being at the intersection of folk music and Early music, and the richness of the wider scene across Scandinavia.

Mark Pullinger

Mark has been a Bachtrack editor since 2014. He is also an experienced critic, writing hundreds of reviews for the site, as well as a freelancer writing for other magazines and newspapers. He also writes programme notes and blogs on Substack. Mark has a particular passion for the operas of Verdi as well as Russian and French repertoire. Outside the concert hall and opera house, Mark enjoys cooking and travel and is probably at his happiest let loose in a French patisserie or a Viennese coffee house.