Bachtrack top ten: Camille Saint-Saëns

Camille Saint-Saëns, photographed in 1910 by Pierre Petit

By Mark Pullinger, 09 October 2021

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“I produce music as an apple tree produces apples”

SangKwon Lee, 1st August

This summer, Myung-whun Chung leads one of Asia’s leading orchestras on its first ever tour through Europe, with an energetic programme featuring young piano soloist Bruce Liu.

Anna Lapwood: top ten organ works

Anna Lapwood, 24th August

Star organist, conductor and broadcaster Anna Lapwood is our guest curator, presenting her top ten – for today – favourites works for her instrument.

Bachtrack top ten: Carl Maria von Weber

Mark Pullinger, 5th June

Although his reputation rests principally on Der Freischütz, (Berlioz was a fan), Carl Maria von Weber was an outstanding composer, writing some of the greatest works in the clarinet repertoire.

Bachtrack top ten: Robert Schumann

Mark Pullinger, 1st June

Robert Schumann’s music is intensely personal. Unlike the architectural grandeur of Beethoven or the theatrical brilliance of Franz Liszt, Schumann specialised in emotional intimacy and nuance.

Bachtrack top ten: Shakespeare in music

Mark Pullinger, 23rd April

If music be the food of love... the Bard of Stratford-upon-Avon has inspired composers for centuries. Enjoy our top ten playlist featuring works from Felix Mendelssohn to Thomas Adès.

Bachtrack top ten: Frédéric Chopin

Mark Pullinger, 1st March

Ten works revealing the paradox of Chopin: a composer outwardly delicate, inwardly steely; rooted in Polish dance rhythms, yet formed in Parisian sophistication.

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.