Bachtrack top ten: Edward Elgar

Sir Edward Elgar (1931)

By Mark Pullinger, 02 June 2023

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“there is music in the air, music all around us... you simply take as much as you require”

Danny Riley, 2nd October

A look at some major composers who did not receive any formal musical training and followed their own non-traditional paths into Western classical music.

Making waves at the Hallé: Euan Shields

Lawrence Dunn, 17th June

Ahead of the 2026 Siemens Hallé International Conductors Competition, we talk to past winner Euan Shields about what entrants can expect, and how to navigate the competition’s twists and turns.

Symphonic metamorphoses: Tokyo Philharmonic in 2025

Bachtrack, 15th January

With concerts featuring Myung-whun Chung at the piano, Pinchas Zukerman leading from the podium, and inventive programming from Chief Conductor Andrea Battistoni, the Tokyo Philharmonic’s 2025 season straddles many divides.

Music of life: Kazuki Yamada on Elgar’s Enigma Variations

Bachtrack, 15th January

The chief conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra discusses his love and fascination for Elgar’s deeply personal work – and his experiences performing it for the first time.

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.

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.