Bachtrack top ten: George Frideric Handel

George Frideric Handel, portrait by Thomas Hudson (1756)

By Mark Pullinger, 23 February 2024

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“what the English like is something they can beat time to”

Kevin W Ng, 17th April

Ahead of an appearance at London’s Cadogan Hall, the Swedish mezzo-soprano talks about her love for French and German song, and combining intimate performances with opera singing on a much larger scale.

Singing on the strings: Élodie Brzustowski on Early music in France

Danny Riley, 14th January

Lute player and guitarist Élodie Brzustowski talks about the challenges of the two-metre long theorbo, rediscovering guitar music of the 1830s, and the multifaceted Early music scene in France.

Hugh Cutting on Handel and good storytelling

Eleanor Knight, 24th November

The British countertenor, who’s riding the crest of a wave this year, talks about his passion for good storytelling in opera, his favourite roles and the art of Zen Buddhism.

The art of memory: classical music for mourning

Danny Riley, 28th October

From fulfilling funerary functions, to eulogising friends and fellow artists, or lamenting the waste of war: here are some of the finest examples of music written in mourning.

Bachtrack top ten: Opera in English

David Karlin, 22nd April

From Henry Purcell to George Benjamin, a set of ten operas to demonstrate that English is not just a language for prose and poetry, but also a vibrant language for opera.

A family of choruses: RSNO Chorus celebrates 180 years

Ben Lunn, 30th September

One of the longest-running choral organisations in the UK, director Stephen Doughty talks about how the RSNO Chorus now boasts a panoply of other community choruses under its umbrella.

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.