Laurence Equilbey and Insula fly the flag for Farrenc in Paris

By Mark Pullinger, 08 March 2021

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“Koen Plaetinck was outstanding on timpani, his volcanic eruptions driving Allegros urgently”

Reviewed at La Seine Musicale: Auditorium Patrick Devedjian, Boulogne-Billancourt on 8 March 2021

Farrenc, Symphony no. 1 in C minor, Op.32

Farrenc, Symphony no. 3 in G minor, Op.36

Insula orchestra

Laurence Equilbey, Conductor

Funereal Fauré and Gounod from Equilbey, accentus and Insula

David Karlin, 20th November

Gorgeous French music, polished choral singing and excellent soloists are marred by an overwhelmingly dark timbre and unsympathetic video.

***11

Darkness and light: Equilbey's period Fidelio in concert

Kevin W Ng, 11th May

Laurence Equilbey makes a convincing case for a younger, fresher Fidelio played on period instruments.

****1

Weber's Freischütz minus the magic at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées

Mark Pullinger, 19th October

A disappointing staging of Weber's supernatural opera by Compagnie 14:20 in Paris

**111

Successful resurrection of Farrenc's Third Symphony by Insula Orchestra

Dominic Lowe, 8th March

There's a strong chance that the majority of the audience had never seen Louise Farrenc's Third Symphony before; conductor Laurence Equilbey made a strong case for repeat performances.

****1

Superb Lucio Silla in Vienna

Jonathan Sutherland, 27th April

Early Mozart opera seria triumphs in Vienna’s ‘other house’.

****1

Dancing bear, tame beasts: Insula's Beethoven

Mark Pullinger, 8th March

An all-Beethoven evening at the Philharmonie where the orchestral playing lacked bite, but Nicholas Angelich provided warmth and humanity in the Fourth Piano Concerto.

***11

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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.