Le Bœuf sur le toit: Roaring Twenties Paris

By Mark Pullinger, 02 April 2017

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Reviewed at Institut français (French Institute): Ciné Lumière, London on 2 April 2017

Saint-Saëns, Danse macabre

Poulenc, Élégie, FP 175

Poulenc, L'Embarquement pour Cythère, FP 150

Milhaud, Le Bœuf sur le toit (The Ox on the Roof), Op.58

Ravel, Pavane pour une infante défunte

Gershwin, 3 Preludes

Debussy, Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune

Piazzolla, Verano Porteño

Piazzolla, Libertango

Rachmaninov, Prelude in C sharp minor for piano, Op.3 no.2

Marcela Roggeri, Piano

François Chaplin, Piano

Alexandre Lory, Piano

Hilary Hahn’s French odyssey of refinement and fire in Dublin

Andrew Larkin, 14th May

Two technical mishaps punctuate the evening, but Hilary Hahn maintains poise throughout a French programme crowned by a finely judged, deeply expressive performance of Fauré.

****1

Frank Dupree's Liverpool debut has the audience crying out for more

Glyn Mon Hughes, 14th May

A concert celebrating the 250th anniversary of the USA saw Liverpool audiences treated to a sumptuous Copland as well as a symphony as well as a barn-storming performance of Gershwin and Duke Ellington, performed by Frank Dupree who was making his debut with the RLPO.

*****

Petr Popelka delivers a thrilling opening for Prague Spring

Frank Kuznik, 12th May

With Petr Popelka on the podium, the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra brings a native feel and colorful exuberance to a cultural icon.

****1

Korngold and Mahler from Ray Chen, Vasily Petrenko and the RPO

Roy Westbrook, 12th May

Few violin concertos soar from the first bar as Erich Korngold’s does, especially as in Ray Chen's high-wire account at the Royal Albert Hall.

****1

Energetic Currentzis and Utopia at the Elbphilharmonie

Mengguang Huang, 12th May

From Berg’s crystalline intimacy to Dionysian Mahler, Teodor Currentzis and Utopia defy orchestral tradition with standing musicians, spatial acoustics and an emotional intensity that breathes new life into the concert life.

****1

Clara Yang’s immersive piano recital gets lost in the clouds

Kurt Gottschalk, 11th May

Prerecorded acoustic guitar, soft beats and more piano accompany video of jittery yellow circles and masses of illegible text in a concert that feels both meditative and too much to take in

**111

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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.

Le Bœuf sur le toit: Paris in the Roaring Twenties celebrated at the Institut français