Coffee House Baroque: Apollo’s Fire

By Mark Pullinger, 15 August 2015

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“Sancho Panza, tossed into the air by the guests at the inn, landed with pleasingly fat thumps”

Reviewed at Cadogan Hall, London on 15 August 2015

Bach C.P.E., Symphony in B minor, Wq 182/5

Vivaldi, Violin Concerto in D major, RV 234 "L'inquietudine"

Telemann, Orchestral Suite in G major "Burlesque de Quixotte", TWV 55:G10 (excerpts)

Bach, Violin Concerto in E major, BWV1042

Bach, Brandenburg Concerto no. 5 in D major, BWV1050

Alina Ibragimova, Violin

Apollo's Fire

Jeannette Sorrell, Director

Animated seasonal Vivaldi from Apollo’s Fire

Mark Pullinger, 15th April

Has St Martin-in-the-Fields ever heard a more polished performance of that Baroque evergreen, The Four Seasons?

****1

New World Baroque: Apollo's Fire in tour send-off

Frank Kuznik, 12th August

A hit in its hometown, Apollo's Fire is making believers on the festival circuit both in the US and abroad this summer.

****1

Baroque Blues: Apollo's Fire in café style

Frank Kuznik, 13th February

Apollo's Fire digs deep into the roots of early music and finds some surprisingly contemporary sounds.

****1

A riveting Messiah in Cleveland

Timothy Robson, 12th December

Can a Handel's well-worn masterpiece get dramatic new life? Cleveland's Baroque orchestra Apollo's Fire and conductor Jeannette Sorrell answer with a definitive, “Yes!”

*****

Apollo's Fire sets Cleveland aflame

Frank Kuznik, 23rd February

Who says American early music bands can’t play European music? Apollo’s Fire, the Cleveland-based early music ensemble that will be touring the UK and Austria with Sandrine Piau in May, took local fans on a journey to medieval Spain this past weekend with delightfully authentic songs of the Sephardic Jews.

*****

Jeannette Sorrell and the Hallé find drama in Handel’s Messiah

Leighton Jones, 6th December

Jeanette Sorrell brings a Messiah to Manchester that adds a sense of drama, bridging the gap between oratorio and opera.

****1

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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.

PSM3: Coffeehouse Baroque: Apollo’s Fire polished at the Proms