David Karlin
@davidkarlin.bsky.social
Founder of Bachtrack, lover of skiing, diving, tennis, swimming, travel. Happiest when cooking or playing music/singing or just with family.
Gutted to see the demise on Friday of Paul Beuscher, one of the oldest music shops in Paris at 175 years old. Particularly for selfish reasons, I confess, since they still have a piano which we’ve paid for and which they were supposed to deliver this week. Uphill battle awaits…
November 9, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Gutted to see the demise on Friday of Paul Beuscher, one of the oldest music shops in Paris at 175 years old. Particularly for selfish reasons, I confess, since they still have a piano which we’ve paid for and which they were supposed to deliver this week. Uphill battle awaits…
I missed posting this on Halloween, where I would like to suggest that it would have been the scariest thing you found all evening. So here we are, one week late, on a subject that I've been worrying about for a long time.
polything.com/2025/11/07/p...
polything.com/2025/11/07/p...
Protect your digital life: phone theft strategies
As our lives become increasingly online, the risk of phone theft poses significant threats, particularly for access to banking and other services. Without proper contingency planning, victims can f…
polything.com
November 7, 2025 at 3:41 PM
I missed posting this on Halloween, where I would like to suggest that it would have been the scariest thing you found all evening. So here we are, one week late, on a subject that I've been worrying about for a long time.
polything.com/2025/11/07/p...
polything.com/2025/11/07/p...
A fascinating account of a real-world cyber attack attempt: no fancy tech, just plain old appeal to greed.
September 29, 2025 at 5:20 PM
A fascinating account of a real-world cyber attack attempt: no fancy tech, just plain old appeal to greed.
Chilling out to L’Arpeggiata’s Terra Firma. I’d forgotten how much I adore folk music when it’s played to this quality.
September 28, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Chilling out to L’Arpeggiata’s Terra Firma. I’d forgotten how much I adore folk music when it’s played to this quality.
Has anyone else had a problem with scam calls from a US 415 number ringing on an iPhone when Do not disturb is set?
September 15, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Has anyone else had a problem with scam calls from a US 415 number ringing on an iPhone when Do not disturb is set?
In the event, last night’s Tosca wasn’t perfect, but the new production is very solid and Netrebko was truly exceptional. bachtrack.com/review-tosca...
bachtrack.com
September 12, 2025 at 2:57 PM
In the event, last night’s Tosca wasn’t perfect, but the new production is very solid and Netrebko was truly exceptional. bachtrack.com/review-tosca...
Not entirely surprised that there are anti-Netrebko protests outside Covent Garden tonight.
September 11, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Not entirely surprised that there are anti-Netrebko protests outside Covent Garden tonight.
You always know to expect the unexpected with Pekka Kuusisto... bachtrack.com/review-bbc-p...
bachtrack.com
September 2, 2025 at 2:38 PM
You always know to expect the unexpected with Pekka Kuusisto... bachtrack.com/review-bbc-p...
I'm steadily hearing more news about how horrific the current botnet wave is... And even our small web business is in the eye of the storm. bachtrack.com/feature-swam...
bachtrack.com
August 21, 2025 at 2:34 PM
I'm steadily hearing more news about how horrific the current botnet wave is... And even our small web business is in the eye of the storm. bachtrack.com/feature-swam...
It’s Eugene Onagin, folks. I’d be really disappointed if it didn’t!! @operahollandpark.bsky.social
August 14, 2025 at 6:29 PM
It’s Eugene Onagin, folks. I’d be really disappointed if it didn’t!! @operahollandpark.bsky.social
I do love Mahler 3 deeply. And even in the unpromising acoustic of the Royal Albert Hall, Bancroft and BBCNOW did a great job of it. bachtrack.com/review-bbc-n...
bachtrack.com
August 12, 2025 at 2:37 PM
I do love Mahler 3 deeply. And even in the unpromising acoustic of the Royal Albert Hall, Bancroft and BBCNOW did a great job of it. bachtrack.com/review-bbc-n...
I have been known to feel guilty about reviewing revivals of often performed, fairly lightweight operas. Not this one, which was entertainment I’d recommend to anyone. bachtrack.com/review-barbe...
Glyndebourne's season opens with Rossini’s Barber of Seville
Annabel Arden's production provides joyous comedy, with vocal and orchestral performances of the very finest.
bachtrack.com
May 17, 2025 at 12:59 PM
I have been known to feel guilty about reviewing revivals of often performed, fairly lightweight operas. Not this one, which was entertainment I’d recommend to anyone. bachtrack.com/review-barbe...
The evening sun flooding into the Opéra Bastille foyer for the first interval of Il Trittico. Asmik knocking it out of the park as expected, but the real revelation was Misha Kiria’s Gianni Schicchi.
April 29, 2025 at 6:18 PM
The evening sun flooding into the Opéra Bastille foyer for the first interval of Il Trittico. Asmik knocking it out of the park as expected, but the real revelation was Misha Kiria’s Gianni Schicchi.
It's St George's day! England isn't exactly unique in having chosen George as its patron saint (check the list on Wikipedia), but it was still a good excuse to put together a playlist of opera in English - which deserves a far better rap than it usually gets. bachtrack.com/playlist-top...
April 23, 2025 at 6:59 AM
It's St George's day! England isn't exactly unique in having chosen George as its patron saint (check the list on Wikipedia), but it was still a good excuse to put together a playlist of opera in English - which deserves a far better rap than it usually gets. bachtrack.com/playlist-top...
Time for fairytale madness at the gorgeous Théâtre Athénée-Jouvet
April 16, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Time for fairytale madness at the gorgeous Théâtre Athénée-Jouvet
Row 5 for the Bach Mass in B minor at the Philharmonie de Paris. I’m struggling to control my excitement. @philharmonie.bsky.social
April 8, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Row 5 for the Bach Mass in B minor at the Philharmonie de Paris. I’m struggling to control my excitement. @philharmonie.bsky.social
Le programme du festival La Chaise-Dieu n’est pas encore en ligne, donc pour le découvrir, il suffit de retrouver les WC au restaurant Anicia, tout près de Montparnasse. Et d’ailleurs, c’est un magnifique resto !
April 3, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Le programme du festival La Chaise-Dieu n’est pas encore en ligne, donc pour le découvrir, il suffit de retrouver les WC au restaurant Anicia, tout près de Montparnasse. Et d’ailleurs, c’est un magnifique resto !
In reception at De Doelen in Rotterdam. My goodness, what a lineup that was!
March 31, 2025 at 1:54 PM
In reception at De Doelen in Rotterdam. My goodness, what a lineup that was!
My first ever visit to Toulouse revealed that it's really rather a lovely city. And its history makes it clearly the right place to see Norma (just don't mention Alésia...) bachtrack.com/review-norma...
Caesar’s Gallic Wars at home: Norma in Toulouse
Although Karine Deshayes role change from Adalgisa to Norma is a work in progress, Luciano Ganci and Roberto Scandiuzzi shine in a staging charged with mythic symbolism.
bachtrack.com
March 28, 2025 at 8:47 AM
My first ever visit to Toulouse revealed that it's really rather a lovely city. And its history makes it clearly the right place to see Norma (just don't mention Alésia...) bachtrack.com/review-norma...
This is the Place du Capitole in Toulouse, filling up with a demonstration against culture cuts (there’s a council meeting today).
March 27, 2025 at 8:22 AM
This is the Place du Capitole in Toulouse, filling up with a demonstration against culture cuts (there’s a council meeting today).
This was really rather good, as long as you didn't mind spending the whole opera looking at characters in front of a largely blank wall. Massenet just sounds better when pretty much the whole cast are native French speakers!
bachtrack.com/review-masse...
bachtrack.com/review-masse...
Christof Loy's understated Werther at the TCE
Massenet's take on Goethe's blockbuster novella of unrequited love and suicide is handled with great subtlety by Christof Loy and Marc Leroy-Calatayud. Benjamin Bernheim and Marina Viotti lead a starr...
bachtrack.com
March 24, 2025 at 8:48 AM
This was really rather good, as long as you didn't mind spending the whole opera looking at characters in front of a largely blank wall. Massenet just sounds better when pretty much the whole cast are native French speakers!
bachtrack.com/review-masse...
bachtrack.com/review-masse...
First blog post of our extended stay in Paris. It had to be baking-related... polything.com/2025/03/22/s...
Springtime in Paris: the bakeries of Belleville
When people think about Paris, the top things they think about are the landmarks (the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe and so on), the great public buildings (the Louvre, the Opera), and the…
polything.com
March 22, 2025 at 12:09 PM
First blog post of our extended stay in Paris. It had to be baking-related... polything.com/2025/03/22/s...
In Lyon, the recipe for making perfect bread. I particularly like the”longue conversation “.
March 16, 2025 at 7:47 AM
In Lyon, the recipe for making perfect bread. I particularly like the”longue conversation “.
The Château de Chenonceau really has to be a contender for the title of “world’s most beautiful castle”.
March 10, 2025 at 3:20 PM
The Château de Chenonceau really has to be a contender for the title of “world’s most beautiful castle”.
For the first opera trip of our extended Paris stay, the Place de la Bastille gave us this beautiful sunset
March 5, 2025 at 6:03 PM
For the first opera trip of our extended Paris stay, the Place de la Bastille gave us this beautiful sunset