Articles by Andrea Valentino

Cathedral Bach before Bed

Spread over four evenings, John Bryden’s consummate performance of the Well-Tempered Clavier’s second book is the perfect way to unwind after a frantic day at the Fringe.

Bach Cantatas and Concertos

Combining some of Bach’s most popular music with a few lesser-known pieces, the Bach Ensemble of Edinburgh provided a hint at the composer’s stylistic breadth by performing a refre…

Mozart Requiem

Surely one of the most outrageous Oscars ever given is the 1984 Academy Award for Best Sound.

Eat a Queer Foetus 4 Jesus

Review
★★★
Andrea Valentino
Edinburgh Fringe
15th Aug, 2013

Despite its outrageous name, Richard Coughlan’s romp of a show proved that though the popularity of gentler, more modern comedians continues, the gag-filled anecdotal performer can…

Traditional Piano Music from Scotland and Ireland

Review
★★★
Andrea Valentino
Edinburgh Fringe
15th Aug, 2013

Like other communities in Europe that have historically suffered political repression the Celtic peoples of the British Isles have for centuries expressed their culture through mus…

Bach Cello Suites

Review
★★★
Andrea Valentino
Edinburgh Fringe
15th Aug, 2013

Up until the 20th century, with a few notable exceptions, the cello was seen as decidedly inferior to the violin.

A Young Man Dressed As a Gorilla Dressed As an Old Man Sits Rocking in a Rocking Chair for Fifty-Six Minutes and Then Leaves... 5

Review
★
Andrea Valentino
Edinburgh Fringe
14th Aug, 2013

Before this show, every time I walked past the nondescript sign on Nicolson Street imploring me to give the Scientologists a try, I was tempted to stop.

Beethoven for Breakfast

For most of his fifty-seven years, to call Ludwig van Beethoven a tad troubled would be an understatement.

Bach for Solo Violin

Thanks to their eager adoption by Pau Casals during the early decades of the 20th century, Bach’s cello suites have grown to become a crucial pillar of the classical pantheon, even…

Between Empires

Review
★★★
Andrea Valentino
Edinburgh Fringe
17th Aug, 2013

Immortalised in the books of authors like Kipling and Forster, British India has become a staple of our literary heritage.

Kreutzer Sonata

Although Beethoven’s ten chamber works for piano and violin are now commonly known as ‘Violin Sonatas’, they were initially called ‘Sonatas for Pianoforte and Violin’, and not with…

JS Bach's B Minor Mass

Commissioned by a devoutly Catholic prince and covering the whole range of the Church’s liturgy, the Mass in B minor could be seen as something of an anomaly, for it was composed b…

The Room

Much like karaoke or clubbing, The Room is not an event that should be experienced either alone or sober.

Comedian? No. Just Italian

Review
★★
Andrea Valentino
Edinburgh Fringe
15th Aug, 2013

Although Italy’s economy and political system have of late appeared to be on the verge of total collapse, at least her sixty-odd million citizens can take solace in the fact that t…

Loving Dick

Don’t get too excited: the eponymous Dick is simply a shortening of Richard and not the male sex organ.

Quiz in My Pants

The difficulty with reviewing a show like this is that because the comedians change from day to day, the quality of the comedy and the direction the show takes is impossible to pre…

Synagogue Slut

Review
★★
Andrea Valentino
Edinburgh Fringe
7th Aug, 2013

An intriguing twist on the old formula for Jewish humour, Emily Rose’s act attempts to make the synagogue, and not the archetypal comedy character that frequents it, the star of th…

The Canterbury Tales

Due to the fact they lived such different lives to our own, it is perilously easy to dismiss our medieval cousins as having absolutely nothing in common with modern Britons.

Peter Searles: Bolivia & Beyond

Review
★★★
Andrea Valentino
Edinburgh Fringe
12th Aug, 2013

Leading his audience through a trip he took to South America in 1986, Peter Searles’ vivid physical expression and knack for detail ensure that what could have been a show exemplif…

Manos Kanellos: Greekonomics

He introduces himself as ‘Manos from Samos’ though he’s lived as an expat for the past twenty years.

Old Jewish Jokes

Jokes that everyone’s heard before are always the hardest to make funny, so spare a thought for that most venerable of comedian: the ‘Jewish comic’ who has decades of comedic folkl…

Steve Richards' Rock 'n' Roll Politics 2

What with the febrile state of British society at the moment, Steve Richards’ canter through our political parkland seems perfectly timed.

Bobby Mair - Obviously Adopted

Just before the start of his set, a pre-recorded message by Bobby Mair warns ‘everyone easily offended’ to leave the premises immediately.

Nicholas Parsons' Happy Hour

Nicholas Parsons has been such popular and uncontroversial figure in the British entertainment industry for so long that I could say almost anything about his show and he would sti…

Jimmy Savile: The Punch and Judy Show

Review
★
Andrea Valentino
Edinburgh Fringe
5th Aug, 2013

You can imagine how it might have happened.

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