All Article articles – Page 119
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ArticleRussian Violin Concertos. Conus: Violin Concerto in E minor. Weinberg: Violin Concertino op.42. Arensky: Violin Concerto in A minor op.54
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Three rarities of the Russian concerto repertoire given lyrical readingsMusicians: Sergey Ostrovsky (violin) Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra/Thomas SanderlingComposer: Conus, Weinberg, ArenskySuch are the vagaries of taste and fashion that the glorious Conus Concerto is only now beginning to establish a foothold in the ...
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ArticleFrom the Old World to the New. Loeffler: Quatre poèmes op.5. Brahms: Zwei Gesänge op.91. Bridge: Three Songs for voice, viola and piano, Two Pieces for viola and piano. Copland: Twelve Poems of Emily
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A welcome recital that puts the viola in a vocal contextMusicians: Rebecca Jones (viola) Karina Lucas (mezzo-soprano) Simon Lane (piano)Composer: Loeffler, Brahms, Bridge, CoplandGiven that the viola can be seen as the ‘mezzo-soprano’ of strings, pairing it with a real mezzo-soprano voice ...
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ArticleVivaldi: Cello Concertos in E minor, F major, A minor & B minor, Concerto in C major, Concertos for two violins and cello in G minor & D minor, Sinfonia in C major. Caldara: Sinfonias no.6 in G minor
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A well-planned Vivaldi concert with spectacular resultsMusicians: Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello) Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin/Georg KallweitComposer: Vivaldi, CaldaraThe remarkable cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras intends this disc to be savoured in its entirety like a concert. Accordingly he has planned a programme that takes ...
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ArticleVivaldi: Violin Concertos op.6
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Vibrant Vivaldi from period-performance mastersMusicians: Federico Guglielmo (violin/director) L’Arte dell’ArcoComposer: VivaldiThese recordings, the first fruits of these performers’ extensive project involving Vivaldi’s concertos, are based on Alessandro Borin’s critical edition of the Italian composer’s third published concerto set, the six violin concertos ...
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ArticleSchubert: String Quintet in C major D956, Quartettsatz D703
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Well-integrated playing of Schubert from a vintage ensembleMusicians: Tokyo Quartet, David Watkin (cello)Composer: SchubertThough there have been changes in the membership of the Tokyo Quartet since its formation back in 1969, the ensemble has retained its refined sound and impeccable performing standards. ...
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ArticleHaydn: String Quartets op.71, op.74
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Performances that bring out all the characteristics of Haydn’s artMusicians: Takács QuartetComposer: HaydnThe Takács Quartet seems to be working its way backwards through Haydn. The opp.76, 77 and 103 quartets are already in the Decca catalogue, and now here are ...
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ArticleCatch Light. Ness: Mad Cap Tootling. Hellstenius: By the voice a faint light is shed*. Kverndokk: Initiation† . Asheim: Catch Light‡
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Persuasive performances of a quartet of recent Norwegian violin concertosMusicians: Peter Herresthal (violin) Peter Kates (percussion)‡ Bit20 Ensemble/Pierre-André Valade*, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra/Rolf Gupta† , Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra/Peter Szilvay‡Composer: Ness, Hellstenius, Kverndokk, AsheimWith its four violin concertos by contemporary Norwegian composers, this disc ...
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ArticleConcertos for Small Violinists. Works by Huber, Küchler, Rieding, Seitz, Komarowski & Ortmans
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A showcase for the first steps available for the aspiring concerto soloistMusicians: Elizabeth Glass (violin) Sebastian Stoermer (piano) Composer: Huber, Küchler, Rieding, Seitz, Komarowski & OrtmansI remember at the age of nine asking, somewhat prematurely, to be taught Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto. ...
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ArticleHolbrooke: Violin Sonata no.1 op.6a, Violin Concerto op.59 ‘Grasshopper’, Horn Trio in D major op.28, L’extase from Mezzo-Tints op.55
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: First-rate performances do little to pin down a little-known composer’s styleMusicians: Kerenza Peacock (violin) Mark Smith (horn) Robert Stevenson (piano)Composer: HolbrookeJoseph Holbrooke (1878–1958) is best remembered, if at all, for his Wagner-aping cycle of Celtic music dramas, but he was prolific in ...
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ArticlePizzetti: String Quartets nos.1 & 2
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A generally enjoyable introduction to the music of a neglected Italian composerMusicians: Lajtha QuartetComposer: PizzettiOn this showing, the Respighi contemporary Ildebrando Pizzetti (1880–1968) has been unjustly ignored. The sunny String Quartet no.1 was written in 1906, when Pizzetti was in his mid-20s, ...
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ArticleBartók: Violin Concertos nos.1 & 2, Viola Concerto
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A rare collection of all three Bartók string concertos from a single soloistMusicians: James Ehnes (violin/viola) BBC Philharmonic/Gianandrea NosedaComposer: BartókJames Ehnes takes a Romantic view of Bartók’s First Violin Concerto, with sensual phrasing and a rich, glowing tone. The first ...
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ArticleBach: Violin Sonatas in E major BWV1016 & G major BWV1021, Partita no.3 in E major BWV1006. Biber: Violin Sonatas no.4 in D major & no.8 in A major
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Invigorating performances of Baroque classicsMusicians: Evgeny Sviridov (violin) Zita Mikijanska (harpsichord)Composer: Bach, BiberThis debut recording from 2010 Leipzig Bach Competition winner Evgeny Sviridov admirably showcases his enviable technique, minute attention to detail, rhythmic vitality and subtle tonal colourings. He makes light of ...
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ArticleReich: WTC 9/11, Mallet Quartet, Dance Patterns
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Reich’s 9/11 commemoration seems less than the sum of its partsMusicians: Kronos Quartet, S? Percussion, James Preiss, Thad Wheeler (vibraphone) Frank Cassara, Garry Kvistad (xylophone) Edmund Niemann, Nurit Tilles (piano)Composer: ReichThis disc includes two of Reich’s percussion pieces, but it is dominated ...
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ArticleHuber: Violin Sonatas no.5 in E major op.112 & no.6 in D minor op.116 ‘Appassionata’, Phantasie in G minor op.17
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Swiss performers revel in the high Romanticism of a follower of Brahms and StraussMusicians: Gilles Colliard (violin) Timon Altwegg (piano)Composer: HuberGilles Colliard and Timon Altwegg’s performances radiate real empathy with the vintage Romantic idiom of these works by their compatriot, Swiss composer ...
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ArticleBrahms: Viola Sonatas op.120. Schumann: Märchenbilder op.113
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Welcome new versions of much-recorded repertoireMusicians: Rachel Roberts (viola) Lars Vogt (piano)Composer: Brahms, SchumannIt takes some courage to add yet another version of this over-recorded coupling to the lists, but from the first bars of the piano introduction, this recording commands attention: ...
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ArticleArnold: Cello Concerto op.136*, Symphony for Strings op.13† , Concertino for flute and strings op.19a (orch. Ellis)† , Fantasy for recorder and string quartet op.140† , Saxophone Concerto (arr. Ellis)
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: The concerto soloist does his best in the face of weak musical materialMusicians: Raphael Wallfisch (cello) Esther Ingram (flute) John Turner (recorder) Carl Raven (alto saxophone) Northern Chamber Orchestra/Nicholas Ward*, Manchester Sinfonia/Richard Howarth† Composer: ArnoldMalcolm Arnold has garnered many plaudits for his ...
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ArticleStanford: Cello Concerto in D minor, Rondo in F major, Ballata and Ballabile op.160, Irish Rhapsody no.3 op.137
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Warm-hearted Stanford from a rising star of the celloMusicians: Gemma Rosefield (cello) BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra/Andrew ManzeComposer: Stanford Marking British cellist Gemma Rosefield’s Hyperion debut, this is a significant disc for her and she does not disappoint. Winner of the ...
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ArticleBeethoven by Arrangement. Beethoven: Viola Sonata fragment in A major, Horn Sonata op.17 (arr. Silverthorne), Notturno op.42 (arr. Kleinheinz), Grand Duo in E flat major op.20 (arr. Hermann/Silverthor
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: An enjoyable collection that reminds us that Beethoven played the viola in his youthMusicians: Paul Silverthorne (viola) David Owen Norris (piano)Composer: BeethovenAlthough Beethoven, in his youth a violist in the Bonn orchestra, did begin to write a viola sonata, he unfortunately only ...
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ArticlePenderecki: Viola Concerto, Cello Concerto no.2
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Two striking concertos characteristic of Penderecki’s later, post-modernist styleMusicians: Grigori Zhislin (viola) Tatiana Vasilieva (cello) Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra/Antoni WitComposer: PendereckiPenderecki opens his 1983 Viola Concerto in a strikingly intense manner, with the orchestra answered by the solo viola using an emotionally turbulent ...
