Book reviews – Page 110
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ReviewHebrides Ensemble: The Last Island – Chamber Music by Peter Maxwell Davies
THE STRAD RECOMMENDS The Strad Issue: December 2017Description: Gripping performances that are truly taken to the Max Musicians: Hebrides Ensemble Works: MAXWELL DAVIES The Last Island; A Postcard from Sanday; String Trio; Two Nocturnes; Lullaby; Oboe Quartet; A Birthday Card for Jennifer; Violin Sonata; String Quartet ...
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ReviewGunvor Sihm, Berit Johansen Tange: Rued Langgaard – Complete Works for Violin and Piano, vol.1
The Strad Issue: December 2017Description: Wondrously played experimental works from a unique Danish talent Musicians: Gunvor Sihm (violin), Berit Johansen Tange (piano) Works: LANGGAARD Écrasez l’infâme; Sonata (unfinished); Short Violin Sonata; Sonata no.4 ‘Parce nobis, Jesu!’ Catalogue Number: DACAPO 8226130 This is the first in a ...
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ReviewTrio Zimmermann: Hindemith & Schoenberg – String Trios
The Strad Issue: December 2017Description: High-powered music from a suitably high-powered trio Musicians: Trio Zimmermann Works: HINDEMITH String Trio no.1 op.34 & no.2; SCHOENBERG String Trio op.45 Catalogue Number: BIS 2207 (HYBRID SACD) The string trio repertoire still suffers in terms of ...
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ReviewQuatuor Zaïde: Franck – String Quartet in D major; Chausson – Chanson perpétuelle op.37
The Strad Issue: December 2017Description: French-perfumed flair all round from young Gallic quartet Musicians: Quatuor Zaïde, Karine Deshayes (mezzo-soprano), Jonas Vitaud (piano)Works: FRANCK String Quartet in D major; CHAUSSON Chanson perpétuelle op.37Catalogue Number: NOMAD MUSIC NMM044 This is the first time the young French Quatuor Zaïde ...
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ReviewElinor Frey: Fiorè – Complete Cello Sonatas; and 17th-century Italian arias
The Strad Issue: December 2017Description: Exploring how the 17th-century cello found its individual voiceMusicians: Elinor Frey (Baroque cello) Suzie LeBlanc (soprano) Lorenzo Ghielmi (harpsichord) Esteban La Rotta (theorbo)Works: FIORÈ Complete cello sonatas; plus 17th-century arias for soprano, cello obbligato and basso continuo by ...
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ReviewRobert deMaine: Fauré, Grieg, Rachmaninoff – works for cello & piano
THE STRAD RECOMMENDS The Strad Issue: December 2017Description: Lavish and powerful playing of Romantic cello musicMusicians: Robert deMaine (cello) Andrew Armstrong (piano) Works: FAURÉ Élégie in C minor op.24; GRIEG Cello Sonata in A minor op.36; RACHMANINOFF Cello Sonata in G minor op.19 ...
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ReviewEuclid Quartet: American Quartets (Dvořák, Marsalis)
The Strad Issue: December 2017Description: America seen through the lens of two very different composersMusicians: Euclid Quartet Works: DVOŘÁK String Quartet no.12 in F major op.96 ‘American’; MARSALIS String Quartet no.1 ‘At the Octoroon Balls’ Catalogue Number: AFINAT RECORDS AR1701 The ‘American’ ...
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ReviewThe Brahms Project: The Complete Piano Quartets
The Strad Issue: December 2017Description: Splendid Spanish musicians share their passion for Brahms Musicians: The Brahms Project: Josep Colomé (violin) Joaquín Riquelme (viola) David Apellániz (cello) Enrique Bagaría (piano) Works: Brahms Piano Quartets: no.1 in G minor op.25, no.2 in A major op.60, ...
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ReviewJames Ehnes: Beethoven Violin Concerto, Romances. Schubert Rondo
THE STRAD RECOMMENDS The Strad Issue: December 2017Description: It’s truly a team effort in this elegant account of Beethoven’s Concerto Musicians: James Ehnes (violin) Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra/Andrew Manze Works: Beethoven Violin Concerto in D major op.61; Romances: no.1 in G major op.40, ...
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FocusFire and ice: the best recordings of the Sibelius violin concerto
Originally published in 2007 for the 50th anniversary of the composer’s death, this critical appraisal by Richard S. Ginell looks for the recordings that do justice to one of the best-loved works in the repertoire
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ReviewChristian Tetzlaff: Bach – Sonatas and Partitas
The Strad Issue: December 2017Description: An alert and flexible live response to the beauties of solo BachMusicians: Christian Tetzlaff (violin)Works: Bach: Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin BWV1001–6 Catalogue Number: ONDINE ODE12992D (2 CDS) The process behind Christian Tetzlaff’s third recording of ...
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ReviewBartholomew LaFollette: Brahms – Works for Cello and Piano
The Strad Issue: November 2017Description: High-quality Brahms in cellist’s debut recordingMusicians: Bartholomew LaFollette (cello), Caroline Palmer (piano)Works: Brahms: Cello Sonatas: no.1 in E minor op.37, no.2 in F major op.99; Four Serious Songs (arr. Shafran); Hungarian Dance no.20 in E minor Catalogue ...
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ReviewQuiroga Quartet: Terra. Works by Bartók, Ginastera, Haffner, Schubert
The Strad Issue: November 2017Description: Powerful passions smoulder in a folk-inspired programmeMusicians: Quiroga QuartetWorks: Bartók: String Quartet no.2 op.17, Ginastera: String Quartet no.1 op.20, Halfeter: Ocho tientos para cuarteto de cuerda op.35, Schubert: Ländler in B flat major D374, Trad.: Panxoliña para o Nadal ...
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ReviewBorenstein: Violin Concerto; The Big Bang and Creation of the Universe; If you will it, it is no dream
The Strad Issue: November 2017Description: Contemporary works full of grand gestures and soaring melodyMusicians: Irmina Trynkos (violin) Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra/Vladimir AshkenazyComposer: Nimrod Borenstein Catalogue Number: CHANDOS CHSA 5209 Tel Aviv-born composer Nimrod Borenstein lays bare his love of the large-scale, virtuosic concerto ...
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ReviewArmida Quartet – Fuga Magna: Bach, Beethoven, Scarlatti, Goldberg, Haussmann
The Strad Issue: November 2017Description: An imaginative exploration of the art of the fugueMusicians: Armida Quartet, Raphael Alpermann (harpsichord)Works: Bach: Contrapunctus I, IV & XI (The Art of Fugue BWV1080), Beethoven: Grosse Fugue in B flat major op.133, Goldberg: Sonata in C minor, ...
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ReviewTasmin Little – Szymanowski: Violin Concertos nos.1 & 2, Karlowicz: Violin Concerto
THE STRAD RECOMMENDS The Strad Issue: November 2017Description: Romantic concertos that stand in a class of their ownMusicians: Tasmin Little (violin) BBC Symphony Orchestra/Edward GardnerComposer: Szymanowski, KarlowiczCatalogue Number: CHANDOS CHSA 5185 ‘I maintain that our national music is not the ossified ghosts of ...
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ArticleMarc Coppey – Bloch: Schelomo, Dvořák: Cello Concerto in B minor; Silent Woods op.68
THE STRAD RECOMMENDS The Strad Issue: November 2017Description: Unusually fine versions of much-recorded cello worksMusicians: Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin/Kirill KarabitsComposer: Bloch, Dvořák Catalogue Number: AUDITE 97.734 It’s a truism that fashion and taste exert quite an influence on performance styles in each decade. Here, Marc Coppey ...
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ArticleMendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor op.64; Symphony no.5 ‘Reformation’ op.107; Concert Overture ‘The Hebrides’ op.26
THE STRAD RECOMMENDS The Strad Issue: November 2017Description: A familiar concerto sounds freshly minted and in tip-top conditionMusicians: Isabelle Faust (violin), Freiburg Baroque Orchestra/Pablo Heras-CasadoComposer: Mendelssohn Catalogue Number: HARMONIA MUNDI HMM 902325 How refreshing it is to witness a soloist adopting some of the recommendations ...
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ReviewMichel Portal, Ébène Quartet: Eternal Stories. Piazolla, Five Tango Sensations; and works by Colombet, Portal, Tribolet, Le Magadure, Merlin and Boisseau
The Strad Issue: October 2017Description: Elegant, catchy and highly accomplished jazz/string quartet fusionMusicians: Michel Portal (clarinet, bandonéon) Xavier Tribolet (keyboards) Richard Hery (drums) Ébène QuartetComposer: Piazolla etc.Catalogue Number: ERATO 0190295839567 The Ébène Quartet has a dual studio career. In between recordings of ...
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ReviewCalifornia Quartet: Sergey Taneyev, String Quartets nos.2 & 6
The Strad Issue: October 2017Description: Russian Romantic composer’s quartets benefits from loving performancesMusicians: California QuartetComposer: TaneyevCatalogue Number: CENTAUR CRC 3589 Sergey Taneyev may have lacked the strong creative personality of his teacher Tchaikovsky and his pupils Rachmaninoff and Scriabin yet, like Glazunov, he was a ...
