Book reviews – Page 111
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ReviewAntonio Meneses: Schumann, Cello Concerto in A minor; Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto no.1 in A minor; Tchaikovsky: Rococo Variations
The Strad Issue: October 2017 Description: Wonderful birthday celebration disc of concertos from a cello star Musicians: Antonio Meneses (cello) Royal Northern Sinfonia/Claudio Cruz Composer: Schumann, Saint-Saëns, Tchaikovsky Catalogue Number: AVIE AV2373 Cellist Antonio Meneses turned 60 this year, and to mark the occasion ...
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ReviewIlya Gringolts: Stravinsky, Pastorale; Duo concertant; Suite for Violin and Piano; etc
The Strad Issue: October 2017Description: A somewhat diffident account of self-effacing StravinskyMusicians: Ilya Gringolts (violin) Peter Laul (piano) Composer: StravinskyCatalogue Number: BIS 2245 (SACD) Stravinsky expressed dissatisfaction with the combination of strings and piano. Sometimes I wonder if he wrote the Duo concertant to prove ...
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ReviewFrancesco & Stefano Cerrato, Armoniosa: Platti Trio Sonatas
The Strad Issue: October 2017Description: The Cerrato brothers make a convincing case for some rarely performed sonatasMusicians: Francesco Cerrato (Baroque violin), Stefano Cerrato (Baroque cello), ArmoniosaComposer: PlattiCatalogue Number: MDG 9031978-6 Giovanni Platti’s (c.1697–1763) Trio Sonatas, written for the unusual combination of violin, cello and continuo, ...
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ArticleIronwood: Brahms, Piano Quartet no.1; Piano Quintet
THE STRAD RECOMMENDS Strad Issue: June 2017Everything’s right in these exquisitely played period performances Musicians: Ironwood: Robin Wilson, Rachael Beesley (violins), Nicole Forsyth (viola), Daniel Yeadon (cello), Neal Peres Da Costa (piano) Composer: Brahms Catalogue Number: ABC CLASSICS 481 4686 This beautiful ...
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ReviewAlina Ibragimova, Cédric Tiberghien: Mozart Violin Sonatas
The Strad Issue: October 2017Description: Standards remain high: some of the most committed Mozart playing you’ll hearMusicians: Alina Ibragimova (violin) Cédric Tiberghien (fortepiano)Composer: MozartCatalogue Number: HYPERION CDA68164 [2 CDs] Volume 4 of this acclaimed cycle sustains the high standards of its predecessors, presenting a careful ...
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ReviewJi Young Lim, Dong Hyen Lim: Mozart and Beethoven violin sonatas
Mozart: Violin Sonatas: no.18 in G major K301, no.21 in E minor K304, no.26 in B flat major K378; Beethoven: Violin Sonata no.1 in D major op.12The Strad Issue: October 2017Description: Stylish Classical debut disc from Queen Elisabeth Prize winner Musicians: Ji Young Lim ...
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ReviewMessiaen: Quatuor pour la fin du temps; Krakauer: Akoka; Socalled: Meanwhile…
The Strad Issue: October 2017Description: Curious bookends that meditate on the end of timeMusicians: Jonathan Crow (violin) Matt Haimovitz (cello) David Krakauer (clarinet) Geoffrey Burleson (piano) Socalled (electronics)Composer: Messiaen, Krakauer, Socalled Catalogue Number: PENTATONE OXINGALE SERIES PTC 5186 560 (hybrid SACD) Matt Haimovitz’s disc is ...
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ReviewIreland: Cello Sonata in G minor; Delius: Violin Sonata no.3 (arr. Handy); Bax: Cello Sonata
The Strad Issue: October 2017Description: An unfairly neglected British cello sonata is given a chance to shineMusicians: Lionel Handy (cello) Jennifer Hughes (piano)Composer: Ireland, Delius, Bax Catalogue Number: LYRITA SRCD361 Commissioned by Gaspar Cassadó, Bax’s Cello Sonata is cloaked in grand gesture and accessible tonal ...
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ReviewHigdon: Viola Concerto; Oboe Concerto; All Things Majestic
The Strad Issue: October 2017Description: Debut on disc for a new American viola concertoMusicians: Roberto Díaz (viola) James Button (oboe) Nashville Symphony/Giancarlo GuerreroComposer: Jennifer Higdon Catalogue Number: NAXOS 8.559823 Jennifer Higdon, teacher of composition at the Curtis Institute of Music, wrote her Viola Concerto in ...
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ReviewGlass: Partitas nos.1 (‘Songs and Poems’) & 2; The Secret Agent; The Paris Sky
The Strad Issue: October 2017Description: Engaging and clear performances of Bach-tinted GlassMusicians: Matt Haimovitz (cello)Composer: Glass Catalogue Number: ORANGE MOUNTAIN MUSIC OMM 0117 In the booklet note to this engaging release on his own label, Philip Glass acknowledges the early influence of Bach’s Solo Cello ...
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ReviewChisholm: Violin Concerto; Dance Suite; Preludes from the True Edge of the Great World
The Strad Issue: October 2017Description: Little-known 20th-century violin concerto casts a dramatic spellMusicians: Matthew Trusler (violin) Danny Driver (piano) BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra/Martyn BrabbinsComposer: Chisholm Catalogue Number: HYPERION CDA 68208 Here’s a neglected voice in 20th-century British music – and on the evidence of a ...
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ReviewChaconnes and Fantasias - Britten: String Quartets no.2 in C major op.36 & no.3 in G major op.94; Purcell: Chacony in G minor (arr. Britten), Fantazias nos 6, 8, 10 & 11
The Strad Issue: October 2017Description: Fantasy and intensity at play in a British line of musical successionMusicians: Emerson QuartetComposer: Britten, Purcell Catalogue Number: DECCA GOLD 4815204 The musical relationships between Britten and his illustrious forebear Purcell are explored on this neatly conceived programme, which intermingles ...
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ReviewC.P.E. Bach: Violin Sonatas in D major, D minor, C major, F major, B minor, B flat major, C minor; Sinfonia in D major; Fantasia in F sharp minor; Arioso with Variations in A major
The Strad Issue: October 2017Description: Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s music in its enjoyable, varied entiretyMusicians: Duo Belder KimuraComposer: C.P.E. BachCatalogue Number: RESONUS RES10192 (2 CDs) This comprehensive survey of C.P.E. Bach’s works for keyboard and violin traces his artistic development from the period of his ...
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ReviewSonata Song - Bach: Chaconne; Penderecki: Sarabande; Carter: Figment IV; Harbison: Sonata for viola; Khachaturian: Sonata-Song; Britten: Elegy; Silvestrov: Lacrimosa
The Strad Issue: October 2017Description: A vivid, varied recital of music for viola aloneMusicians: Milan Milisavljević (viola)Composer: Bach, Penderecki, Carter, Khachaturian, Britten, Silvestrov etc.Catalogue Number: DELOS DE 3519 This most recommendable recital by Serbian-born Milan Milisavljević, assistant principal viola at New York’s ...
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ReviewLet Beauty Awake - Vaughan Williams: Songs of Travel - The Vagabond, Let Beauty Awake, The Roadside Fire, Youth and Love, The Infinite Shining Heavens (arr. Nisbeth); Romance for viola and piano etc.
THE STRAD RECOMMENDS The Strad Issue: October 2017Description: English 20th-century music blooms gorgeously on the violaMusicians: Ellen Nisbeth (viola) Bengt Forsberg (piano)Composer: Vaughan Williams Catalogue Number: BIS 2182 (SACD hybrid) Swedish violist Ellen Nisbeth has recently been selected by the European Concert Hall Association as one ...
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ReviewHaydn: Cello Concertos no.1 in C major, no. 2 in D major; C.P.E. Bach: Cello Concerto in A major; Boccherini: Cello Concerto in G major etc.
THE STRAD RECOMMENDS The Strad Issue: October 2017Description: A superb second swipe at Haydn concertos by Isserlis Musicians: Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen/Steven Isserlis (cello)Composer: Haydn, C. P. E. Bach, Boccherini, MozartCatalogue Number: Hyperion CDA 68162 Steven Isserlis returns to the Haydn concertos on disc, two decades on ...
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ReviewBrahms: Piano Quintet in F minor op.34; String Quartet no.3 in B flat major op.67
THE STRAD RECOMMENDS The Strad Issue: October 2017Description: Far-reaching views over a wide Viennese landscapeMusicians: Artis Quartet Vienna, Peter Frankl (piano)Composer: Brahms Catalogue Number: NIMBUS NI 5944 At the beginning of the quintet there is thrilling full-colour playing, almost orchestral heft, as they give the ...
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ReviewRussian Soul: Works for String Orchestra by Tchaikovsky, Arensky, Glinka, Koussevitzky, Rachmaninoff and Rimsky-Korsakov
The Strad Issue: September 2017Description: Two exciting young soloists in the making – hear them here firstMusicians: LGT Young Soloists/Alexander Gilman Composer: Tchaikovsky, Arensky, Glinka, Koussevitzky, Rachmaninov, Rimsky-KorsakovCatalogue Number: RCA RED SEAL 88985 43088 The LGT Young Soloists are essentially a very high-class youth string orchestra, ...
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ReviewIn the Moment - Short Works for String Quartet: Turina, Webern, Mendelssohn, Shostakovich, Nielsen, Wolf, Puccini, Dvořák and Schubert
The Strad Issue: September 2017Description: A fragrant potpourri of short pieces that’s more than the sum of its parts Musicians: Arabella QuartetComposer: Turina, Webern, Mendelssohn, Shostakovich, Nielsen, Wolf, Puccini, Dvořák, Schubert Catalogue Number: NAXOS 8.579013 A disc of short pieces for string ...
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ReviewTchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D major op.35; Pas de deux and Danse russe from Swan Lake; Sérénade mélancolique op.26; Valse-scherzo op.34; Mélodie in E flat major op.42 no.3
The Strad Issue: September 2017Description: Rock-solid, if stately, interpretation of a violin concerto warhorseMusicians: Esther Yoo (violin), Philharmonia Orchestra/Vladimir Ashkenazy Composer: Tchaikovsky Catalogue Number: Deutsche Grammophon 481 5032 Reactions to this highly accomplished account of the Tchaikovsky Concerto will depend on how you view the ...
