Book reviews – Page 118
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Review
Lalo: Cello Concerto in D minor. Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto no.1 in A minor op.33 Martin: Ballade
The Strad Issue: July 2016 Description: French (and Swiss) fancies that aren’t allowed room to breathe Musicians: Wen-Sinn Yang (cello) Giessen Philharmonic Orchestra/Michael Hofstetter Composer: Lalo; Saint-Saëns; Martin Catalogue number: OEHMS OC 1838 At its best Saint-Saëns’s music really sparkles, his First Cello Concerto often ...
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ReviewReynolds: The imagE-imAge Set
The Strad Issue: July 2016 Description: Paired pieces for solo instruments by an American iconoclast Musicians: John Pickford Richards, Mark Menzies (viola) Alexis Descharmes (cello) Mark Dresser (double bass) Pablo Gómez (guitar) Rachel Beetz (flute) Yuji Takahashi, Eric Huebner (pianos) Composer: Reynolds Catalogue ...
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ReviewHerbert: Cello Concertos: no.1 in D major op.8, no.2 in E minor op.30; Irish Rhapsody
The Strad Issue: July 2016 Description: Cleveland cellist plays concertos by the man who inspired Dvorák Musicians: Mark Kosower (cello) Ulster Orchestra/JoAnn Falletta Composer: Herbert Catalogue number: NAXOS 8.573517 In the audience at ...
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ReviewFeldman: Structures. Nunes: Chessed III. Zimmerlin: String Quartet no.4. Lachenmann: String Quartet no.3 ‘Grido’
The Strad Issue: July 2016 Description: Contemporary quartet works spoilt by outside interference Musicians: Arditti Quartet Composer: Feldman, Nunes, Zimmern, Lachenmann Catalogue number: BMN MEDIEN 20159 (CD + BLU-RAY) The Arditti Quartet’s clinically ...
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ReviewDebussy: Violin Sonata. Elgar: Violin Sonata in E minor op.82. Respighi: Violin Sonata in B minor. Sibelius: Berceuse op.79 no.6
The Strad Issue: July 2016Description: Grand, romantic takes on three Romantic sonatasMusicians: James Ehnes (violin) ; Andrew Armstrong (piano)Composer: Britten, Stravinsky, Vaughan WilliamsCatalogue number: ONYX 4159 Ehnes and Armstrong’s account of Debussy’s Sonata is eloquent and multicoloured, giving full measure to its many voices and weaving them ...
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ReviewBruch: String Quartets: no.1 in C minor op.9, no.2 in E major op.10, in C minor op. posth
The Strad Issue: July 2016Description: Rarely heard Bruch quartets and a recent rediscoveryMusicians: Diogenes QuartetComposer: BruchCatalogue number: BRILLIANT CLASSICS 95051 This disc presents not only the two published Bruch string quartets but also a recovered work from 1852, composed as an audition piece for entry to the ...
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ReviewClarke: Viola Sonata; Lullaby; Lullaby on an Ancient Irish Tune; Untitled Piece; Chinese Puzzle; Passacaglia on an Old English Tune; I’ll Bid My Heart Be Still; Morpheus; Dumka
The Strad Issue: July 2016Description: Italian sisters enter ably into Rebecca Clarke’s English idiomMusicians: Duo Rùnya: Diana Bonatesta (viola) Arianna Bonatesta (piano) with Gabriele Campagna (violin)Composer: ClarkeCatalogue number: ÆVEA AE16008 If you didn’t know that the first movement of Rebecca Clarke’s Viola Sonata was marked ‘impetuoso’, it ...
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ReviewBeethoven: Piano Trio in G major op.1 no.2. Dvorák Piano Trio no.4 in E minor op.90 ‘Dumky’ Various: Constellations: Variations on a Theme by Beethoven
The Strad Issue: July 2016Description: Stylish trio playing in early Beethoven and late DvorákMusicians: Céleste TrioComposer: Beethoven; Dvorák; VariousCatalogue number: NAVONA NV6030 The US West Coast-based Céleste Trio may have been formed only four years ago, but judging from its first disc it has an important career ...
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ReviewBartók: Violin Concerto no.2; Concerto for Orchestra
The Strad Issue: July 2016Description: A monumental Montreal performance of Bartók’s Second Violin ConcertoMusicians: Augustin Dumay (violin) Montreal Symphony Orchestra/Kent NaganoComposer: BartókCatalogue number: ONYX 4138 (2 CDs) Just too long for a single CD at over 81 minutes, this coupling of two of Bartók’s late masterpieces arrives ...
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ReviewBach: Violin Concertos: in A minor BWV1041, in E major BWV1042; Concerto in C minor for violin and oboe BWV1060R; Concerto in D minor for two violins BWV1043; Cantata no.21 ‘Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis
The Strad Issue: July 2016Description: Butt’s Dunedin forces take on Bach’s violin concertosMusicians: Cecilia Bernardini, Huw Daniel (violins) Alfredo Bernardini (oboe) Dunedin Consort/John ButtComposer: BachCatalogue number: LINN CKD519 (SACD) It takes something distinctive to compete favourably with the countless available recordings of these concertos. For many, that ...
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ReviewBortkiewicz: Violin Concerto in D minor op.22; Symphonic Poem after Shakespeare’s Othello op.19
THE STRAD RECOMMENDS The Strad Issue: July 2016 Description: A major violin concerto appears for the first time on disc Musicians: Sergey Levitin (violin) Royal Scottish National Orchestra/MartinuYates Composer: Bortkiewicz Catalogue number: DUTTON ...
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ReviewVirtuoso. Works for violin and piano by Britten, Dohnányi, Dvorák, Elgar, Falla, Paganini, Sarasate, Strauss, Stravinsky, Tárrega, Tchaikovsky and Wieniawski
The Strad Issue: July 2016 Description: Kavakos displays his technical prowess in a programme of encore pieces Musicians: Leonidas Kavakos (violin) Enrico Pace (piano) Composer: Britten, Dohnányi, Dvorák, Elgar, Falla, Paganini, Sarasate, Strauss, Stravinsky, Tárrega, Tchaikovsky, ...
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ReviewDebussy: String Quartet in G minor op.10. Franck: Piano Quintet in F minor op.14
The Strad Issue: July 2016 Description: The Takács on top form in two French masterpieces Musicians: Takács Quartet, Marc-André Hamelin (piano) Composer: Debussy; Franck Catalogue number: HYPERION CDA68061 Marc-André Hamelin has made a ...
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ReviewSchumann: Violin Concerto in D minor WoO23; Piano Concerto in A minor op.54
The Strad Issue: June 2016Description: Two of today’s leading violinists take on the challenge of Schumann’s ConcertoMusicians: Patricia-Kopatchinskaja; Dénes-Várjon; WDR-Symphony-Orchestra; Heinz-HolligerComposer: SchumannBoth Patricia Kopatchinskaja and Thomas Zehetmair relish the quick and unpredictable passions of Schumann’s music. There is nothing comfortable about their performances of the Violin Concerto, ...
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ReviewSchumann: Cello Concerto in A minor op.129; Piano Trio no.1 in D minor op.63
The Strad Issue: June 2016Description: The final instalment in these players’ trilogy delivers a revelatory TrioMusicians: Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello) Isabelle Faust (violin) Alexander Melnikov (fortepiano) Freiburg Baroque Orchestra/Pablo Heras-CasadoComposer: SchumannSchumann knew what he was talking about in describing Mendelssohn’s evergreen D minor Piano Trio of 1838 as ...
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ReviewGrand Tango!
The Strad Issue: June 2016 Description: Van Keulen and friends revisit the tangos of Ástor Piazzolla Musicians: Isabelle van Keulen Ensemble Composer: Piazzolla The Dutch violinist Isabelle van Keulen formed her tango nuevo ensemble to perform ...
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ReviewMendelssohn: Piano Trios: no.1 in D minor op.49; no.2 in C minor op.66
The Strad Issue: June 2016 Description: An award-winning young piano trio takes on Mendelssohn Musicians: Fournier Trio Composer: Mendelssohn This is Mendelssohn the Romantic. The Fournier Trio performs the first movement of the D minor Trio ...
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ReviewHaydn: Six String Quartets op.76
The Strad Issue: June 2016 Description: The Doric players relish Haydn’s late set of six quartets Musicians: Doric Quartet Composer: Haydn The Doric Quartet’s accounts of Haydn’s six quartets op.76 are technically assured, carefully determined, strikingly ...
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ReviewHandel: Trio Sonatas: in F major HWV392, in B flat major HWV50a ‘Esther’, in G minor HWV393, in E major HWV394, in C minor HWV386a, in C major HWV403 ‘Saul’; Sinfonia in B flat major HWV339
The Strad Issue: June 2016 Description: Neat and energetic birthday performances of Handel’s trio sonatas Musicians: Brook Street Band Composer: Handel This 20th-anniversary disc completes the Brook Street Band’s traversal through Handel’s trio sonatas. Its seven ...
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ReviewElgar: Serenade for strings; Salut d’amour; Chanson de matin; Chanson de nuit; In Moonlight; Introduction and Allegro. Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending; Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
The Strad Issue: June 2016 Description: Zukerman returns to VW’s Lark and the English music he loves Musicians: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Pinchas Zukerman (violin/viola) Composer: Elgar; Vaughan-Williams Principal guest conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra since 2009, ...
