Book reviews – Page 127
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ReviewDvorák: Violin Concerto in A minor op.53. Janácek: Violin Concerto ‘The Wandering of a Little Soul’. Suk: Fantasy in G minor
The Strad Issue: August 2015Description: paÄek sings and dances his way through three Czech concertosMusicians: Josef Š paÄek (violin) Czech Philharmonic Orchestra/Jirí BÄ›lohlávekComposer: Dvorák, Janácek, SukDvorák’s Violin Concerto lacks the sense of ease and inevitability that informs his very finest work. Like Bruch’s G minor Concerto, it ...
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ReviewMetamorphoses. Corelli: Concerto grosso in D major op.6 no.4. Kreisler: Concerto in C major ‘in the style of Vivaldi’. Schnittke: Suite in the Old Style (arr. Ššmietana). Vivaldi: Trio Sonata op.1 no.
The Strad Issue: August 2015Description: Vivaldi provides the link for a collection showcasing old and new stylesMusicians: Pekka Kuusisto (violin) Artur Rozmyslowicz (viola) Extra Sounds Ensemble/Alicja Ššmietana (violin)Composer: Corelli, Kreisler, Schnittke, VivaldiAlicja Ššmietana has inspired her Extra Sounds Ensemble to fashion a disc that has a resounding ...
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ReviewThomas Gould: Live in Riga. Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D major op.61. Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending
The Strad Issue: August 2015Description: Contemporary music specialist performs a pair of violin standardsMusicians: Sinfonietta Riga/Thomas Gould (violin)Composer: Beethoven, Vaughan WilliamsThomas Gould – familiar to British audiences as associate leader of the Britten Sinfonia and leader of the yet more dynamic Aurora Orchestra – has a strong ...
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ReviewSoli. Bartók: Sonata for Solo Violin. G. Benjamin: Three Miniatures. Carter: Four Lauds – nos.1 & 3. Kurtág: Six Miniatures. Penderecki: Cadenza
The Strad Issue: August 2015Description: Tamsin Waley-Cohen alone in a sequence of solo worksMusicians: Tamsin Waley-Cohen (violin)Composer: Bartók, G. Benjamin, Carter, Kurtág, PendereckiThe opening Chaconne of Bartók’s adieu to music is spaciously conceived by Tamsin Waley-Cohen (taking 14 minutes to the 9 of its dedicatee Menuhin), without ...
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ReviewBach: Six Cello Suites BWV1007–12
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: August 2015Description: Watkin chooses two cellos for a personal tour of Bach’s SuitesMusicians: David Watkin (cello)Composer: BachDavid Watkin doesn’t make the Suites sound easy. He does, though, play them with a conversational intimacy that suggests how, over the years, they have become ...
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ReviewJa(zz)smine Rice – Violin Mysteries. : Chaconne from Partita no.2 BWV1004. Dinescu: Mtram. Meyer: Misterioso. Kaunzner: Jasmine Rice; Trois Nocturnes; Wintersonnenwende. Schnyder: The Four Winds
The Strad Issue: August 2015Description: An unconventional album from a violinist with a questing mindMusicians: Viktoria Kaunzner (violin) Veit Hertenstein (viola) Sorin Creciun, Roman Salyutov, Wonsun Choi (piano)Composer: Bach, Dinescu, Meyer, Kaunzner, SchnyderThis album collects together recordings made over several years by South Korea-based German violinist Viktoria ...
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ReviewSchubert: Sonatinas in D major D384, in A minor D385, in G minor D408; Duo Sonata in A major D574; Rondeau brillant D895; Fantasie D934; Arpeggione Sonata D821; Notturno D897
The Strad Issue: July 2015Description: From charm to challenge: all of Schubert’s music for violin and pianoMusicians: Tasmin Little (violin) Tim Hugh (cello) Piers Lane (piano)Composer: SchubertA former colleague and I used to argue over lunchtime pints whether Schubert was a great composer or merely a very ...
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ReviewNemanja Radulović: Journey East
Serbian violinist ranges far, as his musical travels take him eastwards
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ReviewMacdonald: Music for String Quartet, Piano and Celeste
The Strad Issue: July 2015Description: Macdonald’s minimalism evokes film soundtrack musicMusicians: Tristan Gurney, Cheryl Crockett (violins) Catherine Marwood (viola) Alison Lawrence (cello) Francis Macdonald (piano/celesta)Composer: MacdonaldFrancis Macdonald is a Scottish film and television composer, as well as drummer with Scottish alternative rock band Teenage Fanclub. This set ...
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ReviewJoubert: Concerto in Two Movements op.171. R. Simpson: Cello Concerto. C. Wright: Cello Concerto
The Strad Issue: July 2015Description: Modern concertos played by a contemporary cello championMusicians: Raphael Wallfisch (cello) BBC National Orchestra of Wales/William BoughtonComposer: Joubert, R. Simpson, C. WrightNo living cellist has done more to promote the British cello concerto than Raphael Wallfisch. This disc represents just a fraction ...
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ReviewJanácek: String Quartets no.1 ‘The Kreutzer Sonata’; no.2 ‘Intimate Letters’. Martinu¯: String Quartet no.3
The Strad Issue: July 2015Description: Four become one in Janácek’s autobiographical quartet diptychMusicians: Doric QuartetComposer: Janácek, Martinu¯The players of the Doric Quartet clearly appreciate the drama at the heart of Janácek’s two quartets. They emphasise the tragedy of no.1 and one can sense the narrative of Tolstoy’s ...
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ReviewFirst Performance IV. Carter: String Quartet no.3. Crawford-Seeger: String Quartet. G.F. Haas: String Quartet no.8. Rodericus: Angelorum psalat tripudium (arr. C. Otto)
The Strad Issue: July 2015Description: New (and nearly new) music given the full Jack treatmentMusicians: Jack QuartetComposer: Carter, Crawford-Seeger, G.F. Haas, RodericusFearlessly tackling the most cutting-edge contemporary music, the Jack Quartet is an exceptional group, so it’s no surprise that this disc – recorded live in Basel ...
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ReviewHenze: Violin Concerto no.2, Il Vitalino raddoppiato
The Strad Issue: July 2015Description: Clarity and conviction in Henze’s uncompromising concertante violin musicMusicians: Peter Sheppard Skærved (violin/conductor) Parnassus Ensemble/Hans Werner Henze, LongbowComposer: HenzeThis disc is the completion of a two-decade venture by Peter Sheppard Skærved to record Henze’s concertante music for violin (I reviewed the first ...
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ReviewBeethoven: Piano Trios: in E flat major op.1 no.1; in E flat major, Hess 48 (Allegretto); in B flat major op.97 ‘Archduke’
The Strad Issue: July 2015Description: The Gould players complete their survey of Beethoven’s piano triosMusicians: Gould Piano TrioComposer: BeethovenThe sprightly, deftly phrased opening of Beethoven’s youthful First Piano Trio is a promising opening to this fourth and final volume of the complete Beethoven piano trios, recorded live ...
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ReviewJ.S. Bach: Viola da Gamba Sonatas no.1 in G major BWV1027; no.2 in D major BWV1028; no.3 in G minor BWV1029. C.P.E. Bach: Trio Sonata in G minor for viola da gamba and keyboard
The Strad Issue: July 2015Description: Gamba sonatas recorded for the first time on Baroque cello and harpsichordMusicians: Brook Street Band: Tatty Theo (Baroque cello) Carolyn Gibley (harpsichord)Composer: J.S. Bach, C.P.E. BachTatty Theo and Carolyn Gibley claim that these gamba sonatas are recorded here for the first time ...
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ReviewBach: Sonatas and Partitas BWV1001–6
The Strad Issue: July 2015Description: Brisk but intimate solo Bach on Shaham’s 1699 StradivariMusicians: Gil Shaham (violin)Composer: BachAs you listen to this recording, it is easy to imagine that microphones were placed in Gil Shaham’s music room to eavesdrop as he amused himself playing through Bach’s Sonatas ...
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ReviewMozart: Violin Concerto no.5 in A major K219. Vieuxtemps: Violin Concerto no.4 in D minor
The Strad Issue: July 2015Description: Emotive playing from Hahn in 18th- and 19th-century concertosMusicians: Hilary Hahn (violin) Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen/Paavo JärviComposer: Mozart, VieuxtempsI have always warmed to the ardent and honest playing of Hilary Hahn. In many ways this disc does not disappoint. The Vieuxtemps Concerto is ...
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ReviewPortuguese Music for Solo Cello. Azevedo: Labirintho. Azguime: Moment Á l’extrêmement… Côrte-Real: Bicicleta do poeta. Delgado: Antagonia. Ribeiro: Ostinati
The Strad Issue: July 2015Description: New music for unaccompanied cello, played with passion and considerationMusicians: Filipe Quaresma (cello)Composer: Azevedo, Azguime, Côrte-Real, Delgado, RibeiroThe young Portuguese cellist Filipe Quaresma has feet in both the period-performance and contemporary music worlds, something that’s immediately evident in his precise, superbly articulated ...
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ReviewMartinu¯: Rhapsody-Concerto; Three Madrigals; Duo no.2; Viola Sonata
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: July 2015Description: Martinu¯’s viola works majestically performed by Rysanov and friendsMusicians: Maxim Rysanov (viola) Alexander Sitkovetsky (violin) Katya Apekisheva (piano) BBC Symphony Orchestra/Jirí BÄ›lohlávekComposer: Martinu¯In his teens, Bohuslav Martinu¯ seemed to be heading towards a career as a violin virtuoso. Although his ...
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ReviewIvry Gitlis: Works by Bartók, Brahms, Bloch, Debussy, Haubenstock-Ramati, Hindemith, Saint-Saëns and Wieniawski
The Strad Issue: June 2016 Description: The two faces of Ivry Gitlis in recordings covering 1962–86 Musicians: Ivry Gitlis (violin) Daria Hovora (piano) Stuttgart Radio Orchestra/Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, SWR SO Baden-Baden/Hans Rosbaud, Orchestra of the National Theatre, Mannheim/Wolfgang Rennert ...
