Book reviews – Page 129
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ReviewTre Voci. Takemitsu: And then I knew ’twas wind. Debussy: Sonata for flute, viola and harp. Gubaidulina: Garten von Freuden und Traurigkeiten
The Strad Issue: May 2015Description: Three become one in works for Debussy’s classic combinationMusicians: Kim Kashkashian (viola) Marina Piccinini (flute) Sivan Magen (harp)Composer: Takemitsu, Debussy, GubaidulinaMany good things have come out of the Marlboro Music Festival over the years and the meeting of musical minds on this ...
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ReviewPrimeros Pasos
The Strad Issue: May 2015Description: London’s premiere tango ensemble takes its first steps on discMusicians: London Tango Orchestra/Caroline Pearsall (violin)Composer: VariousWith regular imported dance shows at Sadler’s Wells and the eight-piece London Tango Orchestra (LTO) performing gigs across the city, London clearly has a market for classic ...
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ReviewMozart: Violin Sonatas: in E minor K304; in A major K305; in B flat major K454; in A major K526
The Strad Issue: May 2015Description: Violin sonatas from early and late in Mozart’s careerMusicians: ErnŠ‘ Kállai (violin) Zoltán Fejérvári (piano)Composer: MozartThough the booklet makes no reference to the use of period instruments, the tonal quality and style of performance would place this disc within that category. The ...
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ReviewPaganini: 24 Caprices for Solo Violin
The Strad Issue: May 2015Description: A Romanian violinist proves his virtuoso mettle in solo PaganiniMusicians: Razvan Stoica (violin)Composer: PaganiniPaganini’s music is a proving ground for virtuosity and this, surely, is what ensures its enduring appeal. Razvan Stoica’s approach to the Caprices here suggests that virtuosity is his ...
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ReviewThe Fire That Breaks from Thee. Holst: Walt Whitman Overture. Milford: Violin Concerto in G minor, op.47. Stanford: Violin Concerto no.2 in G minor, op.162
The Strad Issue: May 2015Description: Two rediscovered English concertos given ideal interpretative advocacyMusicians: Rupert Marshall-Luck (violin) BBC Concert Orchestra/Owain Arwel HughesComposer: Holst, Milford, StanfordHolst’s rarely heard early Walt Whitman Overture, with hints of ceremonial Wagner, is a fitting up-beat to his teacher Stanford’s Second Violin Concerto, which ...
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ReviewFinnissy: Mississippi Hornpipes; Seterjentens’ fridag; Amphithétre des sciences mortes; Jive; Molly House; Violin Sonata
The Strad Issue: May 2015Description: Demonstrating the playful side of Michael Finnissy’s complexityMusicians: Darragh Morgan (violin) Mary Dullea (piano) Michael Finnissy (additional keyboards)Composer: FinnissyIn the first of this album’s radically inventive transformations of older material, Michael Finnissy shoots dissonance and violence into the veins of folk tunes ...
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ReviewFrench Cello Sonatas II. Fauré: Romance in A major op.69; Berceuse in D major op.16; Élégie in C minor op.24; Three Romances Without Words op.17. Franck: Cello Sonata in A major. Saint-Saëns: Cello So
The Strad Issue: May 2015Description: Warm-toned playing in a second instalment of French cello worksMusicians: Julian Steckel (cello) Paul Rivinius (piano)Composer: Fauré, Franck, Saint-SaënsGerman duo Steckel and Rivinius follow up their well-received 2011 French Cello Sonatas disc with an equally rewarding second instalment. Franck’s Sonata opens in ...
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ReviewBrahms: Piano Trio no.3 in C minor op.101. Schubert: Piano Trio no.2 in E flat major D929
The Strad Issue: May 2015Description: A worthwhile Wigmore recital coupling 19th-century blockbuster triosMusicians: Sitkovetsky TrioComposer: Brahms, SchubertNamed after its violinst, Alexander Sitkovetsky (a relative of violinist–conductor Dmitry Sitkovetsky), this trio is captured in full flight at a Wigmore Hall concert, with scintillating playing with which it is ...
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ReviewBoccherini: Cello Sonatas no.1 in A minor; no.2 in C major; no.6 in A major. Cirri: Cello Sonatas op.15: no.3 in F major; no.4 in A major; no.5 in G minor
The Strad Issue: May 2015Description: Stylish sonatas from two quintessential Baroque composersMusicians: Catherine Jones (cello) Giulia Nuti (harpsichord) Alison McGillivray (cello) William Carter (archlute/guitar)Composer: Boccherini, CirriBoccherini’s richly decorated, galant melodic idiom is difficult to realise successfully, especially while contending with brilliant left-hand passagework in the upper register, ...
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ReviewBeethoven: Piano Trio in D major op.70 no.1 ‘Ghost’. Tchaikovsky: Piano Trio in A minor op.50. Mendelssohn: Songs Without Words op.62 no.4, op.102 no.4 & op.19b no.1 (arr. Kowalewski)
The Strad Issue: May 2015Description: Persuasive and well-proportioned playing with a rich toneMusicians: Petrof Piano TrioComposer: Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, MendelssohnThe Petrof players perform the outer movements of Beethoven’s ‘Ghost’ Trio with excitement and energy. In the first they sweep though the composer’s dialogue and counterpoint as if engaged ...
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ReviewBach: Three Solo Partitas in B minor BWV1002, D minor BWV1004 & E major BWV1006
The Strad Issue: May 2015Description: Solo masterpieces up close and personal, warts and allMusicians: Gunar Letzbor (Baroque violin)Composer: Bach‘Bach in private’, promises Gunar Letzbor’s apologium for a recording so close, dry and frankly airless that you feel you might be standing a metre or two away from ...
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ReviewAlbéniz: Tango op.165 no.2 (arr. Kreisler). Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances (arr. Székeley). Falla: Siete canciones populares españolas (arr. Kochanski); Danse espagnole from La vida breve (arr. Kreisler
The Strad Issue: May 2015Description: Passion and portamento from a young American violinistMusicians: Emil Altschuler (violin) Keunyoung Sun (piano)Composer: Albéniz, Bartók, Falla, Poulenc, RavelFrom the start this CD is let down by its recording quality, which, despite a seemingly close-in mic, often renders the violin metallic and ...
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ReviewMendelssohn: Piano Trios: no.1 in D minor op.49; no.2 in C minor op.66
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: May 2015Description: Power and symphonic sweep in Mendelssohn’s two triosMusicians: Aquinas Piano TrioComposer: MendelssohnCaptured in opulent sound of unusual depth that gently cushions the music’s semiquaver brilliance, the emotional kinship between Mendelssohn and the Schumann–Brahms tradition has rarely been so powerfully conveyed. ...
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ReviewJongen: Violin Concerto in B minor op.17; Adagio symphonique in B major op.20; Fantasia in E major op.12. Lazzari: Rapsodie in E minor
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: May 2015Description: Graffin makes the best possible case for some long-neglected scoresMusicians: Philippe Graffin (violin) Royal Flemish Philharmonic Orchestra/Martyn BrabbinsComposer: Jongen, LazzariHyperion’s Romantic Violin Concerto series reaches volume 18 with a heartwarming programme of unjustly neglected music, played by Philippe Graffin with ...
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ReviewShostakovich: Preludes op.34 (selection). Rachmaninoff: Eleven Romances (all transc. Urasin)
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: May 2015Description: Eloquent, expressively performed transcriptions of piano preludes and songsMusicians: Boris Andrianov (cello) Rem Urasin (piano)Composer: Shostakovich, RachmaninoffEnterprising, imaginative and brilliantly executed, this CD is almost faultless, even if the recorded sound is perhaps a bit too resonant for my taste. ...
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ReviewA War Concert: Transcriptions by Jascha Heifetz. Works by Ponce, Kreisler, Gershwin, Foster, Debussy and Castelnuovo-Tedesco
The Strad Issue: April 2015Description: A re-creation of Heifetz’s concerts to provide entertainment at the front lineMusicians: Lucio Degani (violin) Andrea Rucli (piano)Composer: Ponce, Kreisler, Gershwin, Foster, Debussy and Castelnuovo-TedescoEntertaining troops at the various points of conflict during the Second World War was the contribution made by ...
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ReviewUnder the Stars. Works by Spencer, Bull, Debussy, Elgar, Bizet/Hubay, Hubay, Dvorák, Tchaikovsky, Kreisler, Fauré, Brahms, Shostakovich and Siem
The Strad Issue: April 2015Description: Starry violinist dazzles and charms in a disc of encore piecesMusicians: Charlie Siem (violin) Munich Radio Orchestra/Paul GoodwinComposer: Spencer, Bull, Debussy, Elgar, Bizet/Hubay, Hubay, Dvorˇák, Tchaikovsky, Kreisler, Fauré, Brahms, Shostakovich and SiemThis disc features a generous mix of virtuoso fireworks and sweetmeats ...
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ReviewTetraktys. Works by Casillas, Nossa, Palacio, Castro, Pichardo, Vergara, Lemus, Sarti, Rivera and Urrusti
The Strad Issue: April 2015Description: Energy and commitment in a collection of new Mexican string quartetsMusicians: Latin American QuartetComposer: Casillas, Nossa, Palacio, Castro, Pichardo, Vergara, Lemus, Sarti, Rivera and UrrustiIt’s certainly a laudable project – a collaboration between Mexico City’s Núcleo Integral de Composición composers’ institute and ...
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ReviewThe English Phantasy. Works by Bridge, Holst, Goossens, Howells, Holbrooke and Hurlstone
The Strad Issue: April 2015Description: Cobbett’s competition works in a useful collectionMusicians: Bridge QuartetComposer: Bridge, Holst, Goossens, Howells, Holbrooke and HurlstoneThis enterprising disc focuses on quartets written for the competitions held between 1906 and 1919 by amateur violinist and chamber music proponent Walter Willson Cobbett to revive ...
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ReviewWolf: Italian Serenade. Grieg: String Quartet no.1 in G minor op.27. Janácek: String Quartet no.2 ‘Intimate Letters’
The Strad Issue: April 2015Description: Mixed results in three varied masterpieces of the quartet repertoireMusicians: Amphion QuartetComposer: Wolf, Grieg, JanácekConvincingly linking the very disparate sections within Grieg’s four-movement structure, the New York-based Amphion Quartet gives a highly impressive account of the composer’s youthfully passionate First Quartet. Having ...
