Book reviews – Page 133
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ReviewSchubert: Violin Sonata in A major D574. Gershwin: Five pieces from Porgy and Bess (arr. Heifetz). Dinescu: Etude de nuages. Ravel: Violin Sonata
The Strad Issue: December 2014Description: Performances that lack a sense of personal involvement from the young playersMusicians: Marie-Claudine Papadopoulos (violin) Dimitri Papadopoulos (piano)Composer: Schubert, Gershwin, Dinescu, RavelThe young French-born violinist Marie-Claudine Papadopoulos was awarded first prize in the German Association of Arts and Culture’s ‘Ton und Erklärung’ ...
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ReviewRöntgen: String Trios no.13 in A major, no.14 in C minor, no.15 in C sharp minor & no.16 in C sharp minor
The Strad Issue: December 2014Description: Characterful playing of works in a late flowering of 19th-century styleMusicians: Offenburg String TrioComposer: RöntgenThe Offenburg String Trio plays these Röntgen trios with style and evident affection. And why not? This collection of 16 trios must be a treasure trove for all ...
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ReviewPanufnik: String Quartets nos.1—3. Lutoslawski: String Quartet
The Strad Issue: December 2014Description: Two contrasting strands of 20th-century Polish musicMusicians: Tippett QuartetComposer: Panufnik, LutoslawskiA striking aspect of the iridescent sound world of Lutoslawski’s String Quartet, given the high degree of aleatoric freedom involved – within episodes, individual gestures are left deliberately uncoordinated – is how ...
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ReviewPaganini: 24 Caprices op.1
The Strad Issue: December 2014Description: An effective attempt at ‘authentic’ Paganini let down by poor intonationMusicians: Roberto Noferini (violin)Composer: PaganiniI have reviewed some excellent recordings of Paganini’s op.1 in my time, but this is the first to come my way using gut strings and an early 19th-century ...
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ReviewKuhlau: Violin Sonatas vol.1: Sonatas in E flat major op.64, in F major op.79 no.1, in A minor op.79 no.2 & in C major op.79 no.3
The Strad Issue: December 2014Description: Largely successful accounts of sonatas by the German—Danish composerMusicians: Duo Šstrand/SaloComposer: KuhlauPursuing their mission to disseminate Danish music, Christina Šstrand and Per Salo champion four sonatas by native German Friedrich Kuhlau, who took Danish citizenship in 1813. The works date from the ...
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ReviewMoór: Cello Concerto no.2 in C sharp minor, op.64, Concerto in D major for two cellos and orchestra op.691, Prelude in E major op.123
The Strad Issue: December 2014Description: Beautiful playing of neglected repertoireMusicians: Péter Szabó, Ildikó Szabó (cello), Miskolc Symphony Orchestra/Zsolt HamarComposer: MoórIn 1910 Pablo Casals made his Viennese debut playing the second cello concerto of his friend, the irascible Hungarian Emanuel Moór. Casals and Moór had met in 1905 ...
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ReviewJanácek: Idyll, Suite, Znelka I, String Quartet no.1 ‘The Kreutzer Sonata’ (arr. Kovacic)
The Strad Issue: December 2014Description: A quartet writ large and works from the composer’s early yearsMusicians: Wroclaw Chamber Orchestra Leopoldinum / Ernst KovacicComposer: JanácekPerhaps still better known as a violinist, Ernst Kovacic has since 2007 been artistic director of the Wroclaw Chamber Orchestra Leopoldinum in Poland, with ...
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ReviewMenahem Pressler — The 90th Birthday Celebration. Dvorák: Piano Quintet in A major op.81. Schubert: Piano Quintet in A major D667 ‘The Trout’
The Strad Issue: December 2014Description: A veteran of one of the great chamber ensembles still going strong at 90Musicians: Ebène Quartet, Benjamin Berlioz (double bass) Menahem Pressler (piano)Composer: Dvorák, SchubertRecorded live in Paris, this memorable tribute to long-time Beaux Arts Trio pianist Menahem Pressler captures the nonagenarian’s ...
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ReviewAmerican Chamber Music. Copland: Violin Sonata. Ives: Largo. Bernstein: Piano Trio. Carter: Elegy. Barber: String Quartet in B minor op.11
The Strad Issue: December 2014Description: An engaging survey of chamber music through a variety of genresMusicians: James Ehnes (violin) Ehnes Quartet, Musicians of the Seattle Chamber Music SocietyComposer: Copland, Ives, Bernstein, Carter, BarberAlthough in many ways Charles Ives was a one-off as a composer, he also proved ...
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ReviewChopin: Cello Sonata op.65, Etude op.10 no.6 (arr. Glazunov), Wiosna op.74 no.2. Schumann: Adagio and Allegro op.70, Träumerei op.15 no.7 (arr. Davidoff), Im wunderschönen Monat Mai op.48 no.1
The Strad Issue: December 2014Description: A double bassist appropriates music for cello and for voice with successMusicians: Orazio Ferrari (double bass) Marco Sanna (piano)Composer: Chopin, SchumannIt shouldn’t still come as a surprise when a double bassist plays almost as flexibly as a cellist, but this is a ...
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ReviewBritten: Simple Symphony op.4, Rhapsody, Quartettino, Phantasy in F minor, String Quartet in F major
The Strad Issue: December 2014Description: A fascinating insight into the early works of a master of the quartetMusicians: Emperor Quartet, John Metcalfe (viola)Composer: BrittenThis is the third instalment of the Emperor Quartet’s cycle of Britten’s complete works for string quartet. With the three numbered quartets already covered, ...
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ReviewBartók: Violin Sonatas nos.1 & 2, Solo Violin Sonata
The Strad Issue: December 2014Description: A particularly lyrical approach to Bartók’s major chamber works for violinMusicians: Barnabás Kelemen (violin) Zoltán Kocsis (piano)Composer: BartókBartók’s First Violin Sonata has been notoriously diffident in offering up its inner secrets, and the available recorded versions take many differing views. This new ...
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ReviewAlbéniz: Córdoba. Vivaldi: Violin Sonata RV10 (arr. Respighi). Schubert: Arpeggione Sonata in A minor D821. Bach: Andante from Sonata no.1 in G major BWV1027
The Strad Issue: December 2014Description: An interesting recital let down by deficiencies of phrasingMusicians: Tessitori: Isabel Pereira (viola) JoÁo Loureiro (guitar)Composer: Albéniz, Vivaldi, Schubert, BachThere is arguably a case for playing Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata with a guitar in lieu of a piano, this being a quintessential instrument ...
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ReviewWood Works
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: December 2014Description: A young Scandinavian ensemble turns to the region’s folk rootsMusicians: Danish QuartetComposer: Folk musicAfter recordings of Brahms, Haydn and two discs of Nielsen’s quartets, the members of the Danish Quartet – currently BBC New Generation Artists – turn their attention ...
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ReviewDialog Mit Mozart. Mozart: Violin Sonatas in F major K377, B flat major K454 & G major K301
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: December 2014Description: A fresh take on some violin repertoire classicsMusicians: Daniel Auner (violin) Robin Green (piano)Composer: MozartViolinist Daniel Auner has spent time among the Mozart manuscripts, scrubbing away the corruptions of editions and accepted practice. He is hardly the first to do ...
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ReviewThe Seafarer. Debussy: La mer (arr. Beamish). Beamish: The Seafarer
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: December 2014Description: An unusual but rewarding pairing of nautical music for piano trioMusicians: Apaches Trio: Matthew Trusler (violin) Thomas Carroll (cello) Ashley Wass (piano); Willard White (voice)Composer: Debussy, BeamishSally Beamish’s piano trio arrangement of Debussy’s La mer came about as a result ...
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ReviewEscape to Paradise: The Hollywood Album. Music by Rózsa, Korngold, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Eisler, Zeisl, Waxman, Jurmann, Weill, Morricone, Heymann, Williams, Hupfeld & Newman
The Strad Issue: November 2014Description: An over-abundance of riches in an exploration of the Hollywood soundMusicians: Daniel Hope (violin) Sting, Max Raabe (vocals), Jacques Ammon (piano), Maria Todtenhaupt (harp), Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra/Alexander Shelley, Deutsche Kammerorchester Quintet BerlinComposer: Rózsa, Korngold, Waxman, MorriconeCatalogue Number: DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 479 2954The ...
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ReviewPerla Barocca. Early Italian masterpieces by Fontana, Frescobaldi, Uccellini, Castello, Marini, Pandolfi Mealli, Leonarda, A. Gabrieli, Cima & Bertali
The Strad Issue: November 2014Description: Violin playing both elegant and virtuosic from a specialist in Baroque repertoireMusicians: Rachel Podger (Baroque violin) Marcin ŠšwiÄ…tkiewicz (harpsichord/organ) Daniele Caminiti (theorbo/guitar)Composer: Fontana, Frescobaldi, Uccellini, CastelloCatalogue Number: CHANNEL CLASSICS CCS SA 36014 (hybrid SACD)Rachel Podger performs this 17th-century Italian programme in the ...
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ReviewReinecke: Concerto. Tavener: Threnos. Bloch: Suite no.1 for solo cello. Golijov: Mariel. Schumann: Adagio and Allegro op.70 (orch. Ansermet)
The Strad Issue: November 2014Description: An unusual but largely rewarding collection of mixed cello repertoireMusicians: Michael Samis (cello) Eric Willie (marimba) James Bubbon (oboe) Gateway Chamber Orchestra/Gregory WolynecComposer: Reinecke, Tavener, Bloch, Golijov, SchumannCatalogue Number: Delos DEL 3446Exploring less well-known works such as the 1864 Cello Concerto by ...
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ReviewStockhausen: In Freundschaft
The Strad Issue: November 2014Description: Five performances of the same piece by different players bring their own rewardsMusicians: Raul Lustgarten (violin) Anna Tkatchouk (viola) Friedrich Gauwerky (cello) Petra Stump (bass clarinet) Hans Nickel (tuba)Composer: Stockhausen Catalogue Number: Stockhausen Verlag 102Stockhausen wrote the 15-minute solo ...
