Book reviews – Page 139
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ReviewPfitzner: Cello Concertos in G major op.42, A minor op.52 & A minor op. posth., Duo op.43
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Worthy advocacy for works of a neglected German late RomanticMusicians: Alban Gerhardt (cello) Gergana Gergova (violin) Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra/Sebastian WeigleComposer: PfitznerAlthough the two most memorable things about Hans Pfitzner (1869–1949) have to be his opera Palestrina and his hospital visit by ...
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ReviewPierné: Piano Quintet in E minor op.41. Vierne: String Quartet in D minor op.12
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Triumphant resuscitation of long-forgotten French chamber worksMusicians: Goldner Quartet, Piers Lane (piano)Composer: Pierné, VierneThe record industry continues to titillate with a seemingly unending feast of seldom-performed music. Here we have two names who enjoyed enormous success in their lifetime, but whose chamber ...
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ReviewConcertos Parlando. Shchedrin: Concerto parlando for violin, trumpet and strings. Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto op.35. Prokofiev: Five Melodies op.35b (orch. Prokofiev/Shchedrin). Dvarionas: Pezzo eleg
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: An enterprising collection centring around a new Russian concertoMusicians: Philippe Graffin (violin) MartinuHurrell (trumpet) BBC Symphony Orchestra/Mikhail Agrest, Lithuanian National Philharmonic Orchestra/Robertas Š ervenikasComposer: Shchedrin,Tchaikovsky,Prokofiev,DvarionasTwelve years ago the French violinist Philippe Graffin asked Rodion Shchedrin if he would compose a work for ...
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ReviewVibrez: Works by Wagner, Schubert, Liszt, Wieniawski, Mendelssohn, Bach, Barber (all arr. Birchall) & Sollima
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Luxuriant performances of music largely arranged for eight cellosMusicians: CellophonyComposer: Wagner, Schubert, Liszt, Wieniawski, Mendelssohn, Bach, Barber (all arr. Birchall) & SollimaThis release is a debut both for London-based cello octet Cellophony and for Edition’s new Classics label. ‘Vibrez’, a request not ...
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ReviewEuropean Folkscapes
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A tour of European folk traditions that misses the rustic elementMusicians: Apollo Chamber Players: Matthew Detrick, Anabel Ramirez (violin) Whitney Bullock (viola) Matthew Dudzik (cello)Composer: TradThis Houston-based string quartet is dedicated to performing music that bridges classical music and folk traditions. The ...
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ReviewBeethoven: Piano Trio in E flat major op.70 no.2. Schumann: Piano Trio no.3 in G minor op.110
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Vivid interpretations of two contrasting piano triosMusicians: Les Esprits TrioComposer: Beethoven, SchumannThe members of Les Esprits Trio – violinist Mi-Sa Yang, cellist Victor Julien-Laferrière and pianist Adam Laloum – founded just two years ago, are all graduates of the Paris ...
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ReviewSibelius: Violin Concerto in D minor op.47, Humoresques in D major op.87 no.2, G minor op.89 no.2 & E flat major op.89 no.3. Adès: Violin Concerto ‘Concentric Paths’
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A fresh but purposeful coupling of two violin concertosMusicians: Augustin Hadelich (violin) Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra/Hannu LintuComposer: Sibelius, AdèsThe Sibelius and Adès violin concertos are not obvious companions for a CD. But Augustin Hadelich likes pairing pieces in which he sees subtle ...
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ReviewMendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor op.64. Adams: Violin Concerto
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Key Romantic and modern concertos make for an auspicious CD debutMusicians: Chad Hoopes (violin) MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra/Kristjan JärviComposer: Mendelssohn, AdamsCleveland-trained Chad Hoopes, playing the magnificent 1713 ‘Cooper’ Stradivari, creates the ideal sound world for the Mendelssohn E minor Concerto: lithe, ...
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ReviewMlynarski: Violin Concertos no.1 in D minor op.11 & no.2 in D major op.16. Zarzycki: Introduction and Cracovienne op.35, Mazurka in G major op.26
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Rare works from the Polish tradition, colourfully performedMusicians: Eugene Ugorski (violin) BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra/Michal Dworzy?skiComposer: Mlynarski, ZarzyckiVolume 15 in Hyperion’s series ‘The Romantic Violin Concerto’ features works by two adopted Polish composers, Lithuanian-born Auer pupil Emil Mlynarski and Ukrainian-born Aleksander Zarzycki. ...
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ReviewKreisler: Original compositions & arrangements of works by Gluck, Falla, Tartini & Dvorák
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Some of the violinist–composer’s best-known works are given a faceliftMusicians: Jack Liebeck (violin) Katya Apekisheva (piano)Composer: KreislerJack Liebeck and Katya Apekisheva have stripped away the sugary coating that has, over the years, surrounded Fritz Kreisler’s original compositions and revealed pleasing duets and ...
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ReviewFeldman: Music for cello: Two Pieces, Projection, Four Songs to Poems by e.e. cummings, Intersection 4, Two Instruments, Durations 2, Voices and Cello, Patterns in a Chromatic Field
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: There’s control but too little detachment in this Feldman surveyMusicians: Marco Simonacci (cello) Paola Ronchetti, Ilaria Severo (soprano) Fabio Frapparelli (horn) Giancarlo Simonacci (piano)Composer: FeldmanThere’s no mistaking the fervency nor the passion of young Italian cellist Marco Simonacci in this vivid two-disc ...
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ReviewBruch: Scottish Fantasy op.46. Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D major op.35
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Performances that don’t quite rise above the worthyMusicians: Ning Feng (violin) Deutsches Symphony Orchestra Berlin/Yang YangComposer: Bruch, TchaikovskyAlthough conductor Yang Yang strikes just the right pulse and mood for the picture of an old bard that opens Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy, the performance ...
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ReviewBritten: Cello Sonatas in A major & C major op.65, Cello Suites nos.1–3, Tema ‘Sacher’
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A well-performed set let down by recessed soundMusicians: Alexander Ivashkin (cello) Andrew Zolinsky (piano)Composer: BrittenAs a recording artist, Alexander Ivashkin, who died in January, will be best remembered for his series of Chandos discs in the 1990s: surveys of Russian repertoire ranging ...
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ReviewBloch Schelomo, Voice in the Wilderness. Caplet: Epiphanie. Ravel: Kaddisch
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A poignant tribute to lost generationsMusicians: Raphael Wallfisch (cello) BBC National Orchestra of Wales/Benjamin WallfischComposer: Bloch, Caplet, RavelUnited by a biblical theme, these four works largely utilise the cello as a narrative voice, be it contemplative or commanding as in the two ...
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ReviewClarion Call. M. Berkeley Clarion Call and Gallop. Casken: Blue Medusa. Ferguson: Octet op.4, C. Wood: Septet
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: An adventurous disc of British music for mixed chamber ensemblesMusicians: Berkeley EnsembleComposer: M. Berkeley, Casken, Ferguson, C. WoodLaunched in 2011 the artist-led, download-only Resonus label has notched up close to 30 releases. If this disc is anything to go by – a ...
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ReviewPlay. Works by Monti, Elgar, Paganini, Glazunov, Rostropovich, Fauré, Dvorák, Poulenc, Saint-Saëns, Françaix, Tchaikovsky, Massenet, Popper, Schubert, Gluck, Bloch & Chopin
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Stunning virtuosity from a new young star of the celloMusicians: Edgar Moreau (cello) Pierre-Yves Hodique (piano)Composer: Monti, Elgar, Paganini, Glazunov, Rostropovich, Fauré, Dvorák, Poulenc, Saint-Saëns, Françaix, Tchaikovsky, Massenet, Popper, Schubert, Gluck, Bloch & ChopinA new gladiator enters the arena. If ...
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ReviewBeethoven: Violin Sonatas op.12 nos.1—3, op.23 & op.24 ‘Spring’
Description: Admirable accounts that could have exploited greater possibilities of period styleMusicians: Elizabeth Wallfisch (violin) David Breitman (fortepiano)Composer: BeethovenHistorically informed performances of Beethoven’s music have become an established part of the performance landscape, and this set, bringing together celebrated period-instrument specialists Elizabeth Wallfisch and David Breitman, promises much. ...
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ReviewBrahms by Heart. Brahms: String Quartets op.51 nos.1 in C minor & 2 in A minor & op.67 in B flat major, String Quintet no.2 in G major op.111
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2014Description: An outstanding set performed entirely from memoryMusicians: Chiara Quartet, Roger Tapping (viola)Composer: BrahmsPrior to op.51, Brahms had made at least 20 attempts (all destroyed) to compose a string quartet worthy of the Viennese tradition that he held so dear. What ...
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ReviewMansurian: Double Concerto for violin and cello, Romance, Quasi parlando, Four Serious Songs
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Visceral playing on a disc celebrating an Armenian composer’s 75th birthdayMusicians: Patricia Kopatchinskaja (violin) Anja Lechner (cello) Amsterdam Sinfonietta/Candida Thompson (violin)Composer: MansurianIt’s hard to imagine a richer, more persuasive match between performers and music than that revealed on this remarkable, ...
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ReviewProto: Nine Variants on Paganini. Rabbath: Reitba
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Double takes from two leading double bassistsMusicians: François Rabbath (double bass) Michael Cherlock, Frank Proto (piano/conductor) ESF Chamber Orchestra, Charleston Symphony Orchestra/David StahlComposer: Proto, RabbathTwo of the most eminent bassists around come together for what proves to be a thoroughly enjoyable, thrillingly ...
