Book reviews – Page 143
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ReviewInto the Ravine. Berkeley: Oboe Quintet ‘Into the Ravine’. McCabe: String Quartet no.7 ‘Summer Eves’. Williams: String Quartet no.4
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Strong advocacy for three recent British string worksMusicians: Carducci Quartet, Nicholas Daniel (oboe)Composer: Berkeley, McCabe, WilliamsThe Carducci Quartet’s first release on Signum Classics brings first recordings of three British works, all of which the group has premiered at the Presteigne Festival in ...
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ReviewA Tale of Two Cellos. Arrangements of works by Dvorák, Schumann, Quilter, Holst, Saint-Saëns, Piazzolla, Monteverdi, Shostakovich, Rubinstein, William Lloyd Webber, Pergolesi, Hahn, Rachmaninoff, Purc
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A generally successful collection of cello duos from a husband-and-wife teamMusicians: Julian Lloyd Webber, Jiaxin Lloyd Webber, Guy Johnston, Laura van der Heijden (cello) John Lenehan (piano) Catrin Finch (harp)Composer: Dvorák, Schumann, Quilter, Holst, Saint-Saëns, Piazzolla, Monteverdi, Shostakovich, Rubinstein, William Lloyd Webber, ...
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ReviewZemlinsky: Piano Trio in D minor op.3. Suk: Piano Trio in C minor op.2. Arensky: Piano Trio no.1 in D minor op.32
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Welcome exposure for three unjustly neglected piano triosMusicians: Voce TrioComposer: Zemlinsky, Suk, ArenskyIn these three works composed in the 1890s, the dying embers of the Romantic era still shine brightly, especially in these affectionate performances by the American-based Trio Voce. Throughout, the ...
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ReviewIl Progetto Vivaldi 3. Vivaldi: Cello Concertos in A minor, F major & D major, Concerto for two mandolins in G major (arr. S. & A. Gabetta). Platti: Cello Concertos in C major & C minor. Zani: Cello C
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: The latest instalment in a series exploring Vivaldi and his contemporariesMusicians: Sol Gabetta (cello) Cappella Gabetta/Andres Gabetta (director)Composer: Vivaldi, Platti, Zani, ChelleriThis project’s third volume combines and contrasts concertos by Vivaldi with those of three compatriot contemporaries. Despite her use of an ...
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ReviewTchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D op.35. Bartók: Violin Concerto no.2
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Stunning live accounts that equal more established studio recordingsMusicians: Isaac Stern (violin) Swiss Festival Orchestra/Lorin Maazel, Ernest AnsermetComposer: Tchaikovsky, BartókTaped at the Lucerne Festival when Isaac Stern was at the height of his powers in 1958 and 1956 respectively, these sophisticated mono recordings ...
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ReviewSaint-Saëns: Violin Concerto no.3 in B minor op.61, Cello Concerto no.1 in A minor op.33, La muse et le poète op.132
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Brotherly rivalry and collaboration on display in tasteful performancesMusicians: Renaud Capuçon (violin) Gautier Capuçon (cello) Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra/Lionel BringuierComposer: Saint-Saëns Saint-Saëns’s music is always brilliantly crafted and when this is matched with memorable melodic invention, he creates a work strong enough to ...
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ReviewTaneyev: String Quartets vol.3: nos.5 & 7
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A rewarding continuation of a survey of the Russian composer’s quartetsMusicians: Carpe Diem QuartetComposer: Taneyev It is a couple of years since I reviewed the Carpe Diem Quartet’s last release in its distinguished ongoing Taneyev series for Naxos (see The ...
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ReviewSchubert: String Quartet in D minor D810 ‘Death and the Maiden’, String Quintet in C major D956
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Riveting performances that expose the extremes of Schubertian expressionMusicians: Pavel Haas Quartet, Danjulo Ishizaka (cello)Composer: SchubertThese are superb performances. The Pavel Haas Quartet presents Schubert’s ‘Death and the Maiden’ Quartet as a dichotomy, pretty much divided into loud Schubert and soft ...
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ReviewProkofiev: Violin Concertos no.1 in D major op.19 & no.2 in G minor op.63, Sonata for two violins in C major op.56, Sonata for solo violin in D major op.115, Violin Sonatas no.1 in F minor op 80 & no.
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2014Description: An outstanding collection of Prokofiev’s complete music for violinMusicians: James Ehnes, Amy Schwartz Moretti (violin) Andrew Armstrong (piano) BBC Philharmonic/Gianandrea NosedaComposer: ProkofievGianandrea Noseda quietly raises the orchestral curtain on a performance of Prokofiev’s First Violin Concerto that is arguably the ...
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ReviewPaganini: The Twenty-four Caprices op.1
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Unusually exploratory performances of a well-known set of virtuoso studiesMusicians: Ilya Gringolts (violin)Composer: PaganiniModern pedagogy (and strings) make the challenges of these Caprices more surmountable today than in Paganini’s times, but few recordings search out the musical depths as convincingly as the ...
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ReviewLigeti: Violin Concerto, Lontano, Atmosphères, San Francisco Polyphony
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A sonically impressive account of a masterly violin concertoMusicians: Benjamin Schmid (violin) Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hannu Lintu (conductor)Composer: LigetiConductor Hannu Lintu goes as far as to refer to Ligeti as a Romantic composer in his informative booklet notes to this beautifully delivered ...
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ReviewAmerican Classics. Higdon: Amazing Grace, Sky Quartet, Viola Sonata, Dark Wood, String Trio
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Mixed results on a disc of contemporary American chamber musicMusicians: Serafin Quartet: Kate Ransom, Timothy Schwarz (violin) Molly Carr (viola) Lawrence Stomberg (cello) with Eric Stomberg (bassoon) Charles Abramovic (piano)Composer: Jennifer HigdonJennifer Higdon is one of America’s most respected and widely performed contemporary ...
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ReviewBrahms: Cello Sonatas no.1 in E minor op.38 & no.2 in F major op.99
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Refreshing views of two masterpieces from a young cellistMusicians: Harriet Krijgh (cello) Magda Amara (piano)Composer: BrahmsRecording three solo CDs before you are 23 is no mean achievement, but then Harriet Krijgh, with a whole string of competition triumphs behind her, looks set to become something ...
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ReviewA Suo Amico: Music from the Repertoire of Domenico Dragonetti & Robert Lindley
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A resourceful programme based around duets for cello and bassMusicians: Querelle des Bouffons: Guy Fishman (cello) Robert Nairn (double bass) with Daniel Stepner (violin) Sarah Freiberg (cello)Composer: Corelli, Handel, Viotti, Dragonetti, RossiniGuy Fishman and Robert Nairn attempt to emulate the fruitful partnership enjoyed by Robert Lindley and ...
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ReviewDreamtime. Brahms: Quintet op.1151. Bridge: Lament. Mann: Dreamtime
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A star violist collaborates with members of a great orchestra with winning resultsMusicians: Bernhard Hartog, Rüdiger Liebermann (violin) David Aaron Carpenter, Walter Küssner (viola) Stephan Koncz (cello)Composer: Brahms, Bridge, MannAs opposed to his op.120 sonatas, Brahms left the clarinet part of the Quintet ...
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ReviewBritish Works for Cello and Piano vol.2. Bowen: Cello Sonata in A major op.64. Bax: Cello Sonata in E flat major. Ireland: Cello Sonata in G minor
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Convincing interpretations of three early 20th-century cello sonatasMusicians: Paul Watkins (cello) Huw Watkins (piano)Composer: Bowen, Bax, IrelandThese three sonatas, penned within two years of each other in the early 1920s, could not have more persuasive advocates than the Watkins brothers, beautifully recorded with both clarity ...
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ReviewBeethoven: String Quartet in F major op.135. Bruckner: String Quartet in C minor. Hartmann: String Quartet no.2. Holliger: String Quartet no.2
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Mixed results in a decidedly motley combination of string quartetsMusicians: Zehetmair QuartetComposer: Beethoven, Bruckner, Hartmann, HolligerBeethoven, Bruckner, Hartmann and Holliger: it’s a weird combination for a CD release – and one that the booklet notes try but fail to make sense of. In reality, ...
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ReviewGuardian Angel. Works by Bach, Biber, Matteis, Tartini & Pisendel
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A perceptive exploration of lesser-known Baroque solo violin repertoireMusicians: Rachel Podger (violin)Composer: Bach, Biber, Matteis, Tartini, PisendelRachel Podger here includes among her favourite works for unaccompanied violin her own transposed version of Bach’s Flute Partita BWV1013. She communicates Bach’s ‘polyphonic melody’ intelligently and gives ...
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ReviewCall of Bangalore
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A masterclass in Carnatic violin playingMusicians: Jyotsna Srikanth (violin) Patri Satish Kumar (mridangam) N. Amruth (khanjira)Composer: Various While its title makes a pun out of a feature of modern Indian life – the call centre, a Bangalore speciality – ...
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ReviewRöntgen: Cello Concertos nos.1–3
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Three Romantically melodic concertos played with style Musicians: Gregor Horsch (cello) Netherlands Symphony Orchestra/David PorcelijnComposer: RöntgenJulius Röntgen (1855–1932), all but forgotten today, was a key player in German and Dutch musical life in his long and productive career. Although ...
