Book reviews – Page 150
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ReviewLeaning Toward the Fiddler
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: An effective marriage of singing and violin playingMusicians: Hope Wechkin (violin/voice)Composer: Trad.It’s hard to label Hope Wechkin either as a fiddler who sings, or as a vocalist who can accompany herself on violin, as on this evidence, neither skill deserves secondary billing. ...
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ReviewCorelli: Violin Sonatas op.5
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Colours abound in idiomatic performances of CorelliMusicians: Avison Ensemble: Pavlo Beznosiuk (violin) Richard Tunnicliffe (cello) Paula Chateauneuf (archlute/guitar) Roger Hamilton (harpsichord/organ)Composer: CorelliIn this second volume of the Avison Ensemble’s project to record Corelli’s complete chamber music, Pavlo Beznosiuk and his colleagues treat ...
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Review
Modular Living By Design
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A rare jazz trio with a cello to the foreMusicians: Will Martinu (cello) Jason Lindner (piano/Rhodes) Richie Barshay (drums/percussion)Composer: Will MartinuAustralian-born New York resident Will Martinu returns with the trio that released The Dam Levels (reviewed February 2012). The rock and hip-hop influences shared ...
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ReviewMystery Variations on Giuseppe Colombi’s Chiacona
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A celebratory work that provides multiple responses to solo cello writingMusicians: Anssi Karttunen (cello)Composer: Various composersIn this composite work written to celebrate the 50th birthday in 2010 of Anssi Karttunen, 30 composers have each contributed a variation on the Chiacona by Giuseppe ...
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ReviewIn the South
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Southern heat becomes tangible in this well-considered collectionMusicians: Brodsky QuartetComposer: Verdi, Paganini (arr. Cassidy), Wolf, Puccini, Piazzolla & TurinaIt’s hard not to be seduced by this selection of pieces suggestive of Italy (and easy to forgive the interloping pieces by Turina and ...
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ReviewBrahms: Violin Sonata no.1 in G major op.78. R. Schumann: Violin Sonata no.1 in A minor op.105. C. Schumann: Three Romances op.22
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Perceptively free-ranging performances of Romantic classicsMusicians: Jennifer Pike (violin) Tom Poster (piano)Composer: Brahms, R. Schumann, C. SchumannIt was said that Robert Schumann composed the first of his two violin sonatas in just four days, and it is that white-heat-of-the-moment feeling that is ...
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ReviewShostakovich: String Quartet no.3 in F major op.73. Beethoven: String Quartet in E minor op.59 no.2 ‘Rasumovsky’
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A triumphant coupling of two complementary quartets from different centuriesMusicians: Valentin Berlinsky QuartetComposer: Shostakovich, BeethovenThe Valentin Berlinsky Quartet, named after the founding cellist of the legendary Borodin Quartet, goes from strength to strength with a beautifully engineered coupling that finds ...
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ReviewBloch: Schelomo, From Jewish Life (arr. Palmer), Voice in the Wilderness. Bruch: Kol nidrei op.47
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A deeply felt exploration of music for cello on Jewish subjectsMusicians: Natalie Clein (cello) BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra/Ilan VolkovComposer: Bloch (arr. Palmer) & Bruch The restrained dignity and expressive intensity of Natalie Clein’s playing are effectively displayed in these ...
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ReviewSalva: Concerto for Cello and Chamber Orchestra; Three Arias; Little Suite; Slovak Concerto grosso no.3; Eight Preludes
The Strad Issue: eptember 2012Description: An invigorating disc of music from a postwar Czech modernistMusicians: Eugen Prochác, Ján Slávik (cello) Juraj ?ižmarovi? (violin) Nora Skuta (piano) Bernadetta Š u?avská (organ) Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra/Marián LejavaComposer: Salva Born in what was then Czechoslovakia, Tadeáš Salva ...
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ReviewSublime Discourses. Milton/Peerson: Complete instrumental music
The Strad Issue: Febraury 2012Description: Domestic-scaled performances of some little-known English consort musicMusicians: Fretwork, Michael Chance (countertenor) Sophie Yates (virginals)Composer: Milton/PeersonViol consort music was big business in early 17th-century England. Fretwork’s latest disc features two of the multitude of composers who turned their hand to it: John ...
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ReviewTchaikovsky: Album for the Young (arr. Dubinsky), String Quartet no.1 op.11. Stravinisky: Concertino. Schnittke: Canon in memoriam Igor Stravinsky, Various Variations on a Russian Folk Song
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Sophisticated performances of Russian music for quartetMusicians: Kuss QuartetComposer: Tchaikovsky (arr. Dubinsky), Stravinisky, Schnittke As the booklet notes for this CD point out, the string quartet was not a natural medium for Russian composers of the 19th century, especially ...
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ReviewTchaikovsky: String Quartets nos.1–3, Souvenir de Florence*
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A commendable addition to the Tchaikovsky quartet discographyMusicians: IPO Richter Quartet, Vladislav Krasnov (viola)* Kirill Mihanovsky (cello)*Composer: TchaikovskyFollowing years of critical neglect, the Tchaikovsky quartets have gained in popularity to the point that there are now a substantial number of ...
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ReviewDuos for Viola and Violoncello. Works by Rolla, Lutoslawski, Kirchner, Milone, Clarke, Hindemith & Beethoven
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A brave survey of music for a rare instrumental combinationMusicians: Katrin Melcher (viola) MartinuOstertag (cello)Composer: Rolla, Lutoslawski, Kirchner, Milone, Clarke, Hindemith & BeethovenThe rich timbral combination of viola and cello sadly boasts pretty limited repertoire and inevitably the quality of compositions becomes ...
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ReviewDvorák: Cello Concerto in B minor op.104, The Water Goblin op.107, In Nature’s Realm op.91
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A warm-hearted solo interpretation let down by its orchestral accompanimentMusicians: Zuill Bailey (cello) Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra/Jun MärklComposer: DvorákThis latest release of Dvorák’s ever-popular Cello Concerto, recorded live in February 2011, boasts a fine rendition of the cello part, but the contribution from ...
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ReviewEnglish music for viola and piano. Bainton: Viola Sonata. Holland: Suite in D major. Bowen: Piece for viola. Bantock: Viola Sonata in F major ‘Colleen’
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A highly welcome exploration of little-known English viola repertoireMusicians: Sarah-Jane Bradley (viola) Christian Wilson (piano)Composer: Bainton, Holland, Bowen, BantockThis latest instalment in Naxos’s review of English viola music is particularly succulent, including as it does Granville Bantock’s monumental ‘Colleen’ Sonata. Christian Wilson’s ...
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ReviewHalvorsen: Crépuscule*, Élégie*, Air norvégien*, Danse visionaire*, Little Dance Suite op.22*, Concert Caprice on Norwegian Melodies† , Sarabande with Variations‡, Five miniatures op.29*, Andante con
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Melodiousness rather than pyrotechnics dominates a disc of Norwegian violin musicMusicians: Birgitte Staernes, Berit Cardas† , Yi Yang¶ (violin) Povilas Syrrist-Gelgota‡ (viola) Frida Fredrikke Waaler WaervŠgen¶ (cello) Helge Kjekshus (piano)*Composer: HalvorsenJohan Halvorsen, a virtuoso violinist himself, is probably best known today among ...
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ReviewHidden Treasure
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A generous, wide-ranging viola collection from an eloquent playerMusicians: Rivka Golani (viola) Michael Hampton (piano)Composer: Rubinstein, Vieuxtemps, Enescu, Bowen, Mendelssohn, Pártos & ZimbalistThis well-recorded pair of CDs is a wonderful testimony to Rivka Golani’s passionate musicianship. Additionally, it presents a ...
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ReviewOutside. Sciarrino: Six Caprices. Ravel: Violin Sonata in G major (first movement). Zinovieff/Orazbayeva: Five Bagatelles from OUR. Salvador/Tsepin: Pchela i babachka. Lachenmann/Orazbayeva: Toccatina
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Mystifying recording decisions detract from some enjoyable playingMusicians: Aisha Orazbayeva (violin/voice) Matthew Schellhorn (piano) Peter Zinovieff (electronics)Composer: Sciarrino, Ravel, Zinovieff/Orazbayeva, Salvador/Tsepin, Lachenmann/OrazbayevaYoung Kazakh-born violinist Aisha Orazbayeva’s debut CD is a hugely adventurous offering, with a rich mix of uncompromising contemporary music, electronics, ...
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ReviewBowen: Violin Sonatas in B minor op.7 & E minor op.112, Allegretto op.105, Suite in D minor op.28, Melody for the G string op.47, Phantasie in E minor op.34, Song, Bolero, Melody, Albumleaf, Romance i
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Beguiling playing of British music from the first half of the last centuryMusicians: Chloë Hanslip (violin) Danny Driver (piano)Composer: BowenHyperion’s York Bowen series continues in the sensitive hands of Chloë Hanslip, partnered by Danny Driver, who has already recorded the ...
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ReviewSpohr: Grand Duo concertant in E major op.112, Adagio in G major WoO37, Rondoletto in G major op.149, Sechs Salonstücke op.135
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Easy virtuosity on display in early Romantic repertoireMusicians: Ingolf Turban (violin) Kolja Lessing (piano)Composer: SpohrIngolf Turban and Kolja Lessing are worthy advocates for the blend of virtuosity, emotional unpredictability and lyrical charm that comprises Spohr’s Grand Duo concertant op.112. They possess the ...
