Book reviews – Page 160
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ReviewCastello/Fontana: Sonate concertate in stil moderno
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Colourful accounts of 17th-century Venetian sonatasMusicians: John Holloway (violin) Lars Ulrik Mortensen (harpsichord) Jane Gower (dulcian)Composer: Castello/FontanaOn this exemplary recording, period violinist John Holloway and his colleagues perform seven of Fontana’s 18 Sonate à 1. 2. 3. (1641), framed by six works ...
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ReviewArcangelo Corelli: Violin Sonatas op.5
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Rewarding performances of Corelli’s great set of violin sonatasMusicians: Trio CorelliComposer: CorelliThe often lavish and warm-hearted character of Corelli’s oeuvre is well displayed by these performances of the twelve op.5 sonatas, featuring violinist Elisabeth Zeuthen Schneider, a professor at the Royal Danish ...
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ReviewSchumann: Piano Quartet in E flat major op.47, Piano Quintet in E flat major op.44
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Two of Schumann’s great chamber works in performances of that favour light over darkMusicians: Jerusalem Quartet, Alexander Melnikov (piano)Composer: Schumann It is pleasing to hear the pairing of Schumann’s piano quartet and quintet on this disc by Moscow-trained pianist ...
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ReviewBach: Suites for solo cello BWV1007–12
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Period authenticity extends to the instruments in this Bach cycleMusicians: Richard Tunnicliffe (cello)Composer: BachBritish cellist Richard Tunnicliffe is just as likely to be found behind a viol, as a member of viol consort Fretwork. But as a teacher of Baroque and Classical ...
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ReviewBach: Violin Concertos in A minor BWV1041 & E major BWV1042, Concerto for two violins in D minor BWV1043, Air from Orchestral Suite no.3 in D major BWV1068, Largo from Keyboard Concerto in F minor BWV
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Successful Bach performances that eschew period fashionMusicians: Anne Akiko Meyers (violin) English Chamber Orchestra/Steven MercurioComposer: Bach, Bach/Gounod Anne Akiko Meyers’s robust, incisive and uncomplicated performances of Bach’s two violin concertos go back to a style of playing that pre-dates today’s fashion for ...
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ReviewElégie russe. Shostakovich: Viola Sonata in C major op.147. Glazunov: Elegy in G minor op.44. Tchaikovsky: Nocturne in C sharp minor, Mélodie from Souvenir d’un lieu cher, Valse sentimentale in F mino
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A viola disc exploring the more elegiac side of Russian musicMusicians: Gérard Caussé (viola) Brigitte Engerer (piano)Composer: Shostakovich, Glazunov, Tchaikovsky, RachmaninoffParaphrasing Stravinsky’s famous description of Rachmaninoff, this CD could be described as ‘60 minutes of Russian gloom’. Gérard Caussé’s selection of predominantly ...
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ReviewElgar: Violin Concerto in B minor op.61. Bach: Violin Concerto in A minor BWV1041
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A veteran soloist renews his commitment to a great concertoMusicians: Pinchas Zukerman (violin) Israel Philharmonic Orchestra/Zubin MehtaComposer: Elgar & BachPinchas Zukerman recorded a notable account of the Elgar Concerto back in 1976 with Daniel Barenboim and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, in particularly ...
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ReviewFinnissy: String Quartets nos.2 & 3
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Glowing accounts of two modern British quartets with Austrian modelsMusicians: Kreutzer QuartetComposer: FinnissyFollowing its first disc of music by the contemporary British composer Michael Finnissy back in 1998 (Métier), the Kreutzer Quartet’s second traversal of the composer’s oeuvre is a quiet triumph. ...
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ReviewFranz Liszt and the Violin. Liszt: Grand duo concertant sur la romance de ‘Le marin’ (C.P. Lafont), La lugubre gondola, Die drei Zigeuner, Epithalam, Hungarian Rhapsody no.12, Duo in C sharp minor
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: An exploration of a lesser-known aspect of the composer–pianist’s outputMusicians: Thomas Albertus Irnberger (violin) Edoardo Torbianelli (piano)Composer: LisztLiszt is not a composer one would normally associate with the intimacy of the chamber room, nor the violin as a solo instrument, making this ...
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ReviewA Tribute to Erling Blöndal Bengtsson. The Live Icelandic Recordings 1973–9: works by Elgar*, Schubert, Corelli, Weber, Chopin, Prokofiev (arr. Piatigorsky), Saint-Saëns & Rimsky-Korsakov
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A birthday tribute to a great Scandinavian cellistMusicians: Erling Blöndal Bengtsson (cello) Árni Kristjánsson (piano) Iceland Symphony Orchestra/Jean-Pierre Jacquillat*Composer: Elgar, Schubert, Corelli, Weber, Chopin, Prokofiev (arr. Piatigorsky), Saint-Saëns & Rimsky-Korsakov This CD offers a welcome opportunity to savour the skills ...
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ReviewGoossens: Violin Sonatas no.1 in E minor op.21 & no.2 op.50, Lyric Poem op.35, Old Chinese Folksong op.4 no.1, Romance op.57
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Melodious sonatas by a musical polymathMusicians: Robert Gibbs (violin) Gusztáv Feny? (piano)Composer: GoossensBorn in London in 1893, Eugene Goossens was the third generation to carry that name in a dynasty that produced many eminent musicians. He was possibly the most gifted, though ...
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ReviewHaydn: Musica instrumentale sopra le 7 ultime parole del nostro Redentore in croce … ridotte in quartetti, op.51
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A bold account of Haydn’s Passiontide meditationMusicians: Pražák QuartetComposer: HaydnIn the dignified introductory Adagio the members of the Pražák Quartet establish with due gravitas the devotional context of Haydn’s unique musical commentary on the spoken drama of Christ’s last hours. They respond ...
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ReviewInner Voice. Britten: Lachrymae op.48. Rochberg: Viola Sonata. Pärt: spiegel im spiegel. Shostakovich: Viola Sonata in C major op.147
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A rewarding exploration of 20th-century music for viola and pianoMusicians: Peter Minkler (viola) Lura Johnson (piano)Composer: Britten, Rochberg, Pärt, ShostakovichThis lovingly recorded CD presents a well-planned recital of central viola repertoire from the mid- to late 20th century. Britten’s Lachrymae, the oldest ...
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ReviewIt Don’t Mean a Thing
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Mixed results in an attempt to bring the big-band sound to stringsMusicians: String Fever/Marin Alsop (violin)Composer: VariousSeveral years before her conducting career took off, Marin Alsop formed, as a violinist, the String Fever ensemble, and this album comprises two recording sessions of ...
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ReviewAlkan: Sonate de concert. Chopin: Cello Sonata op.65
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: An interesting coupling that lacks musical rewardsMusicians: Job ter Haar (cello) Vaughan Schlepp (piano)Composer: Alkan, Chopin The unattributed booklet notes for this recording state that Job ter Haar uses vibrato sparingly. In fact vibrato is so rare that ...
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ReviewKhachaturian: Concerto–Rhapsody*. Zakarian: Monograph*. Sharafyan: Suite*. Komitas Crane (arr. Sharafyan)†
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: An Armenian cellist explores his musical heritageMusicians: Alexander Chaushian (cello)*† Emmanuel Hovhannisyan (duduk)† Vache Sharafyan (piano)† Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra/Eduard Topchjan*Composer: Khachaturian, Zakarian, Sharafyan, Komitas (arr. Sharafyan)Alexander Chaushian is on sparkling form in this highly enterprising and beautifully ...
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Review135 Years of Czech Composers. Works by Smetana, Dvorák, Fibich, Nová?ek, Janácek, Schulhoff, Martinu & Suk
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A generally successful survey of Czech violin repertoireMusicians: Yvonne Smeulers (violin) Sander Sittig (piano)Composer: Smetana, Dvorák, Fibich, Nová?ek, Janácek, Schulhoff, Martinu & SukAs anyone who has seen her play will testify, Yvonne Smeulers is a born performer who immerses herself fully in ...
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ReviewThelin: Light*, Amarcord, oibbinadocS, Shared Moments, Glasperlenspiel†
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Resourceful new repertoire for double bass, played by its creatorMusicians: HŠkon Thelin (double bass) Marco Rogliano (violin)* Frank Havrøy (voice)† Composer: ThelinYoung Norwegian bassist and composer Håkon Thelin’s professed aim with his pieces on this disc is to explore what he calls ...
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ReviewBeethoven: Complete Piano Trios
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A benchmark set that makes a virtue of being more complete than mostMusicians: Wanderer TrioComposer: Beethoven The descriptor ‘complete’ for these four discs of Beethoven’s piano trios refers to the inclusion not only of the composer’s six ...
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ReviewBliss: String Quartet no.2. Delius: Slow movement from String Quartet ‘Late Swallows’. Purcell: Chacony (arr. Britten). Britten: String Quartet no.2 in C major op.36
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A welcome airing for a Bliss quartet, though couplings are less convincingMusicians: Barbirolli QuartetComposer: Bliss, Delius, Purcell, Britten It is strange that Arthur Bliss’s two string quartets are so seldom performed, since the Second in particular is a highly ...
