Book reviews – Page 161
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ReviewBeethoven: String Quartets opp.127, 130, 131, 132, 133 & 135
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Technically refined performances that come across as just a little too ordinaryMusicians: Cypress QuartetComposer: BeethovenDefining Beethoven’s late quartets as touchstones of the greatness of Western civilisation has become a cliché, but this admirably clear and straightforward set of recordings by the Cypress ...
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ReviewBrahms: Cello Sonatas no.1 in E minor op.38 & no.2 in F major op.99, Violin Sonata op.78 (transc. Klengel)
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A Brahms recital where only a transcription comes off wellMusicians: Antony Cooke (cello) Armin Watkins (piano)Composer: Brahms (transc. Klengel)Veteran California-based duo Antony Cooke and Armin Watkins add some rugged but uneven Brahms to the recorded canon as they celebrate more than 40 ...
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ReviewBritten: Cello Suite no.3 op.87. Bach: Cello Suite no.6 BWV1012. Ligeti: Solo Cello Sonata
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Impeccable but slightly safe accounts of three solo cello worksMusicians: Miklós Perényi (cello)Composer: Britten, Bach, LigetiMiklós Perényi delivers stunningly accurate accounts of all three solo works in this clear recording, surmounting numerous technical hurdles – and they come thick and fast – ...
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ReviewBuxtehude: 7 Suonate op.2
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Trio sonatas by a composer best known for his organ and vocal musicMusicians: Purcell QuartetComposer: BuxtehudeThis disc complements the Purcell Quartet’s recording of Buxtehude’s only other published chamber collection, the seven sonatas op.1, matching it in unanimity, incisiveness and tonal transparency. ?Both ...
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ReviewRota: Cello Concertos nos.1 & 2, Il gattopardo
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Stylish accounts of two concertos by a master of film musicMusicians: Friedrich Kleinhapl (cello) Augsburg Philharmonic Orchestra/Dirk KaftanComposer: Rota As with Korngold, Nino Rota’s reputation has suffered as a result of his considerable success as a composer for films, ...
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ReviewSchumann: Märchenbilder op.113. Britten: Lachrymae op.48. Shostakovich: Viola Sonata op.147
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Authoritative performances of three viola classicsMusicians: Krzysztof Chorzelski (viola) Katya Apekisheva (piano)Composer: Schumann, Britten, ShostakovichBest known as the viola player of the Belcea Quartet, Krzysztof Chorzelski presents his credentials as a recitalist of the first rank with this CD. In well-honed partnership ...
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ReviewShostakovich: Cello Concerto no.1 in E flat major op.107. Britten: Cello Symphony op.68
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: An apt and successful coupling of two 20th-century cello masterpiecesMusicians: Johannes Moser (cello) WDR Symphony Orchestra Köln/Pietari InkinenComposer: Shostakovich & BrittenShostakovich and Britten, friends and mutual admirers, always make a good pairing, with Rostropovich, the dedicatee of both works on this disc, ...
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ReviewShostakovich: String Quartets nos.7 & 8. Beethoven: String Quartet in F major op.59 no.1 ‘Rasumovsky’
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Probing performances from a young Swiss quartetMusicians: Valentin Berlinsky QuartetComposer: Shostakovich, BeethovenNamed in honour of the Borodin Quartet’s long-serving cellist, the Valentin Berlinsky Quartet was formed in 2010 by four outstanding young Swiss musicians, all principal players in the Zurich Opera and ...
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ReviewSpohr: Complete String Quartets vol.15: no.19 in A major op.68* & no.22 in D minor op.74 no.3†
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Recordings that fail to get to grips with the composer’s aestheticMusicians: Moscow Philharmonic Concertino Quartet*, New Budapest Quartet† Composer: SpohrLouis Spohr was an extraordinary violinist with firmly held aesthetic views, of which we know much from his Violinschüle of 1833. Thus it ...
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ReviewTchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D major op.35. Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor op.64
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A young prizewinner lays out his stall in two concerto warhorsesMusicians: Ray Chen (violin) Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra/Daniel HardingComposer: Tchaikovsky & MendelssohnIn 2008 the 19-year-old Ray Chen won the Menuhin Competition playing Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto. The following year he won ...
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ReviewDohnányi: String Quartets no.1 in A major op.7 & no.3 in A minor op.33
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Vivid performances of a pair of Hungarian quartetsMusicians: Aviv QuartetComposer: Dohnányi Far too little of Ern? Dohnányi’s music makes it into concert programmes, and as so often it has been left to the record industry to fill the gaps ...
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ReviewDvorák: String Quintet in G major op.77, Nocturne op.40, Scherzo from String Quintet in E flat major op.97
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Masterly account of an unusually scored string quintetMusicians: Berlin Philharmonic QuintetComposer: Dvorák The comparative neglect of Dvo?ák’s glorious G major String Quintet is almost entirely due to its unusual scoring for two violins, viola, cello and double ...
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ReviewEduard Franck: String Quintets no.1 in E minor op.15 & no.2 in C major op.51
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Admirable performances of quintets by the ‘other’ FranckMusicians: Christiane Edinger (violin) Tassilo Kaiser (violin) Rainer Kimstedt (viola) Uwe MartinuHaiberg (viola) Katharina Maechler (cello)Composer: Eduard FranckAudite’s laudable exploration of the chamber music of Eduard Franck (1817–93) – previous releases have focused on his ...
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ReviewFélicien David: String Quartets no.1 in F minor, no.2 in A major & no.4 in E minor (unfinished)
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Welcome advocacy for music by a little-known 19th-century French composerMusicians: Cambini Quartet ParisComposer: Félicien David Félicien David (1810–76), a member of the Saint-Simonian movement and a pioneer in the use of ‘oriental’ material in his music following his ...
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ReviewFox: für Johannes Kepler; BLANK; Trümmermusik: A Berlin Diary 1947; Generic Composition #8; Natural Science; Sol-Fa Canon for Aldo Clementi
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Weird and wonderful sounds for strings and electronicsMusicians: Trio Scordatura, Scott McLaughlin (electric guitar)Composer: FoxAs its name might suggest, the Amsterdam-based Trio Scordatura specialises in music that employs unusual and often ear-tweaking tuning systems, using the startling sound combination of voice (doubling ...
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ReviewGlazunov: String Quartets no.3 in G major op.26 ‘Slavonic’ & no.4 in A minor op.64, Idyll
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Immaculate performances of neglected Russian music for string quartetMusicians: Zemlinsky Quartet, Christoph Ess (horn)Composer: GlazunovIt was with his five string quartets that the young Glazunov first drew attention to himself, and had they carried the name of Borodin, they would surely have ...
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ReviewGrieg: String Quartet in G minor op.27. Brahms: Clarinet Quintet in B minor op.115
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A novel coupling that attempts to throw new light on two Romantic classicsMusicians: Hagen Quartet, Jörg Widmann (clarinet)Composer: Grieg & BrahmsThis CD carries a subtitle: ‘Introspective/retrospective’. The introspection is credited to Grieg’s Quartet, on the grounds that he wrote it during a ...
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ReviewAchron: Suites for violin and piano nos.1–4, Children’s Suite (arr. Heifetz), salon pieces
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Rewarding exploration of the music of a neglected Russian violinist–composerMusicians: Hagai Shaham (violin) Arnon Erez (piano)Composer: AchronLeaving his native Russia after graduating from the class of the legendary Leopold Auer at the St Petersburg Academy, Joseph Achron (1886–1943) settled in Berlin and ...
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ReviewKorngold: String Sextet in D major op.10*, Piano Quintet in E major op.15†
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Opulent performances of two lush chamber worksMusicians: Doric Quartet, Jennifer Stumm* (viola) Bartholomew LaFollette* (cello) Kathryn Stott† (piano)Composer: KorngoldIn this follow-up to the Doric Quartet’s well-received disc of the three Korngold string quartets (reviewed in The Strad, November 2010), the foursome ...
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ReviewLatin Perspective. Brouwer: Quintet for guitar and string quartet, Beatlerianas. Del Águila: Presto II. Alvarez: Metro chabacano
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Music for string quartet and guitar from Latin AmericaMusicians: Santiago Quartet, Ahmed Dickinson Cárdenas (guitar)Composer: Brouwer, Del Águila, AlvarezThe Santiago Quartet was founded to perform Latin American music by living composers, and this recording focuses on works by the Cuban Leo Brouwer. ...
