Book reviews – Page 212
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ArticleBeethoven: Violin Sonatas in F major op.24 ‘Spring’ & A major op.47 ‘Kreutzer’, Rondo in G minor WoO41. Kreisler: Rondino on a theme of Beethoven
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Catherine Leonard (violin) Hugh Tinney (piano)Composer: Beethoven, Kreisler Beethoven was probably simply following convention when he designated his sonatas as ‘for piano and violin’, though the two Irish players here have taken that description as ...
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ArticleFrench Pieces. Poulenc: Sonata. Ibert: Four pieces from Histoires (arr. Marechal). Françaix: Five pieces. Ravel: Piece en forme d’habanera. Debussy: Nocturne et Scherzo, Four Songs (arr. Staerk & dam
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Henrik dam Thomsen (cello) Ulrich Staerk (piano)Composer: Poulenc, Ibert, Françaix, Ravel, Debussy, Fauré‘French Pieces’ is the title of this outstanding Danish duo’s debut disc, but there’s none of your Fauré Élégie and Debussy Sonata here. The two have put together an unusual ...
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ArticleBrahms: Violin Concerto in D major. Schumann: Symphony no.4
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Thomas Zehetmair (violin/conductor) Northern SinfoniaComposer: Brahms, SchumannThomas Zehetmair produces a performance of Brahms’s Violin Concerto that is pacy, persuasive and above all wonderfully articulate. For all the pyrotechnics, which are handled with ease, this account is almost conversational in places, as Zehetmair ...
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ArticleDances. Works by Cassadó, Granados, Vynnytsky, Brahms, Chopin, Bartók & Falla
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Natalia Khoma (cello) Volovymyr Vynnytsky (piano)Composer: Cassadó, Granados, Vynnytsky, Brahms, Chopin, Bartók & Falla There’s plenty of attractive foot-tapping material here from the Ukrainian-born cellist Natalia Khoma. Most of the dances are transcriptions utilising virtuoso techniques, many of which are ...
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ArticleSculthorpe: From Irkanda III, Irkanda I, From Saibai, Djilile, Night Song, Mountains, Night Pieces, Little Passacaglia, Sometimes when I’m Dreaming, Four Little Pieces
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Ema Alexeeva (violin) David Apellániz (cello) Ananda Sukarlen (piano) Composer: SculthorpeIt is surprising that the music of the Australian composer Peter Sculthorpe has not made more inroads into the standard repertoire: this disc spanning 50 years of his ...
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ArticleSoloists of the Orchestra vol.3. Works by Korngold, Rósza, Boulez, Vivaldi, Mozart, Gould, Elgar etc
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Samuel Magad (violin) Victor Aitay (violin) Frank Miller (cello) Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Mariss Jansons, Jean Martinun, Daniel Barenboim etc (conductors)Composer: Korngold, Rósza, Boulez, Vivaldi, Mozart, Gould, Elgar etc Best known as a film composer, Miklos Rózsa wrote ...
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ArticleSzymanowski: Violin Sonata in D minor op.9, Berceuse d’Aïtacho Enia op.52, Mythes op.30, Romance op.23, Notturno and Tarantella op.28, Roxana’s Song from King Roger (transcr. Kochanski)
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Miriam Kramer (violin) Nicholas Durcan (piano) Composer: SzymanowskiThe performances on this recording are an accurate reflection of the music. At best, they are full of subtle colour and strange, sometimes unsettling atmosphere. Miriam Kramer and Nicholas Durcan are ...
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ArticleWalton: Viola Concerto. Rubbra: Viola Concerto, Meditations on a Byzantine Hymn
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Lawrence Power (viola) BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Ilan Volkov (conductor)Composer: Walton, Rubbra Lady Walton once related that following a performance of her husband’s Viola Concerto given by Lionel Tertis in Worcester, Walton happened upon Elgar – never a fan ...
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ArticleGubaidulina: Rejoice! Silenzio, In Croce
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Telesto TrioComposer: Gubaidulina There’s no sense of the miniature about these works, however exiguous their textures. More than simple faith, a fine ear and sense of timing lends them an imposing aspect even when spun from a single note. ...
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Article
Holst: Concerto for two violins, St Paul’s Suite, Brook Green Suite, A Song of the Night, Lyric Movement, A Fugal Concerto
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Janice Graham (violin) Sarah Ewins (violin) Andriy Viytovych (viola) Anna Pyne (flute) Philip Harmer (oboe) English Sinfonia, Howard Griffiths (conductor) Composer: HolstHolst was a great believer in giving children contemporary and challenging music to play and it is testimony to the ...
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ArticleJoubert: String Quartet no.2*, Landscapes op.129† , Piano Trio‡, Lyric Fantasy on themes from the opera Jane Eyre op.144¶, Piano Sonatas nos.1–3
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Brodsky Quartet*, David Chadwick (violin)† ‡ Anna Joubert (cello)† ‡ Patricia Rozario (soprano)† Mark Bebbington (piano)† ¶ John McCabe (piano)Composer: Joubert John Joubert, 80 this year, is one of British music’s unsung giants; this double disc of chamber ...
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ArticleMozart: Sonatas for Keyboard and Violin vol.4: Sonatas in G major K9, D major K29, E flat major K302, E minor K304 & A major K526
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Rachel Podger (violin) Gary Cooper (fortepiano)Composer: Mozart This final volume of the set is every bit as good as the other three. It features five sonatas from three different periods of Mozart’s career in period-instrument performances which, as Heather ...
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ArticleRavel: String Quartet in F major. Suk: String Quartet no.1 in B flat major op.11, Allegro giocoso, Meditation on an Old Czech Hymn ‘St Wenceslas’ op.35
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Panocha QuartetComposer: Ravel, Suk Many will want this for the Panocha’s wonderfully relaxed, idiomatic playing of the Ravel (the stylish Assez vif and delicate inner-part solos in the Très lent surely make it a top choice); however, the two ...
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ArticleBartók: String Quartet no.5. Hindemith: String Quartet no.4
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Zehetmair QuartetComposer: Bartók, Hindemith The opening movement of Bartók’s Fifth Quartet is one of the most uncompromisingly savage moments in chamber music, and the Zehetmair Quartet tears into this nightmare scenario with brutal vitality. The utter feeling of desolation in ...
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ArticleBeethoven: Two Romances opp.40 & 50. Spohr: Violin Concerto no.8 in A minor op.47 ‘Wie eine Gesangszene’. Viotti: Violin Concerto no.3 in A major
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Uto Ughi (violin) I Solisti Veneti, Claudio Scimone (conductor)Composer: Beethoven, Spohr, ViottiUto Ughi gives warmly expressive and colourful readings of Beethoven’s two Romances, tender but purposeful and full of temperament. His central section of op.40 is on the measured side but flows ...
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Article
Beethoven: Violin Sonatas in D major op.12 no.1, C minor op.30 & G major op.96
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Peter Cropper (violin) MartinuRoscoe (piano) Composer: BeethovenTwo of England’s most stylistically aware musicians come together for the first volume in a new Beethoven cycle. I constantly nod in agreement with what MartinuRoscoe does at the keyboard, but my reaction to ...
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ArticleTartini: Violin Concertos in E major D50, in A major D96, in G major D80, in B minor D125 & in D major D28
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Ariadne Daskalakis (violin) Cologne Chamber Orchestra, Helmut Müller-Brühl (conductor)Composer: Tartini Ariadne Daskalakis here introduces two premiere recordings of violin concertos by Tartini (D28 and D50). Tartini’s solo parts demand technical virtuosity that is daring in its inventiveness and subtle ...
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Article
Brahms: String Quartets in C minor op.51 no.1, in A minor op.51 no.2 & in B flat major op.67, Piano Quintet in F minor op.34
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Emerson Quartet, Leon Fleisher (piano) Composer: BrahmsThe Emerson Quartet takes a generally severe view of Brahms’s three quartets. From the beginning of the C minor there is a sense of steely purpose, with clipped staccato quavers and a driving pace. ...
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ArticleBrahms: Violin Sonatas in G major op.78, in A major op.100 & in D minor op.108; ‘FAE’ Scherzo in C minor
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Nikolaj Znaider (violin) Yefim Bronfman (piano)Composer: Brahms These beautiful performances, excellently recorded, make up a very satisfying recital, as the three sonatas have a cumulative effect and the players seem to become more assured, with Brahms and with each other, as they ...
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ArticleCage: Solo for cello, 59½ seconds, Atlas eclipticalis, Variations 1, Études boreales
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Friedrich Gauwerky (cello)Composer: Cage Only the two minutes of Variations 1 are credited as being a version ‘by Gauwerky’, but nearly all of the music on this disc demands him to be as much composer as performer. For ...
