Recording reviews – Page 120
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ReviewBartók: 44 Duos for two violins
The Strad Issue: May 2016Description: French sisters round the edges off Bartók’s folksy violin duosMusicians: Sarah Nemtanu, Deborah Nemtanu (violins)Composer: Béla BartókBéla Bartók wrote his 44 violin duos primarily with education in mind, their technical and musical demands growing in complexity from the simple, foursquare openers to ...
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ReviewTake Two. Music by Bach, Biber, Cage, Dick, Falla, Giamberti, Gibbons, Holliger, Machaut, Martini, Milhaud, Sánchez-Chiong, Sotelo, Vivier and Zykan
The Strad Issue: April 2016Description: Characteristically questing playing from Kopatchinskaja and friendsMusicians: Patricia Kopatchinskaja (violin/Baroque violin/voice) Reto Bieri (clarinet/ocarina/violin) Laurence Dreyfus (treble viol) Jorge Sánchez-Chiong (electronics/turntables) Anthony Romaniuk (harpsichord/toy piano) Matthias Würsch (darbuka) Pablo Márquez (guitar) Ernesto Estrella (voice)Composer: Bach, Biber, Cage, Dick, Falla, Giamberti, Gibbons, Holliger, ...
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ReviewLe Violon Harmonique. Vieuxtemps: Etudes de concert op.16; Adagio in E major; Etude in G minor op.48 no.28; Six Morceaux op.55
The Strad Issue: April 2016Description: A worthwhile attempt at a Vieuxtemps revivalMusicians: Francesco Parrino (violin)Composer: VieuxtempsVieuxtemps’s solo violin works are rich in contrapuntal detail, often recalling movements of Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas as well as influences such as Paganini, Rodolphe Kreutzer and his own French contemporaries.The fugues ...
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ReviewShostakovich: String Quartets: no.4 in D major op.83, no.6 in G major op.101; Piano Quintet in G minor op.57; Theatre Suite (arr. Wilson, Pierini, Ekimovsky)
The Strad Issue: April 2016Description: Subtle and restrained playing in Shostakovich’s chamber musicMusicians: Delian Quartet, Anatol Ugorski (piano)Composer: ShostakovichThe Delian Quartet opens Shostakovich’s Fourth Quartet with rich, straightforward playing, and subsequently shows a certain reserve. In the Andantino the playing of first violinist Adrian Pinzaru is bleak, ...
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ReviewShostakovich: Chamber Symphonies: op.73a, op.83a (both arr. Barshai); Traditional: Romanian and Russian klezmer music
The Strad Issue: April 2016Description: Barshai’s quartet arrangements illuminated by top-class playingMusicians: Re:Orchestra/Roberto Beltrán ZavalaComposer: Shostakovich; TraditionalAfter Rudolf Barshai showed his string-orchestra arrangement of Shostakovich’s Eighth String Quartet to the composer, he was given carte blanche to arrange any other pieces he wished. The present CD offers ...
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ReviewSchubert Quintet Live! Schubert: String Quintet in C major D956
The Strad Issue: April 2016Description: A warts-and-all Schubert Quintet played with spiritMusicians: Brentano Quartet, Michael Kannen (cello)Composer: SchubertThe producer and musicians need you to know – hence the disc’s ostentatious title and their discursive booklet notes – that this disc of Schubert’s Quintet was culled from three ...
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ReviewPaganini Rediscovered. Paganini: Sonata a preghiera; Three Ritornelli; Six Preludes; Rondo for violin & cello; Capriccio; Grand Concerto (no.6) in E minor (original version for violin and guitar)
The Strad Issue: April 2016Description: Important repertoire played on Paganini’s own violinMusicians: Luca Fanfoni, Daniele Fanfoni (violins) Luca Simoncini (cello) Luca Ballerini (piano) Fabrizio Giudice (guitar)Composer: PaganiniPaganini’s music is so difficult that it is always a wonder to me that it is played at all. Certainly, many ...
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ReviewThe Franchomme Project. Chopin: Ballade no.2 in F major op.38; Prelude in E major op.28 no.9; Marche funèbre (Piano Sonata no.2 in B flat minor op.35); Mazurka in C major op.33 no.3; Introduction and
The Strad Issue: April 2016Description: Louise-Dubin; Julia-Bruskin; Sæunn-Thorsteinsdóttir; Katherine-Cherbas; Hélène-Jeanney; Andrea-LamMusicians: Louise Dubin, Julia Bruskin, Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir, Katherine Cherbas (cellos) Hélène Jeanney, Andrea Lam (piano)Composer: Chopin; FranchommeThe Franchomme Project showcases some of the celebrated French cellist Auguste Franchomme’s original cello compositions and Chopin arrangements, most of which ...
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ReviewBloch: Violin Sonata no.2 ‘Poème mystique’. Franck: Violin Sonata in A major. Krein: Berceuse
The Strad Issue: April 2016Description: Forgettable Franck but fine fillers from these playersMusicians: Zina Schiff (violin) Cameron Grant (piano)Composer: Bloch; Franck; KreinThere is rarely adequate justification for another recording of Franck’s Sonata in the already overcrowded catalogue. Zina Schiff and Cameron Grant’s account is no exception, falling ...
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ReviewWilliam Primrose: A 20th-Century Violist. Bartók: Viola Concerto. Berlioz: Serenade from Harold in Italy. Mozart: Sinfonia concertante in E flat major K3643. Walton: Viola Concerto (1929 version)
The Strad Issue: April 2016Description: Historic recordings by a pioneer of the viola on recordMusicians: William Primrose (viola) Jascha Heifetz (violin) New Symphony Orchestra/Tibor Serly; Boston Symphony Orchestra/Charles Münch; RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra/Izler Solomon; Philharmonia Orchestra/William WaltonComposer: Bartók; Berlioz; Mozart; WaltonWilliam Primrose was the first violist to ...
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ReviewDebut. Bloch: Prayer (arr. Shaw). Brahms: Cello Sonatas: no.1 in E minor op.38; no.2 in F major op.99. Britten: Solo Cello Suite no.3. Casals: Song of the Birds (arr. Shaw); Trad: A Brit in Denmark (a
The Strad Issue: April 2016Description: A quirky first recording for this Brit in DenmarkMusicians: Jacob Shaw (cello) José Gallardo (piano) Musicians from the Confucius InstituteComposer: Bloch; Brahms; Britten; Casals; Trad; De Wallensbourg; Wang LipingThis is a rather unusual recording debut. The first disc, of Brahms’s two cello ...
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ReviewHuberman Festival 1982. Bach: Double Concerto in D minor BWV1043. Mozart: Sinfonia concertante in E flat major K364. Vivaldi: The Four Seasons; Concerto grosso in B minor op.3 no.10
The Strad Issue: April 2016Description: Star string players gather to celebrate Huberman’s 100thMusicians: Isaac Stern, Itzhak Perlman, Shlomo Mintz, Ida Haendel, Ivry Gitlis (violins) Pinchas Zukerman (violin/viola) Israel Philharmonic Orchestra/Zubin MehtaComposer: Bach; Mozart; VivaldiIn December 1982, to mark the centenary of the Israel Philharmonic’s founder Bronislaw Huberman, ...
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ReviewBach: Cello Suites vol.2: no.2 in D minor BWV1008, no.5 in C minor BWV1011, no.6 in D major BWV1012
The Strad Issue: April 2016Description: Eijlander completes his survey of Bach’s Cello SuitesMusicians: Joachim Eijlander (cello)Composer: BachBach’s Suites tower monumentally over the cello repertoire and so beg for a multifaceted delivery. They need to strike the listener directly, with simplicity and spontaneity that nod to the pulse ...
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ReviewTippett: Complete String Quartets
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: April 2016Description: A state-of-the-art Tippett quartet cycle live from Wigmore HallMusicians: Heath QuartetComposer: TippettIt was brave of the Heath Quartet to make its debut on disc with a Tippett cycle recorded live at Wigmore Hall. Given the formidable technical and interpretative difficulties ...
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ReviewSolitude. Blondeau: Black Bird. Dillon: Paranja-Vata. Lanza: La bataille de Caresme et de Charnage. Lim: Invisibility. Saunders: Solitude
THE STRAD RECOMMENDS The Strad Issue: April 2016Description: New (and nearly new) sounds for cello from Séverine BallonMusicians: Séverine Ballon (cello) Mark Knoop (piano)Composer: Blondeau; Dillon; Lanza; Lim; Saunders This album of state-of-the-art cello music performed by French cellist Séverine Ballon feels like a modern-day counterpart to ...
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ReviewIdentity. Debussy: Violin Sonata. Janácek: Violin Sonata. Schulhoff: Violin Sonata. Szymanowski: Violin Sonata op. 9; Notturno and Tarantella op. 28
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: April 2016Description: Intelligent programming and ideal performancesMusicians: Noé Inui (violin) Mario Häring (piano)Composer: Debussy; Janácek; Schulhoff; SzymanowskiThis is a thoughtfully produced disc. The booklet notes, linking these early 20th-century compositions, create a useful conceptual context for these varied but complementary works, including ...
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ReviewA Tribute to Rudolf Barshai
The Strad Issue: March 2016Musicians: Rudolf Barshai (viola/conductor)After Rudolf Barshai left the Soviet Union in 1977 he worked exclusively as a conductor, but in his native country he had been a virtuoso violist who shared the podium with the greatest players of his time. A violin student ...
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ReviewComplete String Quartets Vol.4. Taneyev: String Quartets: no.6 in B flat major op.19; no.9 in A major
The Strad Issue: March 2016Description: The Carpe Diem’s Taneyev quartet survey continues in fine styleMusicians: Carpe Diem QuartetComposer: TaneyevTaneyev’s Ninth String Quartet, written considerably earlier than the Sixth, in 1883, is an attractive, open-hearted work. The opening Allegro moderato has a captivating lyrical sweep and skipping staccato ...
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ReviewSmetana: Piano Trio in G minor op.15. Tchaikovsky: Piano Trio in A minor op.50
The Strad Issue: March 2016Description: Passion and panache in Danish performances of Romantic piano triosMusicians: Trio con Brio CopenhagenComposer: Smetana; TchaikovskyDeluged with plaudits for its earlier recordings, this ensemble comes with a reputation to live up to – and doesn’t disappoint. From the first note, the Trio ...
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ReviewKaipainen: String Quartet no.7 op.98 ‘Batsheba’. Sibelius: String Quartet op.56 ‘Voces intimae’. Tiensuu: Rack
The Strad Issue: March 2016Description: Intimacy and Expressionism in a trio of Finnish string quartet worksMusicians: Kamus QuartetComposer: Kaipainen; Sibelius; TiensuuMuch of the intensity in the late Jouni Kaipainen’s Seventh String Quartet is apparently rooted in the ‘steamy’ love affair of King David and Bathsheba in Volter ...
