Recording reviews – Page 162
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ReviewLegacy. Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D major op.61. Kreisler: various works (arr. Van der Heijden/Garrett)
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A classical release from a crossover star ultimately disappointsMusicians: David Garrett (violin) Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Ion MarinComposer: Beethoven, Kreisler (arr. Van der Heijden/Garrett) German violinist and child prodigy David Garrett was offered his first Stradivari at the age of ...
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ReviewMozart: Violin Concertos no.3 in G major K216 & no.5 in A major K219, Rondo in C major K373, Adagio in E major K261
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Freshly reconsidered Mozart from a young German–Japanese violinistMusicians: Susanna Yoko Henkel (violin) Lithuanian Chamber OrchestraComposer: MozartThe weighty orchestral opening to Mozart’s Third Concerto here sets the scene for performances that do not spend time looking for supposed period authenticity, but simply play ...
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ReviewPetits-Fours: Favourite Encores.Works by
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A birthday cake of a release to celebrate a leading quartet’s four decades of playingMusicians: Brodsky Quartet, Robert Smissen (viola)*† Philip Edward Fisher (piano)† Composer: Sarasate, Falla, Elgar, Dvorák, Schumann*, Kreisler† , Mendelssohn, Godowsky, Ravel, Prokofiev, Shostakovich & DebussyTo celebrate the ...
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ReviewTurina: Piano Quartet in A minor op.67, Violin Sonata no.2 in G major op.82, Escena andaluza op.7, Piano Trio no.1 op.35, La oración del torero
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Chamber music that successfully combines French and Spanish stylesMusicians: Nash EnsembleComposer: Turina Seville-born Joaquín Turina travelled to Paris in 1905 to study at the Schola Cantorum, where he encountered both the clean Classicism of d’Indy and Franck and the ...
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ReviewVerdi: String Quartet in E minor. Puccini: Crisantemi, 3 Minuets, 3 Fugues, Allegro moderato, Scherzo–Allegro
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Mixed results in string quartets by two Italian operatic mastersMusicians: Rome QuartetComposer: Verdi, PucciniThe Rome Quartet makes a speciality of Italian repertoire from the 19th and 20th centuries, as we are informed in the entertainingly mal-translated booklet. Hence the presence of the ...
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Review1600. Works by G. Gabrieli, Merula, Salvatore, Macque, Frescobaldi, Castello, Zanetti, Marini, Legrenzi, Bononcini, Torelli, dall’Abaco & Anon
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A vivid portrait of a key century in the development of instrumental musicMusicians: Concerto Italiano/Rinaldo Alessandrini (harpsichord, organ, director)Composer: G. Gabrieli, Merula, Salvatore, Macque, Frescobaldi, Castello, Zanetti, Marini, Legrenzi, Bononcini, Torelli, dall’Abaco & AnonRinaldo Alessandrini’s fascinating programme of largely 17th-century instrumental music ...
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ReviewBach: Six Suites de danses (Solo Cello Suites BWV1007–11). Rilke: Poetry excerpts
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: An unashamedly Romantic approach to Bach’s solo suitesMusicians: Gérard Caussé (viola) Laurent Terzieff (speaker)Composer: Bach & RilkeIn Rainer Maria Rilke’s novel The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge, the poet enumerates what it takes to write the first line of a poem (namely, ...
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ReviewBeethoven: Cello Sonatas in G minor op.5 no.2 & in C major op.102 no.1, Horn Sonata in F major op.17
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Raw but vital performances from a Norwegian cellistMusicians: Bjørn Solum (cello) Steinar Granmo Nilsen (natural horn) Kristin Fossheim (fortepiano)Composer: BeethovenBoth the cello and the natural horn had limitations as solo instruments at the turn of the 19th century. Add to that Beethoven’s ...
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ReviewBeethoven: Piano Trios in C minor op.1 no.3 & in B flat major op.97 ‘Archduke’
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Beethoven trio performances marked by skill and ebullienceMusicians: Trio Ex AequoComposer: BeethovenThe members of Trio Ex Aequo have mixed credentials in this genre, but their performances display a striking unanimity and maturity. This results in pleasing and perceptive chamber music ...
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ReviewBoccherini: Cello Sonatas in C minor G2b, A major G4, G major G5, E flat major G11, C major G17, B flat major G565, E flat major G566, F major G579, E flat major, A major ‘L’imperatrice’
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Cello playing that meets Boccherini’s many technical challenges head onMusicians: Gaetano Nasillo, Marco Vitali, Michele Tazzari (cello) Alessandro Ciccolini (violin) Jesper Christensen (harpsichord) Mara Galassi (hooked harp)Composer: Boccherini Just under one third of Boccherini’s cello sonatas are represented on ...
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ReviewBologna, 1689... La nascita del violoncello. D. Gabrielli: Ricercars etc, plus works by Vitali, Jacchini & Degli Antoni
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A CD and book package that aims to get back to the birth of the celloMusicians: Bruno Cocset (cello/bass violin/tenor violin/alto a la bastarda) Emmanuel Jacques (cello/tenor violin) Mathurin Matharel (cello) Richard Myron (double bass) Bertrand Cuiller (harpsichord, organ)Composer: D. Gabrielli, Vitali, ...
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ReviewChopin: Cello Sonata op.65, Piano Trio op.8
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Playing that brings out Chopin’s French-inspired styleMusicians: Olivier Charlier (violin) Antoine Pierlot (cello) Abdel Rahman El Bacha (piano)Composer: ChopinThis disc brings together three important talents steeped in the French tradition: Olivier Charlier, a professor at the Paris Conservatoire, Antoine Pierlot, a nominee ...
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ReviewDanielpour: A Child’s Reliquary. Ludwig: Concerto for Violin and Cello. Hagen: Masquerade*
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Three recent double concertos offer ample rewards to players and listenersMusicians: Jaime Laredo (violin) Sharon Robinson (cello) Vermont Symphony Orchestra/Sarah Hicks, Troy Peters*Composer: Danielpour, Ludwig, HagenThese three double concertos were written for Jaime Laredo and Sharon Robinson, and sit well together here. ...
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ReviewThe 5 Seasons. Vivaldi: The Four Seasons*. Sedlar: Spring in Japan†
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A highly personal approach to Vivaldi’s famous concertosMusicians: Nemanja Radulović (violin), Double Sens*, The Devil’s Trills† Composer: Vivaldi & Sedlar Nemanja Radulović’s performance of The Four Seasons comes as much from the heart as it does from the printed page. He often ...
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ReviewThe Goat Rodeo Sessions
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Yo-Yo Ma leads a colourful exploration of American roots musicMusicians: Yo-Yo Ma (cello) Stuart Duncan (violin/banjo/mandolin) Edgar Meyer (double bass/piano/gamba) Chris Thile (mandolin/guitar/gamba/vocals) Aoife O’Donovan (vocals)Composer: TradReal-life goat rodeo would be a rough ride indeed, but this is anything but. Instead, it’s ...
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ReviewBach: Sonatas for Violin and Continuo BWV1014–19, BWV1021 & BWV1023
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Gutsy accounts of Bach’s accompanied violin sonatasMusicians: Florian Deuter (violin) Balázs Máté (cello) Philippe Grisvard (harpsichord)Composer: Bach Florian Deuter comes to this recording with the impeccable credentials of having served as concertmaster to a number of Europe’s major period-instrument ...
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ReviewDebussy: String Quartet. Ravel: String Quartet
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Refreshingly rethought interpretations of a classic quartet couplingMusicians: Eroica QuartetComposer: Debussy, RavelModern attitudes as to how these wonderful pieces should sound have been conditioned by the enhanced smoothness and sweetness of metal-wound strings, a vibrato-at-all-costs approach to creating a seamless cantabile and ...
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ReviewFeldman: Piano and String Quartet
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Radiant account of a modern masterpieceMusicians: Eclipse Quartet, Vicki Ray (piano)Composer: FeldmanA few held chords, some rippling arpeggios, all appearing in countless subtly different combinations yet never rising above a dynamic of quiet restraint. That’s pretty much all there is to Morton ...
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ReviewA French Soirée. Music by Lully, F. Couperin, Marais, Rebel, Leclair & Rameau
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A Gallic Baroque delight from a well-matched American trioMusicians: Trio SettecentoComposer: Lully, F. Couperin, Marais, Rebel, Leclair & RameauAs the perfect companion to previous Baroque compilations ‘An Italian Sojourn’ and ‘A German Bouquet’ (both also on Cedille), ‘A French Soirée’ ...
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ReviewForsyth: Viola Concerto in G minor. Martin: Ballade for viola. Bruch: Romanze in F major op.85
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Three rare works for viola and orchestra receive elegant performancesMusicians: Hartmut Rohde (viola) Philharmonie Baden-Baden/Pavel BaleffComposer: Forsyth, Martinu BruchAlthough two of them don’t sound like it at all, these three pieces were all written in the 20th century. Cecil Forsyth’s concerto, premiered ...
