Recording reviews – Page 163
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ReviewGubaidulina: The Lyre of Orpheus*, The Canticle of the Sun†
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Persuasively played recordings of two expressive contemporary masterpiecesMusicians: Gidon Kremer* (violin) Nicolas Alstaedt† , Marta Sudraba* (cello) Kremerata Baltica*, Andrei Pushkarev† , Rihards Zalupe† (percussion) Rostislav Krimer† (celeste) Riga Chamber Choir Kamer/Maris Sirmais† Composer: GubaidulinaWith its explanations of complex acoustical ...
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ReviewHolbrooke: Violin Sonata no.2 ‘Grasshopper’. Bantock: Viola Sonata in F major ‘Colleen’
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Two sonatas that mine the seam of early 20th-century English RomanticismMusicians: Rupert Marshall-Luck (violin/viola) Matthew Rickard (piano)Composer: Holbrooke, BantockJoseph Holbrooke’s ‘Grasshopper’ of 1917, which exists as both violin concerto and sonata, has a confusing history, and in unearthing different elements of the ...
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ReviewMendelssohn: Cello Sonatas no.1 in B flat major op.45 & no.2 in D major op.58, Variations concertantes op.17, Lied ohne Worte op.109
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Accounts of Mendelssohn that make the most of fraternal sympathyMusicians: Paul Watkins (cello) Huw Watkins (piano)Composer: MendelssohnThe Watkins brothers make a formidable team, and Mendelssohn’s cello works are a natural fit for them, written mostly with the composer’s cellist brother, ...
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ReviewNørgård: Violin Concertos no.1 ‘Helle Nacht’ & no.2 ‘Borderlines’, Spaces of Time
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A master violinist explores two atmospheric Nordic landscapesMusicians: Peter Herresthal (violin) Ida Mo (piano) Stavanger Symphony Orchestra/Rolf GuptaComposer: NørgårdThis compelling disc serves as much as a showcase for the unfussy, no-nonsense musicianship of Norwegian violinist Peter Herresthal as it does for the ...
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ReviewTurnage: A Constant Obsession, Three for Two, Four Chants, A Slow Pavane, Grazioso!
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Glowing interpretations of some recent British chamber musicMusicians: Nicky Spence (tenor) Chamber Domaine/Thomas Kemp (violin)Composer: TurnageThis fascinating and beautifully played collection (available in various file formats as a download only) brings together recent contrasting chamber works by Mark-Anthony Turnage, several with prominent ...
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ReviewBartók: Violin Sonatas nos.1 & 2, Rhapsodies nos.1 & 2 (plus alternative ending for no.1), Andante in A major
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Thrilling accounts from a player who has triumphed in Bartók ’s concertosMusicians: James Ehnes (violin) Andrew Armstrong (piano)Composer: BartókAccording to the booklet this is the first volume of Bartók’s complete works for violin and piano. It doesn’t leave much for vol.2, but ...
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ReviewBeethoven: Cello Sonata in A major op.69. Chopin: Etude op.25 no.7. Rachmaninoff: Cello Sonata in G minor op.19, Romance op.21 no.11
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Warts-and-all recordings of cello classicsMusicians: Sietse-Jan Weijenberg (cello) Yun-Yang Lee (piano)Composer: Beethoven, Chopin, RachmaninoffIf you like your recordings immediate and exciting and don’t care too much about the odd imperfection, then this disc is worth a try. Young Dutch cellist Weijenberg, fourth ...
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ReviewBerg: Violin Concerto. Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D major op.61
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A coupling that sets two classic concertos in a new lightMusicians: Isabelle Faust (violin) Orchestra Mozart/Claudio AbbadoComposer: Berg & Beethoven In her booklet notes, Isabelle Faust credits Claudio Abbado with the idea for this CD, after they had performed both ...
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ReviewCarte Postale. Music by BrandÁo, Annunziata, Evangelista, Del Aguila, Nicolau, D’Rivera & Ichmouratov
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Music for string quartet with a Latin flavourMusicians: Alcan QuartetComposer: BrandÁo, Annunziata, Evangelista, Del Aguila, Nicolau, D’Rivera & IchmouratovWhen playing contemporary music of strong character that lies outside the popular mainstream, it is easy to fall into the trap of over-earnestness or ...
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ReviewBritten: Violin Concerto op.15, Double Concerto in B minor (ed. C. Matthews), Lachrymae op.48
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A powerful collection of Britten’s concertante works for violin and violaMusicians: Anthony Marwood (violin) Lawrence Power (viola) BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra/Ilan VolkovComposer: BrittenYou don’t have to know that Britten’s Violin Concerto was written as war broke out in 1939 to sense that ...
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ReviewChausson: Piano Trio in G minor. Debussy: Piano Trio in G major. Rachmaninoff: Trio élégiaque No.2 in D minor
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Revelatory and benchmark recordings from a vintage trioMusicians: Vienna Schubert TrioComposer: Chausson, Debussy, RachmaninoffThose of us lucky enough to have heard the Vienna Schubert Trio – violinist Boris Kuschnir, cellist MartinuHornstein and pianist Claus-Christian Schuster – during the relatively short period of ...
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ReviewShostakovich: Cello Sonata in D minor op.40. Britten: Cello Sonata in C major op.65. Prokofiev: Cello Sonata in C major op.119
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A classic repertoire selection let down by an unsympathetic recording balanceMusicians: Jamie Walton (cello) Daniel Grimwood (piano)Composer: Shostakovich, Britten, ProkofievThis grouping of sonatas bound together by the remarkable inspiration of Rostropovich is a well-worn combination on disc. Despite a slightly over-ambient recording, ...
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ReviewShostakovich: String Quartets nos.1, 3 & 8
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Beguilingly lyrical accounts of three of Shostakovich’s more neo-Classical worksMusicians: Ludwig QuartetComposer: ShostakovichNow over a quarter of a century old with only two changes of personnel from the original 1985 line-up, the Ludwig Quartet is justly famous for its richly opulent sound ...
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ReviewShostakovich: Viola Sonata op.147, Seven Preludes from op.34 (arr. Strakhov), Five Pieces from ‘The Gadfly’ (arr. Borisovsky)
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A collection of Shostakovich’s music for viola that extends beyond the valedictory sonataMusicians: Lawrence Power (viola) Simon Crawford-Phillips (piano) Composer: Shostakovich (arr. Strakhov and Borisovsky) Shostakovich wrote just one piece for the viola – his very last one, the ...
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ReviewStravinsky: Divertimento. Shostakovich: Violin Sonata op.134
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Powerful recordings of two highly different Russian violin worksMusicians: Judith Ingolfsson (violin) Vladimir Stoupel (piano)Composer: Stravinsky, ShostakovichStravinsky’s Divertimento is an arrangement of the music from his ballet The Fairy’s Kiss, a homage to Tchaikovsky. Judith Ingolfsson and Vladimir Stoupel work hard to ...
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ReviewTartini: Violin Sonata ‘Devil’s Trill’. Wieniawski: Polonaise brillante in D major op.4. Enescu: Violin Sonata no.3 in A minor op.25. Prokofiev: Violin Sonata no.2 in D major op.94b
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Promise aplenty from a young Polish violinistMusicians: Jaroslaw Nadrzycki (violin) Tadashi Imai (piano)Composer: Tartini, Wieniawski, Enescu, Prokofiev Polish player Jaroslaw Nadrzycki, 27, is relatively little known outside his homeland, but took first prizes at the Khachaturian violin competition in ...
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ReviewYou Ain’t Never
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Blues-style music-making from a violin-led jazz quartetMusicians: Andy Aitchison QuartetComposer: Andy Aitchison et alAlthough violinist Andy Aitchison has been around for a while, this is his first album as a leader, and from the off he puts a distinctive stamp on the music. ...
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ReviewFrench Impressions. Saint-Saëns: Violin Sonata no.1 in D minor op.75. Franck: Violin Sonata in A major. Ravel: Violin Sonata in G major
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Joshua Bell excels in repertoire that has always been close his heartMusicians: Joshua Bell (violin) Jeremy Denk (piano)Composer: Saint-Saëns, Franck, RavelJoshua Bell and Jeremy Denk have been regular duo partners for seven years now, but this is the first time they have ...
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ReviewGaluppi: Trio Sonatas
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Sympathetic performances of chamber music by a neglected Baroque composerMusicians: Accademia Dei Solinghi: Claudio Andriani Rauler, Abramo Raule (violin) Alessandro Peiretti (cello) Rita Peiretti (harpsichord)Composer: GaluppiThe verdict of history is inevitably selective, and this may explain the obscurity of Baldassare Galuppi (1706–85), ...
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ReviewA. Benjamin: Violin Concerto; Romantic Fantasy; Elegy, Waltz and Toccata
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: An attractive disc of concertante works for violin and violaMusicians: Lorraine McAslan (violin) Sarah-Jane Bradley (viola) Royal Scottish National Orchestra/John GibbonsComposer: A. BenjaminThe immense popularity of Arthur Benjamin’s Jamaican Rumba has proved a bar to establishing its composer’s credentials as a serious ...
