Recording reviews – Page 175
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ArticleDittersdorf Violone Concerto no.1 in E flat major. Hoffmeister, Violone Concerto no.1 in E flat major. Vanhal: Double Bass Concerto in E flat major
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2011Description: The Berlin Philharmonic’s whizzkid bassist plays a trio of rare concertosMusicians: Edicson Ruiz (double bass) Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra/Christian VásquezComposer: Dittersdorf, Hoffmeister, VanhalOne of the ‘bright young things’ featured in January’s Strad, Edicson Ruiz here makes good his intention of ...
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ArticleEchoes of Paris. Poulenc: Violin Sonata op.119. Stravinsky: Suite after Themes, Fragments and Pieces by Pergolesi. Debussy: Violin Sonata. Prokofiev: Violin Sonata no.2 in D major op.94b
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A celebration of Franco–Russian music with Parisian connectionsMusicians: Augustin Hadelich (violin) Robert Kulek (piano)Composer: Poulenc, Stravinsky, Debussy, ProkofievDespite the rather cheesy title, this is a disc that can’t fail to please lovers of the early 20th-century French and Russian greats. Augustin Hadelich ...
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ArticleEchoes of Time. Shostakovich: Violin Concerto no.1 in A minor op.77, Lyrical Waltz (arr. T. Batiashvili). Kancheli: V & V. Pärt: Spiegel im Spiegel*. Rachmaninoff: Vocalise*
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Shostakovich’s harrowing First Violin Concerto is at the heart of a nuanced discMusicians: Lisa Batiashvili (violin) Hélène Grimaud (piano)* Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra/Esa-Pekka SalonenComposer: Shostakovich, Kancheli, Pärt, Rachmaninoff It should come as no surprise that the ‘filler’ tracks on this enthralling disc ...
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ArticleEnescu: Piano Quartets no.1 in D major op.16 & no.2 in D minor op.30
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Outstanding performances make Enescu’s music sound greater than it isMusicians: Tammuz Piano QuartetComposer: EnescuPerhaps the most significant revolution inspired by the compact disc is the unprecedented breadth of musical repertoire that has become available. As a result, once-neglected figures such as George Enescu have become ...
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ArticleFlight Mode
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Jazz violin playing that experiments with boundaries of the mediumMusicians: Chris Garrick (violin) ?David Gordon (keyboards) Ole Rasmussen (double bass) Tom Hooper (drums)Composer: VariousChris Garrick’s first release as a bandleader for five years finds the British jazz violinist on fine form. As ...
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ArticleHonegger: Complete Violin Sonatas
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A unique collection of Honegger’s chamber music for violinMusicians: Laurence Kayaleh (violin) Paul Stewart (piano)Composer: HoneggerLaurence Kayaleh and Paul Stewart follow up their fine two-disc Medtner survey for Naxos with the only single disc of Honegger’s four violin sonatas currently available. It ...
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ArticleKarlowicz: Violin Concerto in A major op.8, Serenade op.2
Description: A budget recording of a neglected Polish concerto disappointsMusicians: Ilya Kaler (violin) Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra/Antoni WitComposer: Karlowicz Karlowicz’s ‘early’ Violin Concerto of 1902 (he was killed in an avalanche while skiing only seven years later aged 32) betrays the influence of Tchaikovsky and Bruch, ...
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ArticleLekeu: Molto adagio, String Quartet, Méditation, Minuet
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: The complete music for string quartet from a short-lived acolyte of FranckMusicians: Debussy Quartet Composer: LekeuBy the time of his death in 1894 at the early age of 24, Guillaume Lekeu had created sufficient to ...
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ArticleLyapunov: Violin Concerto in D minor op.61, Symphony no.1 in B minor op.12
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A persuasive account of a little-known Russian violin concertoMusicians: Maxim Fedotov (violin) Russian Philharmonic Orchestra/Dmitry YablonskyComposer: LyapunovSergey Lyapunov (1859–1924) belonged to that group of composers who arrived too late to be part of the Romantic era, yet were seemingly unable to take on ...
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ArticleMozart: Divertimento in E flat major K563, Fugues with Slow Preludes after Bach no.4 in F major & no.5 in E flat major K404a
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Mozart’s arrangements of Bach make an apt frame for one of his divertimentosMusicians: Hermitage TrioComposer: MozartThe warmth and bloom on this recording by the Hermitage Trio is immediately inviting, and the players’ incisive, well-considered readings of Mozart trios are a treat, with arrangements of Bach ...
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ArticleProkofiev: Violin Concerto no.2 in G minor op.63. Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances op.45
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A promising performance of Prokofiev marred by poor recording balanceMusicians: Geneviève Laurenceau (violin) Toulouse Capitole National Orchestra/Tugan SokhievComposer: Prokofiev, RachmaninoffAs a curtain-raiser to their superb account of Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances, Ossetian conductor Tugan Sokhiev and his Toulouse orchestra give their leader Geneviève Laurenceau a ...
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ArticleThe Road to Damascus
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Folk fiddling explores music from both sides of the AtlanticMusicians: Notorious Composer: VariousThe Notorious central duo of fiddler–singer Eden MacAdam-Somer and guitarist–banjo-player Larry Unger are joined by mandolin, percussion and bass here in a collection of traditional and original American folk ...
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ArticleTim Key With a String Quartet. On a Boat.
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Absurdist comedy meets the string quartet on a disc of music and poetryMusicians: Tim Key, Tom Basden (voice) Vicky Sutherland, Amy May (violin) Nat Jones (viola) Katy Wright (cello)Composer: VariousAdmittedly, this is not primarily a musical disc. Tim Key is a British comedian ...
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ArticleBiber: Rosary Sonatas
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A worthy contender in a crowded market for Biber’s Biblical sonata cycleMusicians: Daniel Sepec (violin) Hille Perl (viola da gamba) Lee Santana (archlute/theorbo) Michael Behringer (harpsichord/organ)Composer: BiberDaniel Sepec uses three matching Stainer violins in original condition (but of contrasting vintage) to ...
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ArticleBeethoven: Variations on Mozart’s ‘Bei Männern’ WoO46, Violin Sonata in A major op.47 ‘Kreutzer’ (arr. Czerny), Cello Sonata in D major op.102 no.2
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A convincing cello account of Beethoven’s greatest violin sonataMusicians: Ivan Monighetti (cello) Pavel Gililov (piano)Composer: BeethovenPressure to expand the repertoire on CD inevitably leads to the path of arrangements. So despite having five sonatas and Beethoven’s fine transcription of the Horn Sonata, cellists’ eyes ...
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ArticleBrahms: Violin Sonatas in G major op.78, A major op.100 & D minor op.108
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Affecting and lyrical interpretations of BrahmsMusicians: Stefan Jackiw (violin) Max Levinson (piano)Composer: BrahmsSony has only recently issued the three Brahms sonatas played by Jack Liebeck (reviewed September 2010), but the young American violinist Stefan Jackiw hits such a high level ...
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ArticleRubinstein: Piano Trios nos.1–5
The Strad Issue: January 2011Musicians: Edlian Piano TrioComposer: RubinsteinThere is a lot more (thankfully) to Anton Rubinstein’s creative talent than the penny-plain phrases of the once ubiquitous Melody in F. Although his skilfully wrought music may lack the strong emotional profile of his one-time student Tchaikovsky, his ...
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ArticleSaint-Saëns: Violin Concertos no.1 in A major op.20, no.2 in C major op.58 & no.3 in B minor op.61
The Strad Issue: January 2011Musicians: Fanny Clamagirand (violin) Sinfonia Finlandia Jyväskylä/Patrick GalloisComposer: Saint-SaënsStrength of rhetoric and hauntingly memorable melodies make Saint-Saëns’s violin concertos highly effective compositions, especially the large-scale and detectably Mendelssohnian Second. The fiery playing of Fanny Clamagirand, an ex-student of Jean-Jacques Kantorow at the Paris ...
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ArticleSibelius: String Quartet in D minor op.56 ‘Voces intimae’. Schoenberg: String Quartet no.1 in D minor op.7
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A spare, intense reading of Brahms and SchoenbergMusicians: Tetzlaff QuartetComposer: Sibelius, SchoenbergSibelius and Schoenberg might seem an unlikely pairing, but the two composers’ D minor quartets are well matched for their obsession with musical process, Sibelius with Beethovenian motivic development, ...
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ArticleVirtuoso. Tartini: Violin Sonata in G minor ‘Devil’s Trill’ (arr. Kreisler). Bach: Chaconne from Partita in D minor BWV1004. Wieniawski: Légende op.17, Variations on an Original Theme op.15. Franck: V
The Strad Issue: January 2011Musicians: Ray Chen (violin) Noreen Polera (piano)Composer: Tartini, Bach, Wieniawski, FranckSuccess in the 2009 Queen Elisabeth Competition has brought the Taiwanese-born violinist Ray Chen an exclusive recording contract with Sony. It is pleasing to find that his debut release is not simply a ...
