Recording reviews – Page 205
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ArticleFranck: Violin Sonata in A major. Shostakovich: Violin Sonata op.134
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Sergey Khachatryan (violin) Lusine Khachatryan (piano)Composer: Franck, Shostakovich Armenian Sergey Khachatryan won the 8th Sibelius Competition at the age of 15, and five years later carried off first prize in the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels – both top ...
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ArticleFrom Jewish Life. Bloch: Schelomo, Prayer (arr. Aasgaard). David Diamond: Kaddish. Gerard Schwarz: In memoriam. Bruch: Kol Nidrei
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Jonathan Aasgaard (cello) Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Gerard Schwarz (conductor)Composer: Bloch, David Diamond, Gerard Schwarz, Bruch What characterises Jewish music? Perhaps the augmented intervals and whispers of melismatic orientalism in the melodies, such as Bloch’s Prayer, or the cantorial incantation ...
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ArticleHaydn: Keyboard Trios in C major Hob.XV:27, in E major Hob.XV:28 & in E flat major Hob.XV:31
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Queen’s Chamber Trio Composer: HaydnThe thinking behind this CD is that the harpsichord will bring something special to Haydn’s trios. Owing to vagaries of recording that leave me flummoxed, the case is only partly proven. Nowhere in the presentation ...
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ArticleLa Voce Nel Violino. Works by Cima, Uccellini, Fontana, Monteverdi, Rognono, Castello, Gesualdo, Bassano, Frescobaldi, Pandolfi, and Veracini
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: ImaginariumComposer: Cima, Uccellini, Fontana, Monteverdi, Rognono, Castello, Gesualdo, Bassano, Frescobaldi, Pandolfi, and VeraciniThis disc plumbs largely the early 17th-century Italian repertoire for the violin, when the instrument began to gain independence from its former roles in dancing or in doubling vocal parts. ...
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ArticleMartha Argerich & Friends: Live from the Lugano Festival 2007. Works by Beethoven, Mozart–Busoni, Schumann, Ravel, Glinka, Messiaen, Bartók, Dohnányi & Lutoslawski
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Renaud Capuçon (violin) Alissa Margulis (violin) Lucia Hall (violin) Dora Schwarzberg (violin) Lida Chen (viola) Nora Romanoff-Schwarzberg (viola) Mischa Maisky (cello) Mark Dobrinsky (cello) Jorge Bosso (cello) Enrico Fagone (double bass) Martha Argerich (piano) Lilya Zilberstein (piano) Gabriela Montero (piano) Karin Lechner ...
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ArticleMedtner: Complete Works for Violin and Piano vol.2: Violin Sonatas no.1 in B minor op.21 & no.2 in G major op.44, 2 Canzonas with Dances op.43
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Laurence Kayaleh (violin) Paul Stewart (piano)Composer: Medtner One of the greatest admirers of Nikolai Medtner (1880–1951) was Rachmaninoff, who recognised his colleague’s formal tautness, deep Russian sensibility and exile’s nostalgia, something they shared when living abroad after the ...
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ArticleMendelssohn: String Quartets in E flat major op.12, in E minor op.44 no.2 & in F minor op.80
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: New Zealand QuartetComposer: Mendelssohn Of this group, only violist Gillian Ansell was born in New Zealand. The others, two Americans and a Canadian, have taken the country’s citizenship and the ensemble has been in its present form since ...
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ArticleMozart: String Quartets in B flat major K458 ‘Hunt’ & in C major K465 ‘Dissonance’, Adagio and Fugue in C major K546
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Saravasti Quartet Composer: MozartThe booklet cover proclaims ‘Saravasti interpreta a Mozart’ but in fact, rather than do any interpreting, these players from Madrid attempt nothing more than standard run-throughs of the music – and even in that modest ...
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ArticleMozart: Violin Sonatas vol.5: Sonatas in B flat major K31, in A major K305, in D major K306 & in C major K403
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Rachel Podger (violin) Gary Cooper (fortepiano)Composer: Mozart The fifth volume in Rachel Podger’s traversal of the complete Mozart violin sonatas includes one of the works he composed as a child. These were designated for keyboard with an optional ...
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ArticleBach: Solo Cello Suites BWV1007–12
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Anne Gastinel (cello)Composer: Bach I have rarely been as aware of the impact of the recording level as with this release, where I felt the interpretative tenor was shaped by the ensuing acoustic. Generating the ambiance ...
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ArticleBériot: Violin Concertos nos.2, 3 & 5
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Philippe Quint (violin), Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Kirk Trevor (conductor)Composer: Bériot By comparison with the posthumous respect accorded to Wieniawski, Sarasate, Joachim, Viotti, Ernst and Vieuxtemps, Charles-Auguste de Bériot (1802–70) hasn’t fared particularly well in the annals of 19th-century ...
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ArticleBeethoven: Violin Concerto in D major op.61. Mozart: Violin Concerto no.4 in D major K218. Silver: Creepin’ In (arr. Kennedy)
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Nigel Kennedy (violin/director) Michal Baranski (double bass) Polish Chamber Orchestra Composer: Beethoven, Mozart, SilverAs a pupil of Menuhin and a grand-pupil of Busch, Nigel Kennedy ought to know a thing or two about the Beethoven Concerto. ...
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ArticleBeethoven: Violin Sonatas in C minor op.30 no.2 & in A major op.47 ‘Kreutzer’
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Leland Chen (violin) John Lenehan (piano)Composer: Beethoven Reactions to this unusual but rewarding coupling will depend very much on how ‘clean’ you like your Beethoven. Those who prefer their sforzandos, fortissimos and staccatos to ring out loud and ...
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ArticleBrahms: Concerto in A minor for violin & cello. Schumann: Symphony no.4 in D minor
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Guy Braunstein (violin) Alban Gerhardt (cello) Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Marek Janowski (conductor)Composer: Brahms, SchumannBoldly depicted from the outset, this interpretation of the Brahms ‘Double’ Concerto has a gravitas and rhythmic incisiveness that adds currency to the already charged and ...
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ArticleCatoire: Violin Sonatas no.1 op.15 & no.2 op. 20 ‘Poème’, Elegy op.26. Ravel: Pièce en forme de habanera, Tzigane
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Herwig Zack (violin) Bernd Zack (piano)Composer: Catoire, Ravel This delightful recording would be worth having just for the enchanting playing of Tzigane, written for Jelly d’Aranyi, and the Habanera, originally designed for cello but beautifully transcribed for violin ...
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ArticleReger: Cello Sonatas nos.1–4, Cello Suites nos.1–3
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Alban Gerhardt (cello) Markus Becker (piano)Composer: Reger German duo Alban Gerhardt and Markus Becker have been steeping themselves in the music of their often sidelined countryman Max Reger. Their mission? To release the seemingly impenetrable scores, overladen with ...
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ArticleSchubert: Piano Trios in B flat major D898 & in E flat major D929, Nocturne in E flat major D897, Sonatensatz in B flat major D28
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Trio WandererComposer: Schubert Despite the great scale of these works, there is an intimacy in these performances by the Trio Wanderer. This owes something to the close-up sound, but much more to the constant attention to small detail. ...
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ArticleSchubert: String Quartet in G major D887, String Trios in B flat major D581 & in B flat major D471
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Pražák Quartet, Beethoven TrioComposer: Schubert Composed in the white heat of creativity in just ten days, the 15th and last of Schubert’s quartets opens with an Allegro that is symphonic in its proportions, and the Pražák Quartet’s trenchant response ...
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ArticleSchumann: Violin Sonata in D minor op.121 (arr. Lindemann). Schubert: Arpeggione Sonata (arr. Lindemann–Ragossnig). A. Benjamin: Viola Sonata. Paganini: Caprice no.9 (arr. Shimmin–Shore). Hubay: Der Z
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Hartmut Lindemann (viola) Megumi Hashiba (piano) Roman Viazovsky (guitar)Composer: Schumann, Schubert, A. Benjamin, Paganini, HubayLearning that a record label named ‘Tacet’ (he/she/it is silent) should by now have published five volumes of viola recordings (The Lindemann Series), one could be forgiven for ...
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ArticleDebussy: Violin Sonata, Cello Sonata, Piano Trio, Rêverie, Clair de lune
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Trio PorticiComposer: Debussy Five works centred round the resources of a piano trio make a highly desirable Debussy programme that is unique in the catalogue. It is played by an exceptionally well-integrated and highly talented Belgian-based ...
