Recording reviews – Page 213
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ArticleSchubert: String Quartets in G major D887 & in G minor D173
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Mandelring QuartetComposer: Schubert What Schubert achieved in his brief life never ceases to amaze, yet even within this short space of time, his style developed hugely. This is particularly evident on this marvellously recorded SACD of two of his ...
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ArticleScott: Violin Concerto, Festival Overture, Aubade op.77, Three Symphonic Dances op.22
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Olivier Charlier (violin) BBC Philharmonic, Martyn Brabbins (conductor)Composer: Scott At the outset of the 20th century Cyril Scott was much admired by the music establishment as a progressive modernist, but his lack of stylistic development soon found him loosing ...
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ArticleSzymanowski: Violin Concertos nos.1 & 2, Nocturne and Tarantella
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Ilya Kaler (violin), Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra, Antoni Wit (conductor) Composer: SzymanowskiSzymanowski’s violin concertos were composed 17 years apart, in 1916 and 1933. The First belongs to the feverishly productive period which also yielded the dazzling Mythes for violin ...
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ArticleBach: Suites for Solo Cello BWV1007–12 (plus variants of Prelude to Suite no.1). Trad: Song of the Birds (arr. Beamish)
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Steven Isserlis (cello)Composer: Bach, TradSteven Isserlis nearly always casts new light on the repertoire he chooses, and these Bach suites are a long-awaited milestone in his career.There’s no question that they are worth the wait – they are fervent, eloquent and unmistakeably ...
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ArticleWieniawski: Violin Concerto no.2 in D minor op.22. Bacewicz: Concerto for Orchestra. Penderecki: Agnus Dei
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Wojciech Plawner (violin), Beethoven Academy Orchestra/Pawel PrzytockiComposer: Wieniawski, Bacewicz, Penderecki Wieniawski’s D minor Concerto has been especially lucky on disc. The scorching intensity and fizzing virtuosity of Michael Rabin’s classic 1960 account (currently out of the catalogue) still take some beating, ...
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ArticleDohnányi: Serenade in C major for string trio op.10, String Quartet no.2 in D flat major op.15, Sextet for piano, horn, clarinet and string trio op.37
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Beethoven Trio, Kocian Quartet, Jaromir Klepác (piano), Ales Hustoles (clarinet), Vladimíra Klánská (horn)Composer: Dohnányi Erno Dohnányi is still best remembered for his entrancing Variations on a Nursery Theme for piano and orchestra. Yet a few years ago several ...
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ArticleGlazunov: String Quintet in A major op.39; Five Novelettes op.15
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Fine Arts Quartet, Nathaniel Rosen (cello) Composer: GlazunovGlazunov’s Violin Concerto in A minor remains one of his most popular pieces. But the two works on this disc prove how capable a chamber music composer he also was. The Novelettes, a suite of ...
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ArticleHarrison: An Unexpected Light*, A Hidden Light† , Geda’s Weavings‡, Songs for Rusne, …an angel reads my open book…† , The Bride’s Journey in Three Songs and a Memory¶
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Rusne Mataityte (violin), Arturas Silale (violin)‡, Vitalija Raskeviciute (viola)‡, Edmundas Kulikauskas (cello)‡¶, Sergejus Okrusko (piano)† , Albina Siksniute (piano)¶ St Christopher Chamber Orchestra, Vilnius, Donatus Katkus (conductor)*Composer: Harrison Sadie Harrison’s assimilation of what used to be known as folksong ...
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ArticleJenkins: Five-Part Consorts
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: PhantasmComposer: Jenkins Last year I heartily welcomed a recording of John Jenkins’s six-part consort music by these interpreters (see The Strad, June 2006). Here is its sequel, including all the five-part ensembles: three pavans and 17 fantasies. That previous ...
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Article
Katharine Gowers. Works by Monti, Fauré, Ravel, Gershwin, Debussy, Bloch, Ponce, Krein, Suk, Kreisler, Heuberger, Achron & Hubay.
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Katherine Gowers (violin), Charles Owen (piano)Composer: Monti, Fauré, Ravel, Gershwin, Debussy, Bloch, Ponce, Krein, Suk, Kreisler, Heuberger, Achron & Hubay Katherine Gowers’s refreshingly individual take on these delectable violin miniatures triumphantly prevents this recital from becoming just another in the long line of technique ...
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ArticleMaxim Rysanov. Works by Brahms, Glinka, Enescu, Bridge, Franck & Tabakova
The Strad Issue: January 2013Musicians: Maxim Rysanov (viola) Evelyn Chang (piano)Composer: Brahms, Glinka, Enescu, Bridge, Franck & Tabakova This recording makes an interesting calling card for the Ukrainian violist Maxim Rysanov, a major prizewinner from both the Tertis and Geneva competitions. Indeed, at his best, he sounds ...
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ArticleMozart: Serenade in D major K185 (Andretter), Divertimento in E flat major K113, March K189, Rondo in C major K373, Adagio in E major K261, Rondo concertante in B flat major K269
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Alexander Janiczek (violin/director) Scottish Chamber OrchestraComposer: MozartRecorded in a warm, reverberant church acoustic, this disc features elegant and polished accounts of two of Mozart’s ‘Salzburg’ serenades (K113 and K185) and three of his single-movement works for violin and orchestra.Mozart’s Serenade ...
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ArticleBartók: String quartets nos.1–3
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: bène QuartetComposer: Bartók For nearly a century composers failed to respond to the painfully introspective soul-searching of Beethoven’s late string quartets – until, that is, Bartók produced his First Quartet in 1908, memorably described by his friend ...
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ArticleBartók: Violin Sonata no.2, Sonata for solo violin, Contrasts
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Annar Follesø (violin) Christian Ihle Hadland (piano) Björn Nyman (clarinet)Composer: Bartók There is a Nordic chill to these performances that is entirely foreign to the picture of Bartók I have built up over the past half century.I ...
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ArticleDvorák: String Quartets no.1 in A major op.2, no.2 in B flat major, no.3 in D major, no.4 in E minor, no.5 in F minor op.9, no.6 in A minor op. 12, no.7 in A minor op.16, String Quintet in A minor op.
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Zemlinsky Quartet, Josef Kluson (viola)Composer: DvorákDvorák completed his first seven string quartets within a period of 13 years in the flush of youthful creativity, though only the Seventh was published in his lifetime. The present disc uses the performing versions from the ...
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ArticleClarke: Viola Sonata; Passacaglia (on an old English tune); Lullaby; Lullaby on an Ancient Irish Tune; Morpheus; Chinese Puzzle; I’ll Bid My Heart Be Still; Dumka; Prelude, Allegro and Pastorale; Unti
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Philip Dukes (viola) Daniel Hope (violin) Sophia Rahman (piano) Robert Plane (clarinet)Composer: ClarkePaul Cortese recently included Rebecca Clarke’s Lullaby and Grotesque (enchanting miniatures, beautifully written) on a Crystal Records recital, although this extensive Naxos collection gives us a better opportunity to assess ...
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ArticleIl virtuoso. Works by Sarasate, Paganini, Bodorov, Wieniawski, Spohr, Kreisler, Suk & Bazzini
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Miroslav Ambroš (violin) Zuzana Ambrošová (piano)Composer: Sarasate, Paganini, Bodorov, Wieniawski, Spohr, Kreisler, Suk & BazziniThough still a student at the Prague Academy, the 19-year-old Czech violinist Miroslav Ambroš has a quite impressive list of prizes in youth competitions to his name, which ...
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ArticleBridge: String Sextet in E flat major. Korngold: String Sextet in D major op.10
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: ConcertanteComposer: Bridge, Korngold Composed in 1912, Bridge’s three-movement E flat major Sextet shows an effortless grasp of Straussian chromatic harmony, with typically expert writing for the viola, and a formal control that makes light of the structural ...
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ArticleSaint-Saëns: Cello Sonatas nos.1 & 2, Suite op.16
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Maria Kliegel (cello) François-Joël Thiollier (piano)Composer: Saint-Saëns Saint-Saëns is very much the casino player of composers. Sometimes he is on a lucky streak and his formidable compositional technique is coupled with inspired and delightful invention. At other times, however, ...
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ArticleSchoenberg: Verklärte Nacht. Strauss: Metamorphosen, Sextet from Capriccio
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Concertante Chamber PlayersComposer: Schoenberg, StraussThis is an attractive disc from one of the most enterprising chamber groups to emerge from America over the past decade. The performances, if slightly mixed, feel fresh, committed and versatile, and the programme, bringing together three 20th-century ...
