All Review articles – Page 125
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ReviewThe Ground Beneath Our Feet. Reich: Duet. Bach: Concerto in C minor for Violin and Oboe BWV1060R. Stravinsky: Dumbarton Oaks. Jacobsen/Aghael: Concerto for Santur, Violin and Orchestra. The Knights: .
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: August 2015Description: East–West fusion from an ensemble that pushes boundariesMusicians: The KnightsComposer: Reich, Bach, Stravinsky, Jacobsen/Aghael, The KnightsThe Knights are an ‘orchestral collective’ based in New York and led by brothers Colin (violin) and Eric (cello) Jacobsen, best known as members of ...
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ReviewSchubert: String Quintet in C major D956
The Strad Issue: August 2015Description: The Kuijkens on modern instruments in period styleMusicians: Kuijken Quartet, Michel Boulanger (cello)Composer: SchubertLong associated with period-instrument performance, the Kuijken family here employs instruments with modern set-ups and accessories. However, these players’ attempts to recapture the style and spirit of Schubert’s era ...
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ReviewGubaidulina: String quartets nos.1–4; Reflections on the Theme B–A–C–H; Piano Quintet; String Trio; Rejoice!
The Strad Issue: August 2015Description: Vivid, intense playing in Gubaidulina’s chamber musicMusicians: Molinari Quartet, Louise Bessette (piano)Composer: GubaidulinaCurrently quartet-in-residence at Montreal’s Conservatory of Music, Canadian foursome the Molinari Quartet’s double-disc survey of string chamber music by Tatar-born composer Sofia Gubaidulina makes for exhausting listening, and it’s probably ...
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ReviewGlass: Partita; Knee 2 from Einstein on the Beach; Book of Longing; Interludes from Violin Concerto no.2
The Strad Issue: August 2015Description: Glass’s ambitious solo Partita performed by its dedicateeMusicians: Tim Fain (violin)Composer: GlassPhilip Glass’s imprimatur is all over this disc – he co-founded and is executive producer of the record label that has issued it;he wrote the 2011 Partita specially for the young ...
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ReviewGrieg: Cello Sonata in A minor op.36. Hough: Sonata for Cello and Piano Left Hand ‘Les adieux’. Mendelssohn: Cello Sonata no.2 in D major op.58
The Strad Issue: August 2015Description: Authoritative musicianship from Isserlis and Hough in Romantic sonatasMusicians: Steven Isserlis (cello) Stephen Hough (piano)Composer: Grieg, Hough, MendelssohnGrieg’s Cello Sonata encompasses a wide-ranging emotional landscape, to which Steven Isserlis and Stephen Hough, a magnificent partnership, respond with big-hearted playing. Isserlis is good ...
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ReviewMetamorphoses. Corelli: Concerto grosso in D major op.6 no.4. Kreisler: Concerto in C major ‘in the style of Vivaldi’. Schnittke: Suite in the Old Style (arr. Ššmietana). Vivaldi: Trio Sonata op.1 no.
The Strad Issue: August 2015Description: Vivaldi provides the link for a collection showcasing old and new stylesMusicians: Pekka Kuusisto (violin) Artur Rozmyslowicz (viola) Extra Sounds Ensemble/Alicja Ššmietana (violin)Composer: Corelli, Kreisler, Schnittke, VivaldiAlicja Ššmietana has inspired her Extra Sounds Ensemble to fashion a disc that has a resounding ...
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ReviewDvorák: Violin Concerto in A minor op.53. Janácek: Violin Concerto ‘The Wandering of a Little Soul’. Suk: Fantasy in G minor
The Strad Issue: August 2015Description: paÄek sings and dances his way through three Czech concertosMusicians: Josef Š paÄek (violin) Czech Philharmonic Orchestra/Jirí BÄ›lohlávekComposer: Dvorák, Janácek, SukDvorák’s Violin Concerto lacks the sense of ease and inevitability that informs his very finest work. Like Bruch’s G minor Concerto, it ...
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ReviewThomas Gould: Live in Riga. Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D major op.61. Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending
The Strad Issue: August 2015Description: Contemporary music specialist performs a pair of violin standardsMusicians: Sinfonietta Riga/Thomas Gould (violin)Composer: Beethoven, Vaughan WilliamsThomas Gould – familiar to British audiences as associate leader of the Britten Sinfonia and leader of the yet more dynamic Aurora Orchestra – has a strong ...
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ReviewSoli. Bartók: Sonata for Solo Violin. G. Benjamin: Three Miniatures. Carter: Four Lauds – nos.1 & 3. Kurtág: Six Miniatures. Penderecki: Cadenza
The Strad Issue: August 2015Description: Tamsin Waley-Cohen alone in a sequence of solo worksMusicians: Tamsin Waley-Cohen (violin)Composer: Bartók, G. Benjamin, Carter, Kurtág, PendereckiThe opening Chaconne of Bartók’s adieu to music is spaciously conceived by Tamsin Waley-Cohen (taking 14 minutes to the 9 of its dedicatee Menuhin), without ...
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ReviewBach: Six Cello Suites BWV1007–12
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: August 2015Description: Watkin chooses two cellos for a personal tour of Bach’s SuitesMusicians: David Watkin (cello)Composer: BachDavid Watkin doesn’t make the Suites sound easy. He does, though, play them with a conversational intimacy that suggests how, over the years, they have become ...
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ReviewJa(zz)smine Rice – Violin Mysteries. : Chaconne from Partita no.2 BWV1004. Dinescu: Mtram. Meyer: Misterioso. Kaunzner: Jasmine Rice; Trois Nocturnes; Wintersonnenwende. Schnyder: The Four Winds
The Strad Issue: August 2015Description: An unconventional album from a violinist with a questing mindMusicians: Viktoria Kaunzner (violin) Veit Hertenstein (viola) Sorin Creciun, Roman Salyutov, Wonsun Choi (piano)Composer: Bach, Dinescu, Meyer, Kaunzner, SchnyderThis album collects together recordings made over several years by South Korea-based German violinist Viktoria ...
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ReviewSchubert: Sonatinas in D major D384, in A minor D385, in G minor D408; Duo Sonata in A major D574; Rondeau brillant D895; Fantasie D934; Arpeggione Sonata D821; Notturno D897
The Strad Issue: July 2015Description: From charm to challenge: all of Schubert’s music for violin and pianoMusicians: Tasmin Little (violin) Tim Hugh (cello) Piers Lane (piano)Composer: SchubertA former colleague and I used to argue over lunchtime pints whether Schubert was a great composer or merely a very ...
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ReviewMacdonald: Music for String Quartet, Piano and Celeste
The Strad Issue: July 2015Description: Macdonald’s minimalism evokes film soundtrack musicMusicians: Tristan Gurney, Cheryl Crockett (violins) Catherine Marwood (viola) Alison Lawrence (cello) Francis Macdonald (piano/celesta)Composer: MacdonaldFrancis Macdonald is a Scottish film and television composer, as well as drummer with Scottish alternative rock band Teenage Fanclub. This set ...
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ReviewNemanja Radulović: Journey East
Serbian violinist ranges far, as his musical travels take him eastwards
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ReviewJoubert: Concerto in Two Movements op.171. R. Simpson: Cello Concerto. C. Wright: Cello Concerto
The Strad Issue: July 2015Description: Modern concertos played by a contemporary cello championMusicians: Raphael Wallfisch (cello) BBC National Orchestra of Wales/William BoughtonComposer: Joubert, R. Simpson, C. WrightNo living cellist has done more to promote the British cello concerto than Raphael Wallfisch. This disc represents just a fraction ...
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ReviewJanácek: String Quartets no.1 ‘The Kreutzer Sonata’; no.2 ‘Intimate Letters’. Martinu¯: String Quartet no.3
The Strad Issue: July 2015Description: Four become one in Janácek’s autobiographical quartet diptychMusicians: Doric QuartetComposer: Janácek, Martinu¯The players of the Doric Quartet clearly appreciate the drama at the heart of Janácek’s two quartets. They emphasise the tragedy of no.1 and one can sense the narrative of Tolstoy’s ...
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ReviewHenze: Violin Concerto no.2, Il Vitalino raddoppiato
The Strad Issue: July 2015Description: Clarity and conviction in Henze’s uncompromising concertante violin musicMusicians: Peter Sheppard Skærved (violin/conductor) Parnassus Ensemble/Hans Werner Henze, LongbowComposer: HenzeThis disc is the completion of a two-decade venture by Peter Sheppard Skærved to record Henze’s concertante music for violin (I reviewed the first ...
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ReviewFirst Performance IV. Carter: String Quartet no.3. Crawford-Seeger: String Quartet. G.F. Haas: String Quartet no.8. Rodericus: Angelorum psalat tripudium (arr. C. Otto)
The Strad Issue: July 2015Description: New (and nearly new) music given the full Jack treatmentMusicians: Jack QuartetComposer: Carter, Crawford-Seeger, G.F. Haas, RodericusFearlessly tackling the most cutting-edge contemporary music, the Jack Quartet is an exceptional group, so it’s no surprise that this disc – recorded live in Basel ...
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ReviewBeethoven: Piano Trios: in E flat major op.1 no.1; in E flat major, Hess 48 (Allegretto); in B flat major op.97 ‘Archduke’
The Strad Issue: July 2015Description: The Gould players complete their survey of Beethoven’s piano triosMusicians: Gould Piano TrioComposer: BeethovenThe sprightly, deftly phrased opening of Beethoven’s youthful First Piano Trio is a promising opening to this fourth and final volume of the complete Beethoven piano trios, recorded live ...
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ReviewJ.S. Bach: Viola da Gamba Sonatas no.1 in G major BWV1027; no.2 in D major BWV1028; no.3 in G minor BWV1029. C.P.E. Bach: Trio Sonata in G minor for viola da gamba and keyboard
The Strad Issue: July 2015Description: Gamba sonatas recorded for the first time on Baroque cello and harpsichordMusicians: Brook Street Band: Tatty Theo (Baroque cello) Carolyn Gibley (harpsichord)Composer: J.S. Bach, C.P.E. BachTatty Theo and Carolyn Gibley claim that these gamba sonatas are recorded here for the first time ...
