All Review articles – Page 130
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ReviewUstvolskaya: Sonata for violin and piano, Trio for clarinet, violin and piano, Duet for violin and piano
The Strad Issue: February 2015Description: Committed playing makes this uncompromising music a compelling experienceMusicians: Patricia Kopatchinskaja (violin) Reto Bieri (clarinet) Markus Hinterhäuser (piano)Composer: UstvolskayaThe reclusive Russian composer Galina Ustvolskaya had not yet hit her notoriously raw, intense stride in the three early string-focused works on this astonishing ...
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ReviewSculthorpe: Complete String Quartets with Didjeridu: no.12 ‘From Ubirr’, no.14 ‘Quamby’, no.16 & no.18
The Strad Issue: February 2015Description: An unusual combination of instruments brings gripping resultsMusicians: Del Sol Quartet, Stephen Kent (didgeridoo)Composer: SculthorpeIt’s an eyebrow-raising combination – string quartet and didgeridoo. But it’s one that this excellent CD (and Blu-ray audio) set makes a strong case for – in Sculthorpe’s ...
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ReviewProkofiev: Cello Sonata in C major op.119, Waltz from The Stone Flower (arr. Limonov), March from The Love for Three Oranges (arr. Limonov), Adagio from Cinderella (arr. Rostropovich). Kabalevsky: Cel
The Strad Issue: February 2015Description: An excellent follow-up to a debut disc that completes the great Russian cello sonata triptychMusicians: Leonard Elschenbroich (cello) Alexei Grynyuk, Petr Limonov (piano) Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra/Andrew LittonComposer: Prokofiev, KabalevskyLeonard Elschenbroich and Alexei Grynyuk, whose 2013 debut recording (also on Onyx) comprised Shostakovich ...
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ReviewMendelssohn: Piano Quartets no.1 in C minor & no.3 in B minor, Largo and Allegro in D minor
The Strad Issue: March 2015Description: Early Mendelssohn that might have been lifted by more inspiring playingMusicians: Gabriele Pieranunzi, Daniela Cammarano (violin) Francesco Fiore (viola) Shana Downes (cello) Roberto Prosseda (piano)Composer: MendelssohnMendelssohn’s extraordinary precocity is amply demonstrated on this disc. Presented in counter-chronological order, it starts with the ...
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ReviewMessages. A. Panufnik: String Quartets no.1, no.2 ‘Messages’ & no.3 ‘Wycinanki’, Song to the Virgin Mary (arr. A. Panufnik)1, Prayer (arr. R. Panufnik). R. Panufnik Memories of My Father
The Strad Issue: February 2015Description: A celebration of a composing father-and-daughter relationshipMusicians: Brodsky Quartet, Robert Smissen (viola) Richard May (cello)Composer: A. Panufnik, R. PanufnikReleased to mark the centenary of Andrzej Panufnik’s birth, this disc features all three of his string quartets, a form he resisted until his ...
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ReviewSolo. Kodály: Solo Cello Sonata op.8. Golijov: Omaramor. Cassadó: Suite for solo cello. Sheng: Seven Tunes Heard in China
The Strad Issue: February 2015Description: A highly rewarding disc of works for solo celloMusicians: Alisa Weilerstein (cello)Composer: Kodály, Golijov, Cassadó, ShengFor her third disc, Alisa Weilerstein goes it alone, with two classics of the solo cello repertoire from the early 20th century and two more personal choices ...
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ReviewCaprice viennois. Kreisler: Marche miniature viennoise, Liebesfreud, Liebesleid, Caprice viennois op.2. Brahms: Hungarian Dance no.1 in G minor (arr. for violin and piano). Ravel: Tzigane. Enescu: Vio
The Strad Issue: March 2015Description: Insouciance and integrity distinguish a young violinist’s debut recital discMusicians: Luka Kusztrich (violin) Dora Deliyska (piano)Composer: Kreisler, Brahms, Ravel, EnescuA former pupil of Dora Schwarzberg (he is currently studying with Gerhard Schulz), Vienna-born Luka Kusztrich is clearly a young talent to watch. ...
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ReviewVoices in the Wilderness. Gal: Viola Sonata op.101, Impromptu, Suite op.102a. Krenek: Viola Sonata op.117, Solo Viola Sonata op.92 no.3
The Strad Issue: February 2015Description: Rare viola repertoire from two mid-20th-century exilesMusicians: Roger Benedict (viola) Timothy Young (piano)Composer: Gal, KrenekThis recording brings together the music of two Viennese composers who shared the fate of having to flee central Europe as the Nazis rose to power. Hans Gál ...
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ReviewFranck: Violin Sonata in A major. Grieg: Violin Sonata no.3 in C minor op.45. Dvorák: Romantic Pieces op.75
The Strad Issue: February 2015Description: Masterly accounts of three Romantic masterpiecesMusicians: Renaud Capuçon (violin) Khatia Buniatishvili (piano)Composer: Franck, Grieg, DvorákThis is a strong performance of Franck’s Violin Sonata. The first-movement Allegretto, for all its undoubted poetic sensitivity, is forthright and forward-moving, with firm direction and shape. Khatia ...
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ReviewBrahms: String Sextets no.1 in B flat major op.18 & no.2 in G major op.36
The Strad Issue: February 2015Description: Performances that could have benefited from greater depthMusicians: Sine Nomine Quartet, Nicolas Pache (viola) François Guye (cello)Composer: BrahmsThis Lausanne-based ensemble provides a pleasant disc of Brahms’s essays in the string sextet medium. Things begin well enough with op.36, arguably the more successful ...
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ReviewDvorák: Cello Concerto in B minor op.104, Romantic Pieces op.75 (arr. Müller-Schott), Silent Woods op.68 no.5, Rondo in G minor op.94, Slavonic Dance op.46 no.8, Songs My Mother Taught Me op.55 no.4
The Strad Issue: February 2015Description: Interesting couplings go some way to making up for an over-earnest concerto performanceMusicians: Daniel Müller-Schott (cello) Robert Kulek (piano) NDR Symphony Orchestra/Michael SanderlingComposer: DvorákWith well over a hundred recordings of Dvorák’s Cello Concerto in the catalogue – many from fine cellists – ...
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ReviewPrayer. Bloch: From Jewish Life (orch. Palmer), ‘Nigun’ from Baal Shem no.2 (orch. Purich), Méditation hébraïque, Schelomo. Shostakovich: From Jewish Folk Poetry (selection, arr. Bronner). Casals: Son
The Strad Issue: February 2015Description: Idiomatic playing on a disc centred on Bloch’s Hebrew worksMusicians: Sol Gabetta (cello) Amsterdam Sinfonietta/Candida Thompson, Orchestre National de Lyon/Leonard Slatkin, Amsterdam Sinfonietta Cello EnsembleComposer: Bloch, Shostakovich, CasalsSol Gabetta has truly got under the skin of Bloch’s Hebraically inspired compositions, understanding their ...
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ReviewBeethoven: String Quartets in F major op.59 no.1, in E minor op.59 no.2, in C major op.59 no.3, in E flat major op.74 & in F minor op.95
The Strad Issue: February 2015Description: Disappointingly safe accounts of the middle-period quartetsMusicians: Cypress QuartetComposer: BeethovenThe Cypress Quartet celebrated its 15th anniversary with a three-CD set of Beethoven’s late quartets in which the playing is technically refined, if occasionally ‘underwhelming’, with ‘a degree of ordinariness’ (as reviewed in ...
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ReviewSchumann: String Quartets in A minor op.41 no.1, F major op.41 no.2 & A major op.41 no.3
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: February 2015Description: Performances that bring out the Romantic urgency of Schumann’s writingMusicians: Hermès QuartetComposer: SchumannThe Hermès Quartet finds plenty of drama in Schumann’s quartets, and the players like to keep things moving. The First Quartet moves from the still, small voice of ...
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ReviewFrench Violin Sonatas. Lekeu: Violin Sonata in G major. Ravel: Violin Sonata Movement in A minor. Fauré: Violin Sonata no.1 in A major op.13
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: February 2015Description: An inspiring sonata triptych from an expert duoMusicians: Tasmin Little (violin) MartinuRoscoe (piano)Composer: Lekeu, Ravel, FauréIf Fauré’s entire output could be encapsulated in just one word it would be ‘tendresse’. The inspired teaming of Tasmin Little and MartinuRoscoe fully captures ...
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ReviewBritten: Cello Suites nos.1–3
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: February 2015Description: Immaculate but eloquent recordings of Britten’s solo cello suitesMusicians: Olivier Marron (cello)Composer: BrittenIt may well be true, as the composer David Matthews has suggested, that Britten’s three cello suites are the most important solo cello music since Bach. There’s no ...
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ReviewLittle Dipper
The Strad Issue: January 2015Description: A young jazz violinist celebrates the legacy of GrappelliMusicians: Nora Germain (violin/vocals) Will Pierce (double bass) Ed Kornhauser (piano) Ryan Shaw (drums)Composer: JazzAt just 23, West Coast violinist Nora Germain is a new name in jazz violin circles, which is not obvious ...
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ReviewBarrocco Español. Works by de Murcia, Soler, Boccherini, Brunetti, D. Scarlatti, Sanz, de Nebra & Anon
The Strad Issue: January 2015Description: The somewhat frugal fruits of a search for Spanish Baroque viola musicMusicians: Nils Mönkemeyer (viola) Klaus-Dieter Brandt (cello) Thomas Zscherpe (double bass) Sabine Erdmann (harpsichord) Andreas Arend (guitar/theorbo) Anja Hermann (percussion)Composer: de Murcia, Soler, Boccherini, Brunetti, D. Scarlatti, Sanz, de NebraThe first ...
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ReviewVivaldi: Concerto in G minor for two cellos and orchestra RV531 Vivaldi: (arr. two cellos, Lloyd Webber) Concertos in G major for two mandolins RV532, for cello in E minor RV409, for oboe and bassoon
The Strad Issue: January 2015Description: A final recording from a forcibly retired master of the celloMusicians: Julian Lloyd Webber, Jiaxin Lloyd Webber (cello) European Union Chamber Orchestra/Hans-Peter HofmannComposer: Vivaldi, PiazzollaThere is only one extant concerto by Vivaldi for two cellos, but Julian Lloyd Webber has very successfully ...
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ReviewStravinsky: Violin Concerto in D major. Arrieu: Violin Concerto no.2 in D minor
The Strad Issue: January 2015Description: Welcome revival of a forgotten violinist in 1950s French radio recordingsMusicians: Jeanne Gautier (violin) RTF National Orchestra/Jacques Pernoo, Eugène BigotComposer: Stravinsky, ArrieuThe marvellous violinist Jeanne Gautier (1898–1974) has long languished in undeserved oblivion. A superb virtuoso who embodied a quintessentially Gallic blend ...
