All Review articles – Page 132
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ReviewJanácek: Idyll, Suite, Znelka I, String Quartet no.1 ‘The Kreutzer Sonata’ (arr. Kovacic)
The Strad Issue: December 2014Description: A quartet writ large and works from the composer’s early yearsMusicians: Wroclaw Chamber Orchestra Leopoldinum / Ernst KovacicComposer: JanácekPerhaps still better known as a violinist, Ernst Kovacic has since 2007 been artistic director of the Wroclaw Chamber Orchestra Leopoldinum in Poland, with ...
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ReviewMenahem Pressler — The 90th Birthday Celebration. Dvorák: Piano Quintet in A major op.81. Schubert: Piano Quintet in A major D667 ‘The Trout’
The Strad Issue: December 2014Description: A veteran of one of the great chamber ensembles still going strong at 90Musicians: Ebène Quartet, Benjamin Berlioz (double bass) Menahem Pressler (piano)Composer: Dvorák, SchubertRecorded live in Paris, this memorable tribute to long-time Beaux Arts Trio pianist Menahem Pressler captures the nonagenarian’s ...
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ReviewAmerican Chamber Music. Copland: Violin Sonata. Ives: Largo. Bernstein: Piano Trio. Carter: Elegy. Barber: String Quartet in B minor op.11
The Strad Issue: December 2014Description: An engaging survey of chamber music through a variety of genresMusicians: James Ehnes (violin) Ehnes Quartet, Musicians of the Seattle Chamber Music SocietyComposer: Copland, Ives, Bernstein, Carter, BarberAlthough in many ways Charles Ives was a one-off as a composer, he also proved ...
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ReviewChopin: Cello Sonata op.65, Etude op.10 no.6 (arr. Glazunov), Wiosna op.74 no.2. Schumann: Adagio and Allegro op.70, Träumerei op.15 no.7 (arr. Davidoff), Im wunderschönen Monat Mai op.48 no.1
The Strad Issue: December 2014Description: A double bassist appropriates music for cello and for voice with successMusicians: Orazio Ferrari (double bass) Marco Sanna (piano)Composer: Chopin, SchumannIt shouldn’t still come as a surprise when a double bassist plays almost as flexibly as a cellist, but this is a ...
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ReviewBritten: Simple Symphony op.4, Rhapsody, Quartettino, Phantasy in F minor, String Quartet in F major
The Strad Issue: December 2014Description: A fascinating insight into the early works of a master of the quartetMusicians: Emperor Quartet, John Metcalfe (viola)Composer: BrittenThis is the third instalment of the Emperor Quartet’s cycle of Britten’s complete works for string quartet. With the three numbered quartets already covered, ...
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ReviewBartók: Violin Sonatas nos.1 & 2, Solo Violin Sonata
The Strad Issue: December 2014Description: A particularly lyrical approach to Bartók’s major chamber works for violinMusicians: Barnabás Kelemen (violin) Zoltán Kocsis (piano)Composer: BartókBartók’s First Violin Sonata has been notoriously diffident in offering up its inner secrets, and the available recorded versions take many differing views. This new ...
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ReviewAlbéniz: Córdoba. Vivaldi: Violin Sonata RV10 (arr. Respighi). Schubert: Arpeggione Sonata in A minor D821. Bach: Andante from Sonata no.1 in G major BWV1027
The Strad Issue: December 2014Description: An interesting recital let down by deficiencies of phrasingMusicians: Tessitori: Isabel Pereira (viola) JoÁo Loureiro (guitar)Composer: Albéniz, Vivaldi, Schubert, BachThere is arguably a case for playing Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata with a guitar in lieu of a piano, this being a quintessential instrument ...
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ReviewWood Works
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: December 2014Description: A young Scandinavian ensemble turns to the region’s folk rootsMusicians: Danish QuartetComposer: Folk musicAfter recordings of Brahms, Haydn and two discs of Nielsen’s quartets, the members of the Danish Quartet – currently BBC New Generation Artists – turn their attention ...
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ReviewDialog Mit Mozart. Mozart: Violin Sonatas in F major K377, B flat major K454 & G major K301
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: December 2014Description: A fresh take on some violin repertoire classicsMusicians: Daniel Auner (violin) Robin Green (piano)Composer: MozartViolinist Daniel Auner has spent time among the Mozart manuscripts, scrubbing away the corruptions of editions and accepted practice. He is hardly the first to do ...
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ReviewThe Seafarer. Debussy: La mer (arr. Beamish). Beamish: The Seafarer
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: December 2014Description: An unusual but rewarding pairing of nautical music for piano trioMusicians: Apaches Trio: Matthew Trusler (violin) Thomas Carroll (cello) Ashley Wass (piano); Willard White (voice)Composer: Debussy, BeamishSally Beamish’s piano trio arrangement of Debussy’s La mer came about as a result ...
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ReviewEscape to Paradise: The Hollywood Album. Music by Rózsa, Korngold, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Eisler, Zeisl, Waxman, Jurmann, Weill, Morricone, Heymann, Williams, Hupfeld & Newman
The Strad Issue: November 2014Description: An over-abundance of riches in an exploration of the Hollywood soundMusicians: Daniel Hope (violin) Sting, Max Raabe (vocals), Jacques Ammon (piano), Maria Todtenhaupt (harp), Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra/Alexander Shelley, Deutsche Kammerorchester Quintet BerlinComposer: Rózsa, Korngold, Waxman, MorriconeCatalogue Number: DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 479 2954The ...
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ReviewPerla Barocca. Early Italian masterpieces by Fontana, Frescobaldi, Uccellini, Castello, Marini, Pandolfi Mealli, Leonarda, A. Gabrieli, Cima & Bertali
The Strad Issue: November 2014Description: Violin playing both elegant and virtuosic from a specialist in Baroque repertoireMusicians: Rachel Podger (Baroque violin) Marcin ŠšwiÄ…tkiewicz (harpsichord/organ) Daniele Caminiti (theorbo/guitar)Composer: Fontana, Frescobaldi, Uccellini, CastelloCatalogue Number: CHANNEL CLASSICS CCS SA 36014 (hybrid SACD)Rachel Podger performs this 17th-century Italian programme in the ...
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ReviewReinecke: Concerto. Tavener: Threnos. Bloch: Suite no.1 for solo cello. Golijov: Mariel. Schumann: Adagio and Allegro op.70 (orch. Ansermet)
The Strad Issue: November 2014Description: An unusual but largely rewarding collection of mixed cello repertoireMusicians: Michael Samis (cello) Eric Willie (marimba) James Bubbon (oboe) Gateway Chamber Orchestra/Gregory WolynecComposer: Reinecke, Tavener, Bloch, Golijov, SchumannCatalogue Number: Delos DEL 3446Exploring less well-known works such as the 1864 Cello Concerto by ...
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ReviewProkofiev: Violin Sonatas no.1 in F minor op.80 & no.2 in D major op.94a, Sonata for Two Violins op.56, Five Melodies op.35
The Strad Issue: November 2014Description: Fiery performances that lack the last ounce of spontaneityMusicians: Natalia Lomeiko, Yuri Zhislin (violin) Olga Sitkovetsky (piano)Composer: ProkofievCatalogue Number: Atoll ACD 513Bringing together the charismatic artistry of Natalia Lomeiko with the music of Prokofiev is an enticing prospect, and in many respects this ...
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ReviewStockhausen: In Freundschaft
The Strad Issue: November 2014Description: Five performances of the same piece by different players bring their own rewardsMusicians: Raul Lustgarten (violin) Anna Tkatchouk (viola) Friedrich Gauwerky (cello) Petra Stump (bass clarinet) Hans Nickel (tuba)Composer: Stockhausen Catalogue Number: Stockhausen Verlag 102Stockhausen wrote the 15-minute solo ...
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ReviewModerato cantabile. Gurdjieff: Sayyid Chant and Dance no.3, Night Procession. Gurdjieff/Mompou: Fêtes lointaines no.3. Komitas: Chinar es. Mompou: Canción y danza VI, Música callada/Impresiones intima
The Strad Issue: November 2014Description: A cello recital marked by a chilled-out homogeneity of moodMusicians: Anja Lechner (cello) François Couturier (piano)Composer: Gurdjieff, Komitas, Mompou, CouturierCatalogue Number: ECM 481 0992Mixing music both spiritual and folksy from three musical outsiders, with performers bringing together jazz and classical worlds, this ...
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ReviewBerlioz: Harold en Italie (arr. Liszt). Liszt: Nuages gris, Romance oubliée, Oh quand je dors, Schlaflos! Frage und Antwort
The Strad Issue: November 2014Description: An unusual programme that gives a new context for Berlioz's viola-led symphonyMusicians: Jennifer Stumm (viola) Elizabeth Pridgen (piano)Composer: Berlioz, LisztCatalogue Number: Orchid Classics ORC 100044In her engaging booklet notes, Jennifer Stumm makes an eloquent case both for Berlioz’s Byronic epic Harold in ...
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ReviewFranck: Sonata in A major. Grieg: Violin Sonata no.3 in C minor op.45. Dvorák: Four Romantic Pieces op.75
The Strad Issue: November 2014Description: A classy partnership at work in three Romantic masterpiecesMusicians: Renaud Capuçon (violin) Khatia Buniatishvili (piano)Composer: Franck, Grieg, DvorákCatalogue Number: Erato 0825646250189This high-profile partnership naturally prompts expectations to match and, in the main, the French violinist and Georgian pianist fulfil their promise. Renaud ...
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ReviewBach: Suites for solo cello nos.1—6 BWV1007—12
The Strad Issue: November 2014Description: An idiosyncratic and sometimes rash take on Bach€™s cycle of suitesMusicians: Nina Kotova (cello)Composer: BachCatalogue Number: Warner Classics 0825646394111 (two discs)Baroque music has not hitherto loomed large in the career of Nina Kotova, and while there is much to enjoy here, a few more ...
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ReviewJanácek: String Quartets no.1 ‘Kreutzer Sonata’ & no.2 ‘Intimate Letters’, Piano Concertino
The Strad Issue: November 2014Description: Another entrant into a crowded field that manages to make its own markMusicians: Prážak Quartet, Slávka PÄ›choÄová -Vernerová (piano) Milan Polák (clarinet) Lukáš Korínek (bassoon) Jan Voboril (horn)Composer: JanácekCatalogue Number: Praga Digitals PRD/DSD 250301Holding back from the overstated dynamics that have ...
