All Review articles – Page 136
-
ReviewPavans and Fantasies from the Age of Dowland. Works by Dowland, Purcell, Lawes, Jenkins, Morley & Locke
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A skilled intermingling of melancholy and high spiritsMusicians: John Holloway, Monika Baer (violin/viola) Renate Steinmann, Susanna Hefti (viola) MartinuZeller (bass violin)Composer: Dowland, Purcell, Lawes, Jenkins, Morley & LockeJohn Dowland’s seven Lachrimae Pavans punctuate this CD, always gently moving, given impetus by the ...
-
ReviewHytta: Draumsyn
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Ancient and modern meet on a disc that brings new sounds to old instrumentsMusicians: Anne Hytta (Hardanger fiddle/viola d’amore/vielle)Composer: HyttaAnne Hytta is one of a number of players of Scandinavian traditional stringed instruments to be taking the folk music of the region in ...
-
ReviewCarter: String Quartets nos.1–5
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A masterly completion of a much-lauded cycle of quartet performancesMusicians: Juilliard QuartetComposer: CarterThe Juilliard Quartet’s recordings of the first four of Elliott Carter’s thorny yet hugely influential string quartets have every right to be considered definitive – the Juilliard players worked closely with Carter on ...
-
ReviewThrough the Centuries. L. Weiner: Duo. Fuchs: 6 Duets op.60. Gál: Divertimento op.90 no.3. Bach: 4 Two-Part Inventions (arr. David). Pleyel: Grand Duo op.69 no.1
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: An auspicious start to an ambitious series exploring violin–viola duetsMusicians: Annette-Barbara Vogel (violin) Daniel Sweaney (viola)Composer: L. Weiner, Fuchs, Gál, Bach, PleyelReleased as ‘Vol.1’, this compilation of duos for violin and viola promises to be nothing if not thorough in the coverage ...
-
ReviewEastern Promise: European violin sonatas
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Three new albums of violin sonatas from central and eastern EuropeMusicians: Katrin ten Hagen (violin) & Christina Wright-Ivanova (piano); Frédéric Bednarz (violin) & Natsuki Hiratsuka (piano); Hideko Udagawa (violin) & Boris Berezovsky (piano)Composer: Prokofiev, Janácek, Bartók, Szymanowski, Shostakovich, KhachaturianIn ‘Eastern Impressions’ (ARS ...
-
ReviewBirtwistle: Settings of Lorine Niedecker, Piano Trio, Bogenstrich
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Commanding performances of understated musicMusicians: Lisa Batiashvili (violin) Adrian Brendel (cello) Amy Freston (soprano) Roderick Williams (baritone) Till Fellner (piano)Composer: BirtwistleLyrical, sensitive, restrained: they’re hardly adjectives you’d use to describe much of Harrison Birtwistle’s uncompromising output, but they ably sum up the ...
-
ReviewYsaÿe's 6 Sonatas for Solo Violin op.27
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Spotless accounts of these solo violin masterpiecesMusicians: Karl Stobbe (violin)Composer: YsaÿeWith Ysaÿe’s sonatas one has the choice of performances that spell out the virtuosity required, or those that brush aside such problems. Canadian violinist Karl Stobbe’s falls right between the two, with an ...
-
ReviewVivaldi: The Four Seasons, Concerto in F major for three violins RV551. Pärt: Passacaglia
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A no-nonsense account of Vivaldi’s famous foursomeMusicians: Anne Akiko Meyers (violin) English Chamber Orchestra/David LockingtonComposer: Vivaldi, Pärt Anne Akiko Meyers’s ample vibrato fashions a warm and elegant tone that is the antithesis of those violinists who purport to be recreating an authentic ...
-
ReviewCorelli: Church Sonatas opp.1 & 3
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A fine conclusion to a tercentennial survey of the Baroque masterMusicians: Avison EnsembleComposer: CorelliI wrote positively about the previous releases in this 300th anniversary series (see The Strad, June and October 2013), and this final issue sustains all their virtues. The Avison’s ...
-
ReviewBach: Viola da Gamba Sonatas BWV1027–9
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: An unusual but successful account of Bach’s gamba sonatasMusicians: Inviolata: Asbjørn Nørgaard (viola) Andreas Borregaard (accordion)Composer: BachPlaying Bach’s keyboard compositions on the accordion may at first sound like an unlikely proposition, but the instrument has an uncanny ability to impersonate a chamber organ. ...
-
Review1917 – Works for Violin and Piano. Debussy: Violin Sonata in G minor. Respighi: Violin Sonata in B minor. Sibelius: Five Pieces op.81. Elgar: Violin Sonata in E minor op.82
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2014Description: An enterprising collection capturing a year in musicMusicians: Tamsin Waley-Cohen (violin) Huw Watkins (piano)Composer: Respighi, Sibelius, ElgarChronology is as good an excuse as any to collect some fine music together, and these pieces make an attractive set. Tamsin Waley-Cohen approaches Debussy ...
-
ReviewBeethoven: String Trio in E flat major op.3, Serenade in D major op.8
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Triumphant advocacy for Beethoven’s early string triosMusicians: Zimmermann TrioComposer: BeethovenEvincing an old-world allure and sophistication with barely a whiff of ‘historically informed’ rhetoric along the way, the all-star Zimmermann Trio (violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann, violist Antoine Tamestit and cellist Christian Poltéra) ...
-
ReviewC.P.E. Bach: Viola da Gamba Sonatas in C major Wq136 & D major Wq137. Alborea: Cello Sonatas in C major, G major & D major
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Interesting instrumental decisions on a disc of Baroque sonatasMusicians: Jennifer Morsches (violoncello piccolo/Baroque cello) Robin Bigwood (harpsichord/organ) David Miller (theorbo/archlute) Jane Gower (bassoon)Composer: C.P.E. Bach, AlboreaAt first it seems an unusual decision to perform C.P.E. Bach’s two viola da gamba sonatas on the five-string ...
-
ReviewShostakovich: Cello Concertos no.1 in E flat major op.107 & no.2 in G minor op.126
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A heartfelt addition to the Shostakovich discographyMusicians: Truls Mørk (cello) Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra/Vasily PetrenkoComposer: ShostakovichTruls Mørk’s intelligent artistry and Vasily Petrenko’s vibrant conducting combine in a fine new recording of Shostakovich’s two great cello concertos, both written for Rostropovich. Mørk is a ...
-
ReviewSchumann: Cello Concerto in A minor op.129 Dvorák: Cello Concerto in B minor op.104 Arr. Casals: El cant dels ocells
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Heartfelt accounts of of two Romantic cello concertosMusicians: Pablo Ferrández (cello) Stuttgart Philharmonic/Radoslaw SzulcComposer: Schumann, Dvorák, arr.CasalsSchumann’s Cello Concerto is nothing if not full of feeling and Pablo Ferrández, on this impressive disc, manages to play with huge emotion while still keeping ...
-
ReviewSaygun: Suite for violin & piano op.33 ‘Demet’. Janácek: Violin Sonata. Prokofiev: Violin Sonata no.1 in F minor op.80
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A trio of major 20th-century violin works from a resourceful Turkish duoMusicians: zcan Ulucan (violin) Bírsen Ulucan (piano)Composer: Saygun, Janácek, ProkofievAhmed Adnan Saygun was among the first generation of Turkish composers to use the essence of traditional folk melodies dressed in West ...
-
ReviewMister Paganini. Paganini: I palpiti op.13, La campanella (arr. Kreisler). Paganini–Kreisler: Violin Concerto in One Movement. Kreisler: La gitana, Petite valse. Albéniz: Malagueña (arr. Kreisler). Ys
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: An ingenious celebration of Paganini and his legacyMusicians: Laurent Korcia (violin) Haruko Ueda (piano) Paris Chamber Orchestra/Jean-Jacques KantorowComposer: Paganini, Kreisler, Albéniz, YsaÿeIn this neatly themed release, Laurent Korcia presents a selection of arrangements centring on Nicolò Paganini, and including homages to the ...
-
ReviewMozart: Violin Concertos in B flat major K207, D major K211, G major K216, D major K218, A major K219 & D major K271A
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A disappointing sameyness of tone mars an otherwise interesting approachMusicians: Mirijam Contzen (violin) Bavarian Chamber Philharmonic/Reinhard GoebelComposer: MozartA set of Mozart concertos given by former Tibor Varga pupil Mirijam Contzen and directed by period-instrument specialist Reinhard Goebel (currently concentrating on ‘galant’ repertoire) is ...
-
ReviewThe American Premieres 2011–12. Mays: String Quartet no.2 ‘Dreaming Butterfly’. Schoenfield: Three Rhapsodies. Bolcom: Piano Quintet no.2. Harbison: String Quartet no.5
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A string quartet enters its second century celebrating new repertoireMusicians: Pro Arte Quartet, Brian Hsu, Christopher Taylor (piano)Composer: Mays, Schoenfield, Bolcom, HarbisonAfter a century of existence featuring six different leaders, eight second violinists, four violists (German Prevost and Richard Blum served for 35 ...
-
ReviewCapriccio. Foss: Capriccio. Dvorák: Romance op.11. Stravinsky: Suite italienne (arr. Dushkin/Silverthorne). Schumann: Violin Sonata in A minor op.105. Mendelssohn: Songs without words op.19 no.1 (arr.
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Confident, authoritative playing on both violin and violaMusicians: Helena Baillie (violin/viola) Tanya Gabrielian (piano)Composer: Foss, Dvorák, Stravinsky, Schumann, MendelssohnThat controversial critic Hans Keller once proclaimed viola playing a ‘phoney profession’, his point being that any violinist would be able to do it ...
