All Review articles – Page 141
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ReviewHandel: Trio Sonatas op.2
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Uneven results in a survey of Handel’s chamber piecesMusicians: Brook Street BandComposer: HandelCapitalising on the sales-friendly flexibility of instrumentation implicit from the title page of Handel’s op.2, the Brook Street Band varies the constitution of its ensemble for sonatas nos.1 and 4, ...
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ReviewSchoenberg: Verklärte Nacht op.4, String Quartet no.1 op.7, Four Canons
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Winning accounts of some of Schoenberg’s seminal string worksMusicians: Fred Sherry Quartet & SextetComposer: SchoenbergHearing Schoenberg’s two early string masterpieces side by side, as here, makes one realise how far he had travelled as a composer in the five years that separate ...
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ReviewSchubert: String Quartets in E flat major D87, G minor D173, A minor D804 ‘Rosamunde’, D minor D810 ‘Death and the Maiden’ & G major D887
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Welcome release of archive broadcast recordings from a vintage ensembleMusicians: Amadeus QuartetComposer: SchubertAudite’s series of the Amadeus Quartet’s radio archive recordings for RIAS–Berlin continues with fascinating snapshots of that ensemble’s Schubert performances between 1950 and 1964. These players penetrate well below the ...
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ReviewRomanian Journey?. Enescu: Impressions d’enfance op.28, Impromptu concertant, Andantino malinconico. Constantinescu: Sonatina. Jora: Suita mica op.3. Olah: Sonatina
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A masterly traversal of a challenging programme of Romanian violin musicMusicians: Vlad Stanculeasa (violin) Thomas Hoppe (piano)Composer: Enescu, Constantinescu, Jora, OlahViolin pedagogue George Enescu was a linchpin in generating international recognition for his country’s native music, largely through his own compositions. Here ...
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ReviewArensky: Piano Trio no.1 in D minor op.32. Tchaikovsky: Piano Trio in A minor op.50
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Ardour and restraint in perfect harmony in performances of two Russian triosMusicians: Wanderer TrioComposer: Arensky, TchaikovskyThe Wanderer Trio performs these works with all the Romantic expression they deserve, tempered with admirable musical intelligence. Arensky’s Trio sets off with dash and ...
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ReviewBach: Preludio from Partita in E major BWV1006 (arr. Boller). Bartók: Duos for two violins (excerpts). Berio: Duets for two violins (excerpts)
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A strange experiment in audio and video that leaves too many unanswered questionsMusicians: Hansheinz Schneeberger (violin) Bettina Boller (violin/voice)Composer: Bach, Bartók, BerioIdiosyncratic doesn’t even come close. There are so many downright bizarre things about this new CD/Blu-ray package from Swiss violinists Hansheinz ...
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ReviewOpera Breve. Works by Falla, Tchaikovsky, Donizetti, Gluck, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Strauss, Gershwin, Saint-Saëns, Humperdinck & Raff
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A rewarding collection of musical lollipops from the operatic worldMusicians: Philippe Quint (violin) Lily Maisky (piano)Composer: Falla, Tchaikovsky, Donizetti, Gluck, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Strauss, Gershwin, Saint-Saëns, Humperdinck, RaffThirteen tracks of violin-and-piano arrangements, mainly devoted to excerpts from popular operas, do not make up the ...
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ReviewIlluminated Bass.? Schubert: ‘Arpeggione’ Sonata in A minor D821. Hindemith: Double Bass Sonata. Schumann: Three Romances op.94. Bottesini: Fantasia on ‘La sonnambula’. Michel: Myrna
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A stunning recital that displays the bass at its most agile and thrillingMusicians: Olivier Thiery (double bass) Sophie Labandibar (piano)Composer: Schubert, Hindemith, Schumann, Bottesini, MichelWith the original arpeggione safely out of the way, the sonata Schubert wrote for it is ...
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ReviewBeethoven: Complete Cello Sonatas & Variations, Horn Sonata in F major op.17 (arr. cello)
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Fresh insights mark a long-awaited Beethovenian survey from a master cellistMusicians: Steven Isserlis (cello) Robert Levin (fortepiano)Composer: BeethovenWhy does it come as no surprise that a cellist of Isserlis’s stature has waited this long to commit Beethoven’s cello works to disc, and ...
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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: January 2014Description: A generally successful pairing of Brahms’s two sextetsMusicians: Pražák Quartet, Petr Holman (viola) Vladimír Fortin (cello)Composer: BrahmsThe expansive opening of Brahms’s B flat major Sextet is one of the great moments in chamber music and the all-Czech Pražák, joined by half of ...
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ReviewDuncan Chisholm: Live at Celtic Connections
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A powerful evocation of place in a live concert of Highland fiddle musicMusicians: Duncan Chisholm (violin/voice) Ross Hamilton (bass) Allan Henderson (piano/fiddle) Jarlath Henderson (Uilleann pipes/whistles) MartinuO’Neill (bodhrán) Matheu Watson (guitar), string & brass ensemble/Garry WalkerComposer: TraditionalAfter applause, a reverberating ...
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ReviewBeethoven: String Quartets in E minor op.59 no.2 & E flat major op.127
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A Beethoven quartet coupling with plenty to enjoyMusicians: Cremona QuartetComposer: BeethovenWe may have grown accustomed to closely recorded string quartets in a relatively dry acoustic, but this Audite release is quite different in its spacious and resonant perspective. Not one for those ...
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ReviewContactoTango. ?Beytelmann: Cinco piezas. Borda: El viento de verdad. Aguirre: Liberación. Varvello: Entrelazados. Piazzolla: Dos piezas breves, Le grand tango, Seis estudios tanguísticos
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A sonically vital survey of Argentinian tango repertoire on violaMusicians: Julia Rebekka Adler (viola) José Gallardo (piano)Composer: Piazzolla, Varvello, Aguirre, Borda, BeytelmannThe younger composers represented in this overview of Argentinian music are in audible debt to Astor Piazzolla, who is rightly given ...
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ReviewInto the Ravine. Berkeley: Oboe Quintet ‘Into the Ravine’. McCabe: String Quartet no.7 ‘Summer Eves’. Williams: String Quartet no.4
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Strong advocacy for three recent British string worksMusicians: Carducci Quartet, Nicholas Daniel (oboe)Composer: Berkeley, McCabe, WilliamsThe Carducci Quartet’s first release on Signum Classics brings first recordings of three British works, all of which the group has premiered at the Presteigne Festival in ...
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ReviewDavid Le Page: The Reinvention of Harmony and Imagination
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A diverting but diffuse mix of quasi-Vivaldi, Minimalism and jazzMusicians: David Le Page (violin/viola) Nick Stringfellow (cello) Meherban Gillett (double bass) David Gordon (harpsichord) Graham Instrall (percussion)Composer: David Le PageAs well as leading the Orchestra of the Swan, an adventurous chamber orchestra ...
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ReviewA Tale of Two Cellos. Arrangements of works by Dvorák, Schumann, Quilter, Holst, Saint-Saëns, Piazzolla, Monteverdi, Shostakovich, Rubinstein, William Lloyd Webber, Pergolesi, Hahn, Rachmaninoff, Purc
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A generally successful collection of cello duos from a husband-and-wife teamMusicians: Julian Lloyd Webber, Jiaxin Lloyd Webber, Guy Johnston, Laura van der Heijden (cello) John Lenehan (piano) Catrin Finch (harp)Composer: Dvorák, Schumann, Quilter, Holst, Saint-Saëns, Piazzolla, Monteverdi, Shostakovich, Rubinstein, William Lloyd Webber, ...
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ReviewZemlinsky: Piano Trio in D minor op.3. Suk: Piano Trio in C minor op.2. Arensky: Piano Trio no.1 in D minor op.32
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Welcome exposure for three unjustly neglected piano triosMusicians: Voce TrioComposer: Zemlinsky, Suk, ArenskyIn these three works composed in the 1890s, the dying embers of the Romantic era still shine brightly, especially in these affectionate performances by the American-based Trio Voce. Throughout, the ...
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ReviewIl Progetto Vivaldi 3. Vivaldi: Cello Concertos in A minor, F major & D major, Concerto for two mandolins in G major (arr. S. & A. Gabetta). Platti: Cello Concertos in C major & C minor. Zani: Cello C
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: The latest instalment in a series exploring Vivaldi and his contemporariesMusicians: Sol Gabetta (cello) Cappella Gabetta/Andres Gabetta (director)Composer: Vivaldi, Platti, Zani, ChelleriThis project’s third volume combines and contrasts concertos by Vivaldi with those of three compatriot contemporaries. Despite her use of an ...
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ReviewTchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D op.35. Bartók: Violin Concerto no.2
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Stunning live accounts that equal more established studio recordingsMusicians: Isaac Stern (violin) Swiss Festival Orchestra/Lorin Maazel, Ernest AnsermetComposer: Tchaikovsky, BartókTaped at the Lucerne Festival when Isaac Stern was at the height of his powers in 1958 and 1956 respectively, these sophisticated mono recordings ...
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ReviewSaint-Saëns: Violin Concerto no.3 in B minor op.61, Cello Concerto no.1 in A minor op.33, La muse et le poète op.132
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Brotherly rivalry and collaboration on display in tasteful performancesMusicians: Renaud Capuçon (violin) Gautier Capuçon (cello) Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra/Lionel BringuierComposer: Saint-Saëns Saint-Saëns’s music is always brilliantly crafted and when this is matched with memorable melodic invention, he creates a work strong enough to ...
