All Review articles – Page 145
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ReviewDvorák: Cello Concerto in A major (orch. Burghauser), Serenade for Strings
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A brave attempt to revive the composer’s abandoned first concertoMusicians: Musica Viva/Alexander Rudin (director/cello)Composer: DvorákListening to this early concerto, one can almost hear Dvorák asking ‘Why?’ Why, when he left it unorchestrated and unperformed, and told his students that he regretted its ...
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ReviewBritten: Cello Suites no.1 in G major op.72, no.2 in D major op.80 & no.3 in C minor op.87
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Mixed results in a centenary tribute to BrittenMusicians: Antoine Pierlot (cello)Composer: BrittenFrench cellist Antoine Pierlot offers persuasive accounts of Britten’s three solo suites in a clear recording taken from a live concert. There are some movements, however, in which a more discernible line ...
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ReviewBrahms: Violin Sonatas no.1 in G major op.78, no.2 in A major op.100 and no.3 in D minor op.108
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Brahms playing that is perhaps too self-regarding for comfortMusicians: Sergey Khachatryan (violin) Lusine Khachatryan (piano)Composer: BrahmsSergey and Lusine Khachatryan present Brahms’s First Sonata as seen through the eyes of the daydreaming Schumann, with the music often wistful, frequently sad, and on occasion ...
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ReviewBeethoven: String Quartets op.59 nos.1—3 ‘Rasumovsky’
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Imposing and fleet-footed Beethoven from a leading US quartetMusicians: Miró QuartetComposer: Beethoven If you are looking for recordings of the three ‘Rasumovsky’ Quartets in a single package, then these two discs from the University of Texas at Austin Center for American ...
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ReviewBach: Violin Sonatas BWV1014–19
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A fascinating mixture of playing traditions revealed in Bach’s accompanied sonatasMusicians: Michelle Makarski (violin) Keith Jarrett (piano)Composer: BachVersatile violinist Michelle Makarski renews her fruitful association with legendary jazz pianist Keith Jarrett in these strikingly individual accounts. Jarrett emerges as the stronger personality ...
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ReviewBach: Cello Suites BWV1007–12. Casals: Song of the Birds
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A few caveats fail to detract from a generally successful traversal of Bach’s SuitesMusicians: Peter Martens (cello)Composer: Bach, CasalsPeter Martens’s interpretations are thoughtfully prepared and generally commendably executed, balancing modern performance practices with the simple clarity of period style. However, the South ...
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ReviewRavel: Piano Trio. Debussy: Cello Sonata, Violin Sonata. Fauré: Piano Trio op.120
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A superbly played collection of French duos and triosMusicians: Shaham–Erez–Wallfisch TrioComposer: Ravel, Debussy, Fauré This delightful tranche of French chamber music opens with an exquisite account of Ravel’s 1914 Piano Trio. The first movement is delicate and precious, the staccato ...
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ReviewElgar: Cello Concerto op.85. Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme op.33. Dvorák: Rondo op.94, Silent Woods op.68 no.5
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Spellbinding Elgar and more from a master of the celloMusicians: Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello) BBC Symphony Orchestra/Ji?í B?lohlávekComposer: Elgar, Tchaikovsky, DvorákJean-Guihen Queyras is a remarkable artist who breathes new life into well-worn repertoire. Even the salon pieces by Dvorák in this ...
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ReviewCorelli: Chamber Sonatas opp.2 & 4
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A masterclass in Baroque string playingMusicians: Avison Ensemble/Pavlo Beznosiuk (director/Baroque violin)Composer: CorelliVolume 3 of the Avison Ensemble’s chamber music extravaganza commemorating the 300th anniversary of Corelli’s death focuses on the 24 Chamber Sonatas opp.2 and 4. These works demonstrate the ...
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ReviewTrio
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: An intriguing disc of cello-led fusionMusicians: Jacob Szekely TrioComposer: VariousThis trio took me by surprise. Maybe it’s that the ‘piano’ of the booklet notes actually extends into synth and organ, or that the drums are heavy without drowning out the cello. Whatever, ...
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ReviewThe Art of the Violin. Saint-Saëns: Violin Sonata no.1 in D minor op.75. Pierné: Violin Sonata in D minor op.36. Franck: Violin Sonata in A major. Massenet: ‘Méditation’ from Thaïs
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A warm-hearted exploration of Franco–Belgian violin sonatasMusicians: Solenne Païdassi (violin) Laurent Wagschal (piano)Composer: Saint-Saëns, Pierné, Franck, MassenetThe ‘Art of the Violin’ indeed. Specifically the Art of the Franco–Belgian Violin at the end of the 19th century. The composers are a cosy group, ...
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ReviewReicha: Complete String Quartets vol.1: Quartets in C major op.48 no.1 & G major op.48 no.2
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: An important if flawed release of music by a Beethoven contemporaryMusicians: Kreutzer QuartetComposer: ReichaWhen considering the works of Anton Reicha (1770–1836), one finds that comparisons with Beethoven are inevitable. These quartets come out of this rather well: they are experimental in conception, ...
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ReviewA Century of Russian Colours. Rachmaninoff: Cello Sonata in G minor op.19. Kabalevsky: Cello Sonata in B flat major op.71. Auerbach: 24 Preludes op.47 (selection)
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A celebration of 100 years of typically Russian emotionsMusicians: Camille Thomas (cello) Beatrice Berrut (piano)Composer: Rachmaninoff, Kabalevsky, AuerbachAs a student of both Philippe Muller and Frans Helmerson it is clear that award-winning French cellist Camille Thomas has benefited from excellent tutoring. It’s ...
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ReviewProkofiev: Symphony–Concerto in E minor op.125. Britten: Cello Symphony op.68
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Impassioned readings of two 20th-century cello symphoniesMusicians: Daniel Müller-Schott (cello) WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne/Jukka-Pekka SarasteComposer: Prokofiev, BrittenTwo works indebted to Rostropovich and premiered by him in Moscow are paired here by top German cellist Daniel Müller-Schott. Prokofiev’s Symphony–Concerto opens arrestingly, the sound ...
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ReviewLeclair: Violin Sonatas op.2: no.1 in E minor, no.2 in F major, no.3 in C major, no.4 in A major, no.5 in G major & no.8 in D major
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Sensitive accounts of 18th-century sonatasMusicians: Adrian Butterfield (violin) Jonathan Manson (viola da gamba) Laurence Cummings (harpsichord)Composer: Leclair This trio offers intelligent, idiomatic performances of sonatas from Leclair’s second book, which demonstrates a striking synthesis of Italian melodiousness and French elegance. Adrian Butterfield ...
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ReviewGodowsky: 12 Impressions, Waltz Poems nos.1 & 2, Avowal, Alt-Wien (arr.Heifetz), Night in Tangier (arr. Kreisler)
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: An enterprising collection celebrating a great pianist–composer’s violinistic connectionsMusicians: Nazrin Rashidova (violin) Roderick Chadwick (piano)Composer: GodowskyLeopold Godowsky is principally celebrated as one of the finest pianist–composers of the early 20th century, yet his violinist connections and admirers were no less exemplary. Avowal ...
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ReviewBritish Violin Sonatas vol.1. Ferguson: Violin Sonata no.2 op.10. Britten: Suite op.6. Walton: Violin Sonata, Two Pieces
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A new survey of British violin repertoire begins in fine styleMusicians: Tasmin Little (violin) Piers Lane (piano)Composer: Ferguson, Britten, WaltonFeeling out of sympathy with modern trends, Howard Ferguson (1908–99) decided to abandon composition at the mid-point of his life – an acute ...
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ReviewDuphly: Ouverture, La du Tailly, La de Valmalette, La de May, La Madin, La de Casaubon. Mozart: Violin Sonatas K6–9
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: The violin holds its ground as ‘accompaniment’ in Duphly and early MozartMusicians: Stéphanie-Marie Degand (violin) Violaine Cochard (harpsichord)Composer: DuphlyOn paper the coupling of character pieces by Jacques Duphly (one of Paris’s most renowned harpsichordists during the instrument’s so-called golden age) with Mozart’s ...
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ReviewDale: Suite in D major op.2, Phantasy op.4, Introduction and Andante op.5
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Quality rather than quantity marks a superb disc of neglected viola musicMusicians: Yuko Inoue (viola) Stephen Coombs (piano) RAM Viola SextetComposer: DaleWhat a wonderful composer Benjamin Dale was. In the words of his composition teacher at the Royal Academy of Music (RAM), ...
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ReviewChonguri. Works by Tsintsadze, Bach, Cassadó, Chopin, Webern, Fauré, Liszt, Milhaud & Demenga
The Strad Issue: January 2013Musicians: Thomas Demenga (cello) Thomas Larcher (piano) Teodoro Anzellotti (accordion)Composer: Tsintsadze, Bach, Cassadó, Chopin, Webern, Fauré, Liszt, Milhaud & DemengaIn this exceptionally clear and warm recording, Thomas Demenga proves once again that he is a cellist adept at mixing the old with the ...
