All Review articles – Page 148
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ReviewGammelpols
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A rare exploration of one of Norway’s more esoteric folk fiddle traditionsMusicians: Tron Steffen Westberg (fiddle)Composer: TradAs the booklet notes explain, ‘gammelpols’ is the most highly prized form of the ‘pols’ folk dance of the Røros district of central Norway. Already, then, ...
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ReviewGuido: Le quattro stagioni
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A welcome change from the ubiquitous Vivaldi concertosMusicians: Caroline Balding (violin) Band of Instruments/Roger HamiltonComposer: GuidoWith recordings of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons still dominating the catalogues, it is refreshing to hear another composer’s take on a similar idea, his work likewise inspired by ...
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ReviewSvendsen: Violin Concerto in A major op.6, Symphony no.1, Norwegian Artists’ Carnival, Two Icelandic Melodies
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A sympathetic performance of a little-known Romantic concertoMusicians: Marianne Thorsen (violin) Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra/Neeme JärviComposer: SvendsenAs part of Chandos’s enterprising Svendsen orchestral series, Marianne Thorsen, who has already played a major role in the cycle, here turns her attention to the rarely ...
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ReviewTaylor: String Quartets nos.5, 6 & 7
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Three quartets play three quartets by a single composerMusicians: Dante Quartet, Allegri Quartet, Salieri QuartetComposer: TaylorThis disc follows the release seven years ago of a selection of chamber works by British composer and conductor Matthew Taylor, and features his three most recent ...
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ReviewString Paths. Tabakova: Insight, Concerto for cello & strings, Frozen River Flows, Suite in Old Style, Such different paths
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Compelling music from a young British–Bulgarian composerMusicians: Janine Jansen, Julia-Maria Kretz, Roman Mints (violin) Amihai Grosz (viola) Torleif Thedéen, Boris Andrianov, Kristina Blaumane (cello) Stacey Watton, Donatas Bagurskas (double bass) Raimondas Sviackevi?ius (accordion) Vaiva Eidukaityt?-Storastien? (harpsichord) Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra/Maxim Rysanov (viola/conductor)Composer: TabakovaPärt ...
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ReviewStrauss: Don Quixote, Till Eulenspiegel
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A well-characterised account of Strauss’s ‘Fantastic Variations’Musicians: Alban Gerhardt (cello) Lawrence Power (viola) Gürzenich Orchester Köln/Markus StenzComposer: StraussStrauss’s mastery of brilliant orchestral timbres allows him full scope to depict the two rogues in these tone poems in the most vivid of terms. ...
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ReviewSciarrino: String quartets nos.7 & 8, Sei quartetti brevi
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Confident accounts of the work of an Italian modernistMusicians: Prometeo QuartetComposer: SciarrinoIt’s easy for the strange, evanescent, half-heard micro-gestures of contemporary Italian composer Salvatore Sciarrino’s fragile music to sound cold and clinical – a catalogue of glistening sound effects with no story ...
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ReviewTelemann: 12 Fantasias for solo violin TWV40:14–25
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Stylish performances of Telemann’s solo violin fantasiasMusicians: Maya Magub (violin)Composer: TelemannMaya Magub’s accounts confirm her musical allegiances in both modern and period camps – she uses a modified c.1760 Gagliano violin tuned to modern concert pitch, a relatively modern bow, a combination ...
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ReviewSchnittke: Piano Quartet, String Trio, Piano Quintet
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Performances that get to the heart of a Russian composer’s bared emotionsMusicians: Molinari Quartet, Marcin Swoboda (viola) Louise Bessette (piano)Composer: SchnittkeWhen Schnittke composed his Piano Quintet between 1972 and 1976, the deaths of his mother and of his friend Shostakovich weighed heavily ...
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ReviewMoeran Cello Concerto, Serenade in G major, Lonely Waters, Whythorne’s Shadow
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: An eloquent account of a rarely heard British cello concertoMusicians: Guy Johnston (cello) Rebekah Coffey (soprano) Ulster Orchestra/JoAnn FallettaComposer: MoeranWritten in 1945, Moeran’s Cello Concerto is a lyrical work. It is given a sensitive and persuasive rendition by British cellist Guy Johnston, ...
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ReviewLiszt: Élégies nos.1 & 2, Romance oubliée, La lugubre gondola, Die Zelle in Nonnenwerth, Consolations, O du mein holder Abendstern. Dohnányi: Cello Sonata in B flat major op.8, Ruralia hungarica op.32
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A disc of Hungarian cello music that impresses most in the lower registersMusicians: Raphael Wallfisch (cello) John York (piano)Composer: Liszt, Dohnányi, KodályA feast of Hungarian music is added here to Raphael Wallfisch’s already hugely extensive discography. It is surprising to realise that ...
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ReviewLalo: Piano Trio no.1 in C minor op.7. Bruch: Piano Trio in C minor op.5. Mendelssohn: Piano Trio in D minor op.49
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: More delicacy than indulgence in Romantic piano trios from a Czech ensembleMusicians: Petrof Piano TrioComposer: Lalo, Bruch, MendelssohnCellist Kamil Žvak gets several opportunities to demonstrate his gentle, lyrical skills in Lalo’s C minor Trio, opening the first and last movements with understated ...
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ReviewSonata–Monologue. Khachaturian: Violin Sonata, Sonata–Monologue, Dance, Song–Poem ‘In Honour of an Ashugh, Nocturne & Waltz from Masquerade, Dance of the Rose Maidens, Nuneh Variation & Sabre Dance fr
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: An exploration of a neglected side to an orchestral masterMusicians: Masayuki Kino (violin) Mami Shikimori (piano)Composer: KhachaturianKhachaturian’s popular reputation is based almost entirely on his highly colourful and exuberant concertos and ballet scores. Admittedly, included here are skilful transcriptions of a nocturne ...
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ReviewHindemith: Viola Sonatas op.11 no.4, op.25 no.1 & ‘1939’, Capriccio op.8 no.1 (arr. Gandelsman)
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A generally successful survey of Hindemith’s viola musicMusicians: Yuri Gandelsman (viola) Ralph Votapek (piano)Composer: HindemithThe Uzbek violist Yuri Gandelsman studied with Genrikh Talalyan (and is therefore a grand-student of the great Vadim Borisovsky). After stints as principal of the Israel Philharmonic and ...
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ReviewLeaning Toward the Fiddler
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: An effective marriage of singing and violin playingMusicians: Hope Wechkin (violin/voice)Composer: Trad.It’s hard to label Hope Wechkin either as a fiddler who sings, or as a vocalist who can accompany herself on violin, as on this evidence, neither skill deserves secondary billing. ...
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ReviewCorelli: Violin Sonatas op.5
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Colours abound in idiomatic performances of CorelliMusicians: Avison Ensemble: Pavlo Beznosiuk (violin) Richard Tunnicliffe (cello) Paula Chateauneuf (archlute/guitar) Roger Hamilton (harpsichord/organ)Composer: CorelliIn this second volume of the Avison Ensemble’s project to record Corelli’s complete chamber music, Pavlo Beznosiuk and his colleagues treat ...
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ReviewMystery Variations on Giuseppe Colombi’s Chiacona
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A celebratory work that provides multiple responses to solo cello writingMusicians: Anssi Karttunen (cello)Composer: Various composersIn this composite work written to celebrate the 50th birthday in 2010 of Anssi Karttunen, 30 composers have each contributed a variation on the Chiacona by Giuseppe ...
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Review
Modular Living By Design
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A rare jazz trio with a cello to the foreMusicians: Will Martinu (cello) Jason Lindner (piano/Rhodes) Richie Barshay (drums/percussion)Composer: Will MartinuAustralian-born New York resident Will Martinu returns with the trio that released The Dam Levels (reviewed February 2012). The rock and hip-hop influences shared ...
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ReviewIn the South
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Southern heat becomes tangible in this well-considered collectionMusicians: Brodsky QuartetComposer: Verdi, Paganini (arr. Cassidy), Wolf, Puccini, Piazzolla & TurinaIt’s hard not to be seduced by this selection of pieces suggestive of Italy (and easy to forgive the interloping pieces by Turina and ...
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ReviewBrahms: Violin Sonata no.1 in G major op.78. R. Schumann: Violin Sonata no.1 in A minor op.105. C. Schumann: Three Romances op.22
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Perceptively free-ranging performances of Romantic classicsMusicians: Jennifer Pike (violin) Tom Poster (piano)Composer: Brahms, R. Schumann, C. SchumannIt was said that Robert Schumann composed the first of his two violin sonatas in just four days, and it is that white-heat-of-the-moment feeling that is ...
