All Review articles – Page 153
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ReviewSouvenir. Tchaikovsky: Serenade for strings in C major op.48, Souvenir de Florence op.70 Nielsen At the Bier of a Young Artist, Suite for string orchestra op.1
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Surround sound brings a new aural experience to music for string orchestraMusicians: Trondheim SoloistsComposer: TchaikovskyRecorded in the round, all four pieces here place the listener in the centre of the aural picture, but the distribution of the players around the ...
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ReviewHaydn: String Quartets op.76 nos.1–6
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Haydn performances where the jokes too often fall flatMusicians: Wilanów QuartetComposer: Haydn The award-winning Wilanów players invest their wealth of experience and artistic sensibility in these recordings of Haydn’s popular op.76 set. Their readings are civilised, warm-toned and technically ...
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ReviewMišek Double Bass Sonatas no.1 in A major op.5 & no.2 in E minor op.6, Concert–Polonaise
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Elegant performances of rare double bass repertoireMusicians: Szymon Marciniak (double bass) Joanna Lawrynowicz (piano)Composer: Mišek Polish-born Szymon Marciniak, now principal double bassist of The Hague Philharmonic, puts in impressive performances on his first volume of sonatas and miniatures by ...
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ReviewThe Unknown Enescu Vol.1: Music for Violin. Works by George Enescu
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A welcome exploration of lesser-known gems from the Romanian masterMusicians: Sherban Lupu (violin/conductor) Masumi Per Rostad (viola) Marin Cazacu, Dmitry Kouzov (cello) Ian Hobson, Ilinca Dumitrescu, Samir Golescu (piano) Enescu Ensemble of the University of IllinoisComposer: EnescuThis CD has two geographical centres: ...
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ReviewDvorák: Cello Concerto in B minor op.104, Symphony no.9 in D minor ‘From the New World’
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: An interesting Italianate take on a Czech masterpieceMusicians: Mario Brunello (cello) Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia/Antonio PappanoComposer: Dvorák This live recording made during the Santa Cecilia orchestra’s 2011/12 season couples a feisty account of Dvo?ák’s ‘New World’ Symphony ...
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ReviewGál: Serenade in D major op.41; Trio in F sharp minor op.104. Krása: Tanec; Passacaglia and Fuga
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A disc of string trios where time and place play an inescapable roleMusicians: Ensemble Epomeo: Caroline Chin (violin) David Yang (viola) Kenneth Woods (cello)Composer: Gál, Krása Here is music for string trio by two composers of Jewish heritage from the ...
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ReviewBrahms: Piano Quintet in F minor op.34, Clarinet Quintet in B minor op.115
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A cantabile approach to Brahms that works better in one work than the otherMusicians: Tokyo Quartet, Jon Nakamatsu (piano) Jon Manasse (clarinet)Composer: Brahms Here are two cherishable masterworks unmistakably by the same composer yet utterly different in expressive profile. The Piano Quintet ...
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ReviewFauré: Piano Quintet no.2 in C minor op.115, Piano Trio in D minor op.120, La bonne chanson op.61
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Performances that tap the nostalgic element in Fauré’s musicMusicians: London Bridge Ensemble, Matthew Truscott (violin) Graham Mitchell (double bass)Composer: Fauré The London Bridge Ensemble’s passionate first movement of Fauré’s Second Piano Quintet, with its moments of sad reflectiveness, sets ...
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ReviewTales of Enchantment. Guy: Hommage Á Max Bill, Going Home for solo double bass, Tales of Enchantment. Biber: Mystery Sonatas nos.6, 9 & 15. Kurtág: Hommage Á J.S.B. Trad.: Veni Creator Spiritus
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A violin–bass partnership explores music new and oldMusicians: Maya Homburger (Baroque violin) Barry Guy (double bass)Composer: Guy, Biber, KurtágThe tantalisingly narrow divide between musical free-falling and reassuring certainty is a special feature of this immaculately engineered duo recital. The seven pieces that ...
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ReviewNikolayev: Violin Sonata. Prokofiev: Violin Sonata no.2. Schnittke: Suite in the Old Style
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: An enterprising self-published exploration of Russian musicMusicians: Chavdar Parashkevov (violin) Natasha Kislenko (piano)Composer: Nikolayev, Prokofiev, Schnittke Bulgarian violinist Chavdar Parashkevov impresses, for the most part, with this disc of Russian music – more so than one might imagine given that ...
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ReviewSchumann: Piano Quintet in E flat major op.44. Dvorák Piano Quintet in A major op.81
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Spontaneous Schumann wins over tautened Dvorák in this well-intentioned couplingMusicians: Elias Quartet, Jonathan Biss (piano)Composer: Schumann & Dvorák From the outset this is a reading of Schumann’s Piano Quintet where a self-generating spontaneity sees the unbridled happiness of the ...
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ReviewCorelli: Concerti grossi op.6
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Polished solo playing in Corelli’s set of twelve string concertosMusicians: Avison Ensemble/Pavlo Beznosiuk (director/violin)Composer: CorelliThis first album in the Avison Ensemble’s project commemorating the 300th anniversary of Corelli’s death offers well-considered period-instrument accounts that are stylish, imaginative and technically assured. Tempos are ...
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ReviewSchubert: String Quartets in A minor D804 ‘Rosamunde’ & D minor D810 ‘Death and the Maiden’
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Schubert that benefits from an undemonstrative period sensibilityMusicians: Doric QuartetComposer: SchubertThe Doric Quartet, which has been winning repeated acclaim for its series of recordings for Chandos, here presents a rewarding disc of two of Schubert’s greatest quartets. It is all superbly crafted, ...
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ReviewSchubert: Arpeggione Sonata D821. Dvorák: Silent Woods, Rondo op.94. Janácek: Pohádka, Presto. Martinu: Variations on a Slovak Theme. Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A rewarding musical tour of central EuropeMusicians: Adam Mital (cello) Olimpia Tolan (piano)Composer: Schubert, Dvorák, Janácek, Martinu, BartókThis programme of central European music fulfils a long-cherished plan by Swiss cellist Mital, who is, he writes, particularly attracted to the music of the ...
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ReviewBaroque Chamber Works. Works by Bertali, Buxtehude, Jenkins, Pandolfi Mealli, attr. Kertzinger, Muffat, Schmelzer & Stradella
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Stunning recordings of little-known 17th-century chamber musicMusicians: FantasticusComposer: Bertali, Buxtehude, Jenkins, Pandolfi Mealli, attr. Kertzinger, Muffat, Schmelzer & StradellaFantasticus makes an impressive recording debut with this programme of inventive, virtuoso chamber music by mostly 17th-century Italian and German composers. Its ...
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ReviewAutumnal. Knussen: Violin Concerto*, Autumnal† , Secret Psalm‡, Choral, Whitman Settings, Prayer Bell Sketch, Requiem ? Songs for Sue, Ophelia’s Last Dance
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A generous 60th birthday present for one Britain’s leading composersMusicians: Leila Josefowicz*, Alexandra Wood† ‡ (violin) Huw Watkins† , Ryan Wigglesworth (piano) Claire Booth (soprano) BCMG, BBC Symphony Orchestra/Oliver KnussenComposer: Knussen This second all-Knussen release on the enterprising ...
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ReviewKurtág: Signs, Games and Messages. Ligeti: Viola Sonata
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Challenging but rewarding solo viola repertoire from a master playerMusicians: Kim Kashkashian (viola)Composer: Kurtág, Ligeti I don’t know whether the term ‘easy listening’ is still fashionable, but the music on this CD could fairly be described as its complete opposite. ...
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ReviewLiszt: La lugubre gondola, Six Consolations (arr. de Swert), Elégies nos.1 & 2, Romance oubliée, Valse oubliée no.1 (arr. Busoni), Die Zelle in Nonnenwerth, Angelus ! Prière aux anges gardiens (arr. W
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: An enterprising cello recital exploring the more mystical side of Liszt’s outputMusicians: Christophe Pantillon (cello) Marc Pantillon (piano)Composer: LisztThere are few works in the cello repertoire that plumb the depths of profound despair as far as Liszt’s La lugubre gondola. This work ...
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ReviewBeethoven: Piano Trio in E flat major op.1 no.1. Armstrong: Stop laughing: we’re rehearsing! Haydn: Piano Trio in D major HobXV:24. Liszt: Tristia (Vallée d’Obermann)
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A novel setting for two elegantly played Classical piano triosMusicians: Andrej Bielow (violin) Adrian Brendel (cello) Kit Armstrong (piano)Composer: Beethoven, Armstrong, Haydn, Liszt An unusual mix of works characterises this release from Ukrainian violinist Andrej Bielow, British cellist Adrian ...
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ReviewBach: Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin vol.2: Sonata in G minor BWV1001, Partita in B minor BWV1002 & Sonata in A minor BWV1003
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Unbeatable playing in the conclusion to a benchmark Bach projectMusicians: Isabelle Faust (violin)Composer: Bach Anyone who owns the first volume of Isabelle Faust’s unaccompanied Bach (reviewed in June 2010) has probably ordered this CD already. Faust herself, ...
