All Review articles – Page 159
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Review135 Years of Czech Composers. Works by Smetana, Dvorák, Fibich, Nová?ek, Janácek, Schulhoff, Martinu & Suk
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A generally successful survey of Czech violin repertoireMusicians: Yvonne Smeulers (violin) Sander Sittig (piano)Composer: Smetana, Dvorák, Fibich, Nová?ek, Janácek, Schulhoff, Martinu & SukAs anyone who has seen her play will testify, Yvonne Smeulers is a born performer who immerses herself fully in ...
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ReviewElégie russe. Shostakovich: Viola Sonata in C major op.147. Glazunov: Elegy in G minor op.44. Tchaikovsky: Nocturne in C sharp minor, Mélodie from Souvenir d’un lieu cher, Valse sentimentale in F mino
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A viola disc exploring the more elegiac side of Russian musicMusicians: Gérard Caussé (viola) Brigitte Engerer (piano)Composer: Shostakovich, Glazunov, Tchaikovsky, RachmaninoffParaphrasing Stravinsky’s famous description of Rachmaninoff, this CD could be described as ‘60 minutes of Russian gloom’. Gérard Caussé’s selection of predominantly ...
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ReviewInner Voice. Britten: Lachrymae op.48. Rochberg: Viola Sonata. Pärt: spiegel im spiegel. Shostakovich: Viola Sonata in C major op.147
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A rewarding exploration of 20th-century music for viola and pianoMusicians: Peter Minkler (viola) Lura Johnson (piano)Composer: Britten, Rochberg, Pärt, ShostakovichThis lovingly recorded CD presents a well-planned recital of central viola repertoire from the mid- to late 20th century. Britten’s Lachrymae, the oldest ...
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ReviewA Tribute to Erling Blöndal Bengtsson. The Live Icelandic Recordings 1973–9: works by Elgar*, Schubert, Corelli, Weber, Chopin, Prokofiev (arr. Piatigorsky), Saint-Saëns & Rimsky-Korsakov
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A birthday tribute to a great Scandinavian cellistMusicians: Erling Blöndal Bengtsson (cello) Árni Kristjánsson (piano) Iceland Symphony Orchestra/Jean-Pierre Jacquillat*Composer: Elgar, Schubert, Corelli, Weber, Chopin, Prokofiev (arr. Piatigorsky), Saint-Saëns & Rimsky-Korsakov This CD offers a welcome opportunity to savour the skills ...
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ReviewFinnissy: String Quartets nos.2 & 3
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Glowing accounts of two modern British quartets with Austrian modelsMusicians: Kreutzer QuartetComposer: FinnissyFollowing its first disc of music by the contemporary British composer Michael Finnissy back in 1998 (Métier), the Kreutzer Quartet’s second traversal of the composer’s oeuvre is a quiet triumph. ...
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ReviewBliss: String Quartet no.2. Delius: Slow movement from String Quartet ‘Late Swallows’. Purcell: Chacony (arr. Britten). Britten: String Quartet no.2 in C major op.36
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A welcome airing for a Bliss quartet, though couplings are less convincingMusicians: Barbirolli QuartetComposer: Bliss, Delius, Purcell, Britten It is strange that Arthur Bliss’s two string quartets are so seldom performed, since the Second in particular is a highly ...
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ReviewSchumann: Piano Quartet in E flat major op.47, Piano Quintet in E flat major op.44
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Two of Schumann’s great chamber works in performances of that favour light over darkMusicians: Jerusalem Quartet, Alexander Melnikov (piano)Composer: Schumann It is pleasing to hear the pairing of Schumann’s piano quartet and quintet on this disc by Moscow-trained pianist ...
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ReviewArcangelo Corelli: Violin Sonatas op.5
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Rewarding performances of Corelli’s great set of violin sonatasMusicians: Trio CorelliComposer: CorelliThe often lavish and warm-hearted character of Corelli’s oeuvre is well displayed by these performances of the twelve op.5 sonatas, featuring violinist Elisabeth Zeuthen Schneider, a professor at the Royal Danish ...
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ReviewHaydn: Musica instrumentale sopra le 7 ultime parole del nostro Redentore in croce … ridotte in quartetti, op.51
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A bold account of Haydn’s Passiontide meditationMusicians: Pražák QuartetComposer: HaydnIn the dignified introductory Adagio the members of the Pražák Quartet establish with due gravitas the devotional context of Haydn’s unique musical commentary on the spoken drama of Christ’s last hours. They respond ...
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ReviewAlkan: Sonate de concert. Chopin: Cello Sonata op.65
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: An interesting coupling that lacks musical rewardsMusicians: Job ter Haar (cello) Vaughan Schlepp (piano)Composer: Alkan, Chopin The unattributed booklet notes for this recording state that Job ter Haar uses vibrato sparingly. In fact vibrato is so rare that ...
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ReviewThelin: Light*, Amarcord, oibbinadocS, Shared Moments, Glasperlenspiel†
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Resourceful new repertoire for double bass, played by its creatorMusicians: HŠkon Thelin (double bass) Marco Rogliano (violin)* Frank Havrøy (voice)† Composer: ThelinYoung Norwegian bassist and composer Håkon Thelin’s professed aim with his pieces on this disc is to explore what he calls ...
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ReviewKhachaturian: Concerto–Rhapsody*. Zakarian: Monograph*. Sharafyan: Suite*. Komitas Crane (arr. Sharafyan)†
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: An Armenian cellist explores his musical heritageMusicians: Alexander Chaushian (cello)*† Emmanuel Hovhannisyan (duduk)† Vache Sharafyan (piano)† Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra/Eduard Topchjan*Composer: Khachaturian, Zakarian, Sharafyan, Komitas (arr. Sharafyan)Alexander Chaushian is on sparkling form in this highly enterprising and beautifully ...
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ReviewBeethoven: Complete Piano Trios
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A benchmark set that makes a virtue of being more complete than mostMusicians: Wanderer TrioComposer: Beethoven The descriptor ‘complete’ for these four discs of Beethoven’s piano trios refers to the inclusion not only of the composer’s six ...
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ReviewCastello/Fontana: Sonate concertate in stil moderno
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Colourful accounts of 17th-century Venetian sonatasMusicians: John Holloway (violin) Lars Ulrik Mortensen (harpsichord) Jane Gower (dulcian)Composer: Castello/FontanaOn this exemplary recording, period violinist John Holloway and his colleagues perform seven of Fontana’s 18 Sonate à 1. 2. 3. (1641), framed by six works ...
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ReviewIt Don’t Mean a Thing
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Mixed results in an attempt to bring the big-band sound to stringsMusicians: String Fever/Marin Alsop (violin)Composer: VariousSeveral years before her conducting career took off, Marin Alsop formed, as a violinist, the String Fever ensemble, and this album comprises two recording sessions of ...
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ReviewBrahms: Cello Sonatas no.1 in E minor op.38 & no.2 in F major op.99, Violin Sonata op.78 (transc. Klengel)
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A Brahms recital where only a transcription comes off wellMusicians: Antony Cooke (cello) Armin Watkins (piano)Composer: Brahms (transc. Klengel)Veteran California-based duo Antony Cooke and Armin Watkins add some rugged but uneven Brahms to the recorded canon as they celebrate more than 40 ...
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ReviewRota: Cello Concertos nos.1 & 2, Il gattopardo
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Stylish accounts of two concertos by a master of film musicMusicians: Friedrich Kleinhapl (cello) Augsburg Philharmonic Orchestra/Dirk KaftanComposer: Rota As with Korngold, Nino Rota’s reputation has suffered as a result of his considerable success as a composer for films, ...
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ReviewShostakovich: Cello Concerto no.1 in E flat major op.107. Britten: Cello Symphony op.68
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: An apt and successful coupling of two 20th-century cello masterpiecesMusicians: Johannes Moser (cello) WDR Symphony Orchestra Köln/Pietari InkinenComposer: Shostakovich & BrittenShostakovich and Britten, friends and mutual admirers, always make a good pairing, with Rostropovich, the dedicatee of both works on this disc, ...
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ReviewShostakovich: String Quartets nos.7 & 8. Beethoven: String Quartet in F major op.59 no.1 ‘Rasumovsky’
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Probing performances from a young Swiss quartetMusicians: Valentin Berlinsky QuartetComposer: Shostakovich, BeethovenNamed in honour of the Borodin Quartet’s long-serving cellist, the Valentin Berlinsky Quartet was formed in 2010 by four outstanding young Swiss musicians, all principal players in the Zurich Opera and ...
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ReviewDohnányi: String Quartets no.1 in A major op.7 & no.3 in A minor op.33
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Vivid performances of a pair of Hungarian quartetsMusicians: Aviv QuartetComposer: Dohnányi Far too little of Ern? Dohnányi’s music makes it into concert programmes, and as so often it has been left to the record industry to fill the gaps ...
