All Reviews articles – Page 157
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ReviewSchubert: String Quartets in A minor D804 ‘Rosamunde’, D minor D810 ‘Death and the Maiden’ & G major D887
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Benchmark recordings of Schubert masterpiecesMusicians: Artemis QuartetComposer: SchubertThese are remarkable performances, constantly gripping, seductive, strong and satisfying. The Artemis palette is vast, and the players can turn from raw power to silky tenderness in an instant. Melodic lines are vividly ...
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ReviewKlengel: Capriccio for solo cello*, Three Pieces for two cellos & organ, Little Suite for three cellos, Impromptu for four cellos, Hymnus for twelve cellos. Bach: Sarabande from Suite no.5† . Tartini:
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A worthy tribute to a great cellist–composer and teacherMusicians: Raphael Wallfisch*, Julius Klengel† (cello) Cello Classics EnsembleComposer: Klengel, Bach, Tartini, Cossmann, PopperThis disc pays tribute to Julius Klengel (1859–1933). Born in Leipzig, he played in the city’s famous Gewandhaus Orchestra for ...
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ReviewMozart: Duos for violin & viola in G major K423 & B flat major K424. Halvorsen: Passacaglia after Handel. Brustad: Capricci for violin & viola
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A rewarding disc of duos for violin and violaMusicians: Elise Bätnes (violin) Henninge Bätnes Landaas (viola)Composer: Mozart, Halvorsen, Brustad In many ways, this is a conventional disc: the Mozart duos are of course much recorded, and Halvorsen’s virtuosic Passacaglia ...
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ReviewHaydn: String Quartets op.64 nos.3, 4 & 5
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A disc for those who prefer a light touch in HaydnMusicians: Leipzig QuartetComposer: Haydn The Leipzig Quartet is working its way through Haydn’s quartets in idiosyncratic fashion. It started in 2009 with the Seven Last Words and has since ...
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ReviewChausson: Concert in D major op.21, Poème op.25
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A highlight of French Romanticism that could benefit from deeper insightMusicians: Bruno Monteiro (violin) Jõao Paulo Santos (piano) Lopes-Graça QuartetComposer: ChaussonCompleted in 1892, Chausson’s Concert is a unique attempt at creating a score of symphonic proportions for just six musicians, with its ...
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ReviewVoyage musical. Stravinsky: Suite italienne (arr. Dushkin). Bloch: Nigun. Hindemith: Solo Violin Sonata op.31 no.2. Schoenberg: Phantasy. Prokofiev: Cinq mélodies op.35b. Ravel: Tzigane
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: An enjoyable collection of short 20th-century piecesMusicians: Noah Bendix-Balgley (violin) Reiko Hozu (piano)Composer: Stravinsky (arr. Dushkin), Bloch, Hindemith, Schoenberg, Prokofiev, Ravel Concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, 28-year-old US violinist Noah Bendix-Balgley here offers a thoughtfully chosen selection of ...
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ReviewThe French Album. Franck: Violin Sonata in A major op.14. Debussy: Cello Sonata in D minor. Fauré: Élégie op.24, Sicilienne op.78, Après un rêve. Offenbach: Les larmes de Jacqueline op.76 no.2
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A promising debut from a young Dutch cellistMusicians: Harriet Krijgh (cello) Kamilla Isanbaeva (piano)Composer: Franck, Debussy, Fauré, OffenbachIn this tried and tested repertoire, Harriet Krijgh gives a fervent account of the Franck Violin Sonata in its cello guise, entirely appropriate to the ...
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ReviewTelemann: 12 Fantasies for solo viola TWV40:14—25 (transcr. Kam)
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Historically aware account of a collection for solo violaMusicians: Ori Kam (viola)Composer: Telemann (transcr. Kam) Telemann’s Fantasies, published in 1735, are sometimes thought of as poor cousins to Bach’s slightly earlier unaccompanied violin and cello works, but – although admittedly less ambitious ...
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ReviewMendelssohn: String Quartets in E flat major op.12, A minor op.13 & E flat major (1823)
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: An ebullient recording of Mendelssohn’s early music for quartetMusicians: Mandelring QuartetComposer: Mendelssohn The Mandelring Quartet, in concert or on disc, always achieves an instinctive internal balance, and here the players bring their distinctive blend and contrast of ...
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ReviewBy Footpath and Stile. Finzi: By Footpath and Stile op.2, Romance op.11, Prelude, Interlude op.21, Elegy op.22, Five Bagatelles op.23
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A notable recording debut for a young British string quartetMusicians: Finzi Quartet, Marcus Farnsworth (baritone) Robert Plane (clarinet) Ruth Bolister (oboe)Composer: Finzi Prizewinner at the 2010 Royal Over-Seas League Competition, the Finzi Quartet has turned to its namesake for ...
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ReviewBrahms By Arrangement Vol.1. Brahms: String Quintet in F minor op.34, String Quintet in B minor op.115
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Mixed results on a disc of familiar Brahms in rarer guisesMusicians: Zebra Trio, Krysia Osostowicz (violin) James Boyd (viola) Richard Lester (cello)Composer: Brahms For Brahms enthusiasts, the major draw of this release will be Finnish cellist Anssi Karttunen’s ...
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ReviewBrahms: Violin Sonatas nos.1–3
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Refreshingly intimate Brahms from a refined playerMusicians: Anthony Marwood (violin) Aleksandar Madžar (piano)Composer: BrahmsAnthony Marwood’s Brahms is like no other. The centralist viewpoint, familiar from countless recordings, is that these sonatas are chamber music writ large, requiring generous quantities of ...
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ReviewBruch: Violin Concerto no.1 in G minor op.26. Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor op.64. Beethoven: Romances nos.1 & 2
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A revitalising take on a classic concerto couplingMusicians: Philippe Quint (violin) Orquesta Sinfónica de Mineria/Carlos Miguel PrietoComposer: Bruch, Mendelssohn, Beethoven Bruch’s G minor Concerto cries out for espressivo intensity and Philippe Quint delivers it in spades. Like Isaac Stern ...
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ReviewPfitzner: Cello Concerto in G major. Mayer: Probhanda, Ragamalas
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: An unusual coupling of late Romanticism and Indian ragas has mixed resultsMusicians: Rohan de Saram (cello) Druvi de Saram (piano) John Mayer (tanpura) Netherlands Radio Orchestra/Bohumil GregorComposer: Pfitzner, Mayer If there’s a link between the diverse works on this ...
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ReviewWarning: May Cause Mood Swings
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A rather too uptight collection of string arrangementsMusicians: Saint Michael TrioComposer: Various Covers of everything from Ennio Morricone and Led Zeppelin to Gershwin via Stevie Wonder explain the album title here. But despite the variety of repertoire, the mood doesn’t ...
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ReviewReverie. Bottesini: Tarantella, Melodia, Allegretto capriccio, Elegia in D major, Capriccio di bravura, Introduzione e Gavotta, Grande allegro di concerto alla Mendelssohn, Reverie
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Subtlety and fireworks from a master bassistMusicians: Knut Erik Sundquist (double bass) Nils Anders Mortensen (piano)Composer: Bottesini This disc’s booklet relates how in 1978 the 16-year-old Norwegian Knut Erik Sundquist bought a Bottesini LP featuring Ludwig Streicher ...
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ReviewFratres. Stravinsky: Suite d’après des thèmes, fragments et morecaux de Giambattista Pergolesi. Dallapiccola: Tartiniana seconda. Reger: Suite in the Old Style op.93. Pärt: Fratres. Schnittke: Suite i
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A recital of new-meets-old music that needs more gutsinessMusicians: Szymon Krzeszowiec (violin) Niklas Sivelöv (piano)Composer: Stravinsky, Dallapiccola, Reger, Pärt, SchnittkeIt might have been a mistake for Polish violinist Szymon Krzeszowiec, leader of the Silesian Quartet and professor at Katowice’s Szymanowski Academy, to ...
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ReviewSchubert: String Quartets in A minor D804 ‘Rosamunde’ and D minor D810 ‘Death and the Maiden’
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Compelling coupling of two of Schubert’s best-known quartetsMusicians: Wihan QuartetComposer: Schubert Schubert remains one of the most elusive of pre-Romantic composers, not least in his mature string quartets. Emphasise the Classicist side of his nature and you ...
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ReviewWright: Violin Concerto (‘And then there was silence…’)*, Momentum*. Vaughan Williams: Symphony no.5 in D major†
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A sensitive account of a new, commemorative concertoMusicians: Fenella Humphreys* (violin) Christopher Wilson* (tenor) Royal Scottish National Orchestra*, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra† /MartinuYatesComposer: Wright, Vaughan Williams Composed in memory of his violinist wife Ruth, who died of cancer in 2009, ...
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ReviewRococo Cello Variations. Beethoven: Variations on ‘Bei Männern’ WoO46, Variations on ‘Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen’ op.66. Gemrot: Ludwigsgruss, Variations on a Theme of Dvorák. Martinu: Variations on a
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A worthwhile exploration of cello variations let down by poor soundMusicians: Jeremy Findlay (cello) Per Rundberg (piano)Composer: Beethoven, Gemrot, MartinuThe concept of recording cello variations written across three centuries makes for interesting listening, and reveals the extent to which composers have progressively ...
