All Reviews articles – Page 168
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ArticleBach and Blues. Poulenc: Violin Sonata. Ravel: Violin Sonata Biber: Passacaglia for solo violin. Bach: Chaconne from Partita no.2 in D minor BWV1004
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Beguiling coupling of classical-meets-jazz and Baroque from a young violinist Musicians: Iskandar Widjaja (violin) Anastassiya Dranchuk (piano)Composer: Poulenc, Ravel, Biber, Bach Berlin-born and -trained, and gold medal- winner at the first International Hindemith Competition, Iskandar Widjaja was taught by Susan Mann ...
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ArticleMendelssohn: Cello Sonata no.2 in D major op.58, Lied ohne Worte in D major op.109. Chopin: Cello Sonata in G minor, Waltzes op.64 (arr. Davydov)
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Cellist and pianist uncover the Beethovenian influence behind two Romantic sonatasMusicians: Pieter Wispelwey (cello) Paolo Giacometti (piano)Composer: Mendelssohn, Chopin Pieter Wispelwey strips away the sweet veneer of Mendelssohn’s music to uncover a strong connection with a Beethovenian impulse in the Second ...
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ArticleZemlinsky: String Quartets no.2 op.15 & no.4 op.25, Two Movements for string quartet
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Benchmark accounts of the music of a key Viennese figureMusicians: Zemlinsky QuartetComposer: Zemlinsky The Zemlinsky Quartet here uses its prize recording as winner of last year’s Bordeaux competition to complete the survey of its namesake’s quartets inaugurated for the same label in ...
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ArticleFrench Impressions. Saint-Saëns: Violin Concerto no.3 in B minor op.61. Ysaÿe: Berceuse de l’enfant pauvre op.20, Rêve d’enfant op.16 (orch. d’Alba). Chausson: Poème op.25. Ravel: Tzigane
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Electrifying accounts of Gallic classics for violinMusicians: Rachel Kolly d’Alba (violin) Bienne Symphony Orchestra/Jean-Jacques Kantorow, Pays de la Loire National Orchestra/John AxelrodComposer: Saint-Saëns, Ysaÿe, Chausson, Ravel As a follow up to her fine recording of Ysaÿe sonatas last year, ...
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ArticleBerlioz: Harold en Italie op.16, Overture to ‘Béatrice et Bénédict’ op.27. Paganini: Sonata per la gran viola op.35
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A celebration of Paganini in his guise as a violistMusicians: David Aaron Carpenter (viola) Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra/Vladimir AshkenazyComposer: Berlioz, PaganiniPaganini wrote his Sonata per la gran viola after finding Berlioz’s Harold in Italy inadequate for his needs. ‘There are too many rests ...
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ArticleBarbaric Beauty. Works by Telemann & arrangements of 18th-century dance manuscripts
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A Baroque master is heard in the context of dance music from his timeMusicians: Miloš Valent (violin) Jan Rokyta (cimbalom, recorders, Armenian duduk and clarinet) Holland Baroque SocietyComposer: TelemannThe title of this predominantly lively album reflects Telemann’s comment in his autobiography about ...
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ArticleTakemitsu: Distance de fée. Hindemith: Violin Sonata in E (1935). Janácek: Violin Sonata. Silvestrov: Five Pieces
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A mismatched duo makes for disappointing performances of 20th-century repertoireMusicians: Natascia Gazzana (violin) Raffaella Gazzana (piano)Composer: Takemitsu, Hindemith, Janácek, SilvestrovIf this disc is anything to go by, the two-sister duo of Natascia and Raffaella Gazzana make quite a strange pairing. Natascia’s violin ...
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ArticleTchaikovsky: String Quartet no.3 in E flat minor op.30*. Shostakovich: Piano Trio no.2 in E minor op.67†
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Expressiveness and clarity come together in some impressive chamber-music playingMusicians: Christian Tetzlaff*† , Antje Weithaas* (violin) Tatjana Masurenko* (viola) Gustav Rivinius*, Tanja Tetzlaff† (cello) Lars Vogt† (piano)Composer: Tchaikovsky, ShostakovichCatalogue Number: AVI-Music 8553224Christian Tetzlaff, alongside Thomas Zehetmair, stands at the vanguard ...
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ArticleTchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D major op.35. Bartók: Violin Concerto no.2
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Chalk-and-cheese concertos that receive equally winning performancesMusicians: Valeriy Sokolov (violin) Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich/David ZinmanComposer: Tchaikovsky, BartókThis is an unusual pairing. The 25-year-old Ukrainian’s approach to Tchaikovsky is refreshingly straightforward, with none of the over-egging that it too often receives. What is immediately ...
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ArticleRussian Violin Concertos. Conus: Violin Concerto in E minor. Weinberg: Violin Concertino op.42. Arensky: Violin Concerto in A minor op.54
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Three rarities of the Russian concerto repertoire given lyrical readingsMusicians: Sergey Ostrovsky (violin) Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra/Thomas SanderlingComposer: Conus, Weinberg, ArenskySuch are the vagaries of taste and fashion that the glorious Conus Concerto is only now beginning to establish a foothold in the ...
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ArticleFrom the Old World to the New. Loeffler: Quatre poèmes op.5. Brahms: Zwei Gesänge op.91. Bridge: Three Songs for voice, viola and piano, Two Pieces for viola and piano. Copland: Twelve Poems of Emily
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A welcome recital that puts the viola in a vocal contextMusicians: Rebecca Jones (viola) Karina Lucas (mezzo-soprano) Simon Lane (piano)Composer: Loeffler, Brahms, Bridge, CoplandGiven that the viola can be seen as the ‘mezzo-soprano’ of strings, pairing it with a real mezzo-soprano voice ...
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ArticleVivaldi: Cello Concertos in E minor, F major, A minor & B minor, Concerto in C major, Concertos for two violins and cello in G minor & D minor, Sinfonia in C major. Caldara: Sinfonias no.6 in G minor
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A well-planned Vivaldi concert with spectacular resultsMusicians: Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello) Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin/Georg KallweitComposer: Vivaldi, CaldaraThe remarkable cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras intends this disc to be savoured in its entirety like a concert. Accordingly he has planned a programme that takes ...
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ArticleVivaldi: Violin Concertos op.6
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Vibrant Vivaldi from period-performance mastersMusicians: Federico Guglielmo (violin/director) L’Arte dell’ArcoComposer: VivaldiThese recordings, the first fruits of these performers’ extensive project involving Vivaldi’s concertos, are based on Alessandro Borin’s critical edition of the Italian composer’s third published concerto set, the six violin concertos ...
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ArticleSchubert: String Quintet in C major D956, Quartettsatz D703
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Well-integrated playing of Schubert from a vintage ensembleMusicians: Tokyo Quartet, David Watkin (cello)Composer: SchubertThough there have been changes in the membership of the Tokyo Quartet since its formation back in 1969, the ensemble has retained its refined sound and impeccable performing standards. ...
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ArticleHaydn: String Quartets op.71, op.74
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Performances that bring out all the characteristics of Haydn’s artMusicians: Takács QuartetComposer: HaydnThe Takács Quartet seems to be working its way backwards through Haydn. The opp.76, 77 and 103 quartets are already in the Decca catalogue, and now here are ...
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ArticleCatch Light. Ness: Mad Cap Tootling. Hellstenius: By the voice a faint light is shed*. Kverndokk: Initiation† . Asheim: Catch Light‡
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Persuasive performances of a quartet of recent Norwegian violin concertosMusicians: Peter Herresthal (violin) Peter Kates (percussion)‡ Bit20 Ensemble/Pierre-André Valade*, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra/Rolf Gupta† , Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra/Peter Szilvay‡Composer: Ness, Hellstenius, Kverndokk, AsheimWith its four violin concertos by contemporary Norwegian composers, this disc ...
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ArticleConcertos for Small Violinists. Works by Huber, Küchler, Rieding, Seitz, Komarowski & Ortmans
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A showcase for the first steps available for the aspiring concerto soloistMusicians: Elizabeth Glass (violin) Sebastian Stoermer (piano) Composer: Huber, Küchler, Rieding, Seitz, Komarowski & OrtmansI remember at the age of nine asking, somewhat prematurely, to be taught Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto. ...
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ArticleHolbrooke: Violin Sonata no.1 op.6a, Violin Concerto op.59 ‘Grasshopper’, Horn Trio in D major op.28, L’extase from Mezzo-Tints op.55
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: First-rate performances do little to pin down a little-known composer’s styleMusicians: Kerenza Peacock (violin) Mark Smith (horn) Robert Stevenson (piano)Composer: HolbrookeJoseph Holbrooke (1878–1958) is best remembered, if at all, for his Wagner-aping cycle of Celtic music dramas, but he was prolific in ...
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ArticlePizzetti: String Quartets nos.1 & 2
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A generally enjoyable introduction to the music of a neglected Italian composerMusicians: Lajtha QuartetComposer: PizzettiOn this showing, the Respighi contemporary Ildebrando Pizzetti (1880–1968) has been unjustly ignored. The sunny String Quartet no.1 was written in 1906, when Pizzetti was in his mid-20s, ...
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ArticleBartók: Violin Concertos nos.1 & 2, Viola Concerto
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A rare collection of all three Bartók string concertos from a single soloistMusicians: James Ehnes (violin/viola) BBC Philharmonic/Gianandrea NosedaComposer: BartókJames Ehnes takes a Romantic view of Bartók’s First Violin Concerto, with sensual phrasing and a rich, glowing tone. The first ...
