All Reviews articles – Page 220
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ArticleThe Romantic Cello. Chopin: Cello Sonata in G minor op.65, Polonaise brillante op.3. Rachmaninoff: Cello Sonata in G minor op.19, Vocalise
The Strad Issue: January 2006Musicians: Natalie Clein (cello) Charles Owen (piano)Composer: Chopin, Rachmaninoff Having made her debut recording two years ago, 1994 BBC Young Musician of the Year winner Natalie Clein is now launching the first of three discs for EMI with two sonatas by ...
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ArticleReich: Different Trains, Piano Phase. Mellits: String Quartet no.2
The Strad Issue: January 2006Musicians: Duke Quartet, Andrew Russo (piano) Marc Mellits (piano)Composer: Reich, MellitsThe complexity of bringing together a live quartet with a pre-recorded tape containing voice, three string quartets and train sounds is hidden away in a lucid, wonderfully detailed and transparent performance of Steve ...
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ArticleBeethoven: Violin Concerto in D major op.61, Leonore Overture no.3. Wagner: Siegfried Idyll*
The Strad Issue: January 2006Musicians: Leonid Kogan (violin) RAI Symphony Orchestras, Turin & Rome*, Rudolf Kempe (conductor)Composer: Beethoven, WagnerWhereas Heifetz never plumbed the depths of the Beethoven Concerto and Oistrakh rarely did so, Leonid Kogan seemed to have the measure of it from the outset. This 1956 ...
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ArticleDances for 6. Works by A. Stephenson, R. Petersen, Hofmeyr, Ha!Man, Solomon, Trad. (arr Petersen) & Trad. (arr. Martens)
The Strad Issue: January 2006Musicians: I Grandi VioloncellistiComposer: A. Stephenson, R. Petersen, Hofmeyr, Ha!Man, Solomon, Trad. (arr Petersen) & Trad. (arr. Martens) On paper a disc of works by totally unfamiliar South African composers for cello ensemble might not seem an enticing prospect. Yet by utilising imaginative ...
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ArticleSchubert: String Quartets in D minor D810 (Death and the Maiden) & in A minor D804 (Rosamunde)
The Strad Issue: January 2006Musicians: Takács QuartetComposer: Schubert A strong whiff of mediocrity hangs over this disc, making it uncompetitive in a cruelly crowded market. Nothing is actually bad, but anyone lucky enough to own, say, the Endellion Quartet’s 1997 BBC disc of ...
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ArticleTiempo de angel. Piazzolla: Verano porteño, Milonga del angel, Fuga y misterio, Oblivion, Contrabajisimo, Melody in A minor, Muerte del angel, Chiquilin da Bachin, Invierno porteño (arr. Christopher D
The Strad Issue: January 2006Musicians: AstoriaComposer: PiazzollaThe tangos of Astor Piazzolla appear in many guises, and the recent moves to establish him within the realms of classical composition have involved many high-profile musicians. Here the Belgian-based group Astoria takes the music back to its birthplace in the ...
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ArticleMarx: Quartetto in modo antico, Quartetto in modo classico, Quartetto chromatico
The Strad Issue: January 2006Musicians: Thomas Christian Ensemble Composer: MarxJoseph Marx’s delightfully lyrical Quartetto in modo antico dates from the late 1930s, the time when Germany annexed the composer’s native Austria. It feels almost as if Marx (1882–1964), though a contemporary of Webern and Bartók, were ...
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ArticleLátigo. Tango arrangements
The Strad Issue: January 2006Musicians: Quartet San Francisco, John Santos (percussion)Composer: VariousWhen it comes to tango, Quartet San Francisco has an international, prize-winning reputation to uphold. Látigo comprises a selection of the established canon (arranged largely by violinist Cohen and including a percussion cameo), with a couple ...
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ArticleInventions. Duos for violin and cello by Bach (transcr. Frederick Neumann), Eisler, Beffa, Bartók (transcr. Karl Kraemer), Klein, Martinu & Kreisler*
The Strad Issue: January 2006Musicians: Renaud Capuçon (violin) Gautier Capuçon (cello) Aude Capuçon (piano)*Composer: Bach (transcr. Frederick Neumann), Eisler, Beffa, Bartók (transcr. Karl Kraemer), Klein, Martinu & Kreisler*Clearly sibling ensembles can reap wonderful musical rewards when the added ingredient is a magically intuitive sense of communication. Renaud ...
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Article
Bliss: Violin Concerto, A Colour Symphony
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2006Musicians: Lydia Mordkovitch (violin), BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Richard Hickox (conductor)Composer: BlissArthur Bliss’s Violin Concerto, written for Alfredo Campoli, is conceived in the Romantic and heroic vein typical of Bliss’s music. Lydia Mordkovitch proves an ideal, passionate advocate, stamping her personality and ...
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ArticleDebussy: String Quartet in G minor. Stravinsky: Concertino, Three Pieces for String Quartet, Double Canon. Fauré: String Quartet in E minor
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2006Musicians: Ysaÿe QuartetComposer: Debussy, Stravinsky, Fauré The last quarter of a century has witnessed a revolution in the technical proficiency of the professional string quartet. While there have always been ensembles of exemplary finesse and taste, the ...
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ArticleBruch: Violin Concerto no.1 in G minor op.26. Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto no.2 in E minor op.64. Ravel: Tzigane
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2006Musicians: Niki Vasilakis (violin) Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Sebastian Lang-Lessing (conductor)Composer: Bruch, Mendelssohn, RavelThe rhythmically free and spacious initial statement of Bruch’s First Violin Concerto is a foretaste of the personal and unhurried view of the score from the 22-year-old Australian Niki ...
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ArticleRoslavets: Violin Sonatas nos.1, 4 & 6, Three Dances
The Strad Issue: January 2006Musicians: Solomia Soroka (violin) Arthur Greene (piano)Composer: RoslavetsNikolai Roslavets (1880–1944) was a key figure in early 20th-century experimental Russian music. He flourished during the immediate post-Revolution years, but fell from grace when Soviet cultural policy shifted dramatically under Stalin.The Three Dances, published in ...
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ArticleShostakovich: Violin Concerto no.1 in A minor op.99, Violin Sonata op.134, plus DVD documentary A People’s Music
The Strad Issue: January 2006Musicians: Ruth Palmer (violin) Alexei Grynyuk (piano) Philharmonia Orchestra, Benjamin Wallfisch (conductor)Composer: ShostakovichThe Shostakovich centenary has inspired a flood of new recordings of the A minor Concerto, although none quite compares with the truly astonishing account by the young Latvian violinist Baiba Skride, ...
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ArticleTchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme op.33, Andante cantabile, Pezzo capriccioso op.62, Nocturne. Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto no.1 in A minor op.33. Ginastera: Pampeana no.2
The Strad Issue: January 2006Musicians: Sol Gabetta (cello) Munich Radio Orchestra, Ari Rasilainen (conductor)Composer: Tchaikovsky, Saint-Saëns, GinasteraSol Gabetta and her gorgeous Giovanni Battista Guadagnini cello of 1759 combine in a recording of outstanding quality to produce the most beautiful cello sound I have ever heard on disc. ...
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ArticleHonegger: Sonatine no.6 in E minor. Martinu: Duo no.1 H157. Bach: Canon alla duodecima & Canon in hypodiapason from Die Kunst der Fuge. Pintscher: Study I for Treatise on the Veil. Ravel: Sonata for v
The Strad Issue: January 2006Musicians: Frank Peter Zimmermann (violin) Heinrich Schiff (cello)Composer: Honegger, Martinu, Bach, Pintscher, RavelWho better to explore this forgotten corner of the string repertory than Frank Peter Zimmermann and Heinrich Schiff, two masters who have been musical partners on and off for more than ...
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ArticleRebel: Sonatas for two violins and continuo: no.3 in B flat major ‘L’Apollon’, no.5 in D major ‘La Pallas’, no.7 in C minor ‘Le tombeau de Monsieur de Lully’, no.11 in B flat major (1712), Violin Sona
The Strad Issue: January 2006Musicians: Amandine Beyer (violin) Assemblée des Honnestes CurieuxComposer: RebelWritten around 1695, these sonatas emanate from two collections published in 1712 and 1713. They demonstrate Rebel’s absorption of the Italian style and highlight his experimental, often chromatically bold, musical language.These players offer intelligent, idiomatic ...
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ArticleConus: Violin Concerto in E minor. Markov: Taiwanese Improvisation and Formosa Capriccio from Formosa Suite. Grieg: Piano Concerto in A minor op16
The Strad Issue: January 2006Musicians: Anita Chen (violin/piano) Russian Philharmonic Orchestra, Dmitry Yablonsky (conductor)Composer: Conus, Markov, GriegJules Conus’s E minor Concerto is rarely performed despite its easy flow of memorable ideas, brilliant solo writing and Tchaikovskian orchestration. Like Glazunov in his delectable A minor Concerto, Conus takes ...
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ArticleBoccherini: String Quintets in D minor op.18 no.5 (G287), in G minor op.29 (G318) and in F major op.41 no.2 (G347)
The Strad Issue: January 2006Musicians: Ensemble ExplorationsComposer: Boccherini The members of Ensemble Explorations are persuasive advocates of these two-cello quintets. Their sensitive and engaging accounts combine energy, clarity and insight with warmth and affection; furthermore, they sound like real performances, not studio patchwork.Tonally sweet, ...
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ArticleOnslow: Nonet in A minor op.77, String Quintet no.19 in C minor op.44
The Strad Issue: January 2006Musicians: Mandelring-Quartet, Ma’alot-Wind Quintet, Wolfgang-GüttlerComposer: OnslowFrench composer George Onslow’s chamber works were popular in Germany and Austria in the early 19th century but were considered too erudite and serious for general public consumption in France. His String Quintet in C minor immediately demonstrates ...
