Reviews – Page 181
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ArticlePaganini: La Campanella from Violin Concerto no.2 in B minor op. 7, Introduction and Variations on ‘Non più mesta’ from Rossini’s La cenerentola op.12 etc
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Philippe Quint (violin) Dmitriy Cogan (piano)Composer: PaganiniThis disc brings together two of the most famous violinists of all time. Kreisler’s arrangements of Paganini are mainly confined to providing piano accompaniments and they cohesively complement the original works.Philippe Quint, ex-Juilliard School and nominated ...
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ArticleThe Mosaic Nomad. Works by Gurdjeff & de Hartmann (arr. Solaris Quartet)
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Solaris QuartetComposer: Gurdjeff & de Hartmann (arr. Solaris Quartet)Greek–Armenian mystic George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff travelled extensively through Central Asia, Russia and Egypt, collecting sacred, monastic and tribal music and then transcribing and arranging it with the help of Russian composer Thomas de Hartmann ...
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ArticleThe Music of Eddie South
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Violinjazz, Harold Jones (percussion), Andrea Liguori (piano)Composer: Eddie South This tribute to American jazz violinist Eddie South (1904–62), by West Coast musician Jeremy Cohen, is no cloning job but a successful disc in its own right. From the opening fanfare to Black ...
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ArticleTristan und Isolde. Wagner: Transcriptions and paraphrases
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Hisaya Sato (violin) Toshiyuki Takeuchi (piano)Composer: Wagner Thirty-eight-year-old Japanese violinist Hisaya Sato is to be commended on his ambition to revive long-forgotten repertoire and the launch of his own record label to promote it – all but three of ...
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ArticleViolin Faces. Zimmermann: Sonata. Hartmann: Second Sonata. Berio: Sequenza VIII. Kee-Yong Chong: For Another Better World
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Wibert Aerts (violin)Composer: Zimmermann, Hartmann, Berio, Kee-Yong ChongThere’s often a danger of discs of contemporary solo violin music being a bit indigestible for one sitting, particularly if the music is relentlessly percussive, but Belgian player Wibert Aerts has crafted this disc to ...
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ArticleViolin with the Polish Soul. Works by Wieniawski, Chopin, Lipinski, Paderewski, Kreisler, Zar?bski, Zarzicki, Szymanowski, Rimsky-Korsakov & Rachmaninoff
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Krzysztof Jakowicz (violin) Robert Morawski (piano)Composer: Wieniawski, Chopin, Lipinski, Paderewski, Kreisler, Zar?bski, Zarzicki, Szymanowski, Rimsky-Korsakov & Rachmaninoff This CD enshrines an hour of deliciously old-fashioned violin playing by the Nestor of Polish violinists, Krzysztof Jakowicz (b.1939). In a recording that closely and ...
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ArticleScott: Violin Sonatas nos.1 & 3, Sonata melodica
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Clare Howick (violin) Sophia Rahman (piano)Composer: ScottOften referred to as the ‘English Debussy’, Cyril Scott was (unusually for a British composer) a master of liquid piano sonorities. His music’s chromatically-intensified exoticism is reminiscent at times of Scriabin, but without the attendant hysteria, ...
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ArticleSenza continuo. Sainte-Colombe: Trois Préludes in D minor. Le Sieur de Machy: Suite in G major. Virgiliano: Ricercate for viola bastardo. Bassano: Ricertata quarta. Hume: The First Booke of Ayres (exc
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Margaret Little (viola da gamba)Composer: Sainte-Colombe, Le Sieur de Machy, Virgiliano, Bassano, Hume, MaraisMargaret Little showcases the bass viol’s rich sound world in a solo programme of French, Italian and English music from the Renaissance and early Baroque. She demonstrates total command ...
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ArticleSibelius: Piano Quintet in G minor, String Quartet in D minor ‘Voces intimae’ op.56
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Coull Quartet, MartinuRoscoe (piano)Composer: Sibelius The Coull Quartet, now in its fourth decade, turns to Sibelius for the first time in its extensive discography. A burgeoning symphonist can already be sensed in the epic opening of the early Piano Quintet (1890). In ...
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ArticleFrench Sonatas for Violin and Piano. Debussy: Violin Sonata, The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (arr. Hartmann). Lili Boulanger: Nocturne. Ravel: Violin Sonata. Poulenc: Violin Sonata
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Lin He (violin) Gregory Sioles (piano) Composer: Debussy, Lili Boulanger, Ravel, PoulencThis is an attractive programme, with Lili Boulanger’s Nocturne an extra miniature treat. Lin He brings many fine touches to the Debussy Sonata, showing a nice line in whispered intimacy and ...
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ArticleKorngold: String Quartets nos.1–3, Piano Quintet op.15
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Aron Quartet, Henri Sigfridsson (piano) Composer: Korngold The Vienna-based Aron Quartet has put the musical legacy of its home city at the heart of its work, extending beyond the obvious Classics and Second Viennese School to lesser-known areas of ...
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ArticleLachenmann: Gran torso, String Quartet no.2 ‘Reigen seliger Geister’, String Quartet no.3 ‘Grido’
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Stadler Quartet Composer: LachenmannThis highly impressive new disc from Salzburg-based contemporary music specialists the Stadler Quartet serves as an exemplary overview of senior German composer Helmut Lachenmann’s demanding works for string quartet, and also charts something of a relaxing of ...
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ArticleLazzari: Violin Sonata in E major op.24, Scherzo in G sharp minor. Andreae: Violin Sonata in D major op.4
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Ilona Then-Bergh (violin) Michael Schäfer (piano)Composer: Lazzari, AndreaeIt is always welcome to see artists, particularly of the quality of Ilona Then-Bergh and Michael Schäfer (both of whom are professors at the Munich Hochschule für Musik), championing works that have eluded the so-called ...
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ArticleMendelssohn: Piano Trio no.1 in D minor op.49. Schubert: Piano Trio no.2 in E flat major D929
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Smetana TrioComposer: Mendelssohn, Schubert After focusing largely on recording the Czech piano trio literature, the Smetana Trio celebrates the tenth anniversary of its new incarnation by turning to more staple Romantic fare. Its members perform the restless opening movement ...
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ArticleMiaskovsky: String Quartets no.1 in A minor op.33 & no.13 in A minor op.86
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Renoir QuartetComposer: Miaskovsky Now that the Taneyev Quartet’s trailblazing series of all 13 Miaskovsky string quartets is available on Northern Flowers, collectors can at last gain a sense of this remarkable composer’s achievement, second only to Shostakovich in Soviet Russia. ...
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ArticleTovey: Air and Variations in B flat op.11, String Quartet in G major op.23
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Tippett QuartetComposer: ToveyThe concerted effort by several labels to record Donald Francis Tovey’s oeuvre has at last turned up a masterpiece. The Air and Variations is a major work, lasting just over half an hour, which holds the attention with fertile invention ...
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ArticleBrahms: Cello Sonatas no.1 in E minor op.38 & no.2 in F major op.99, Violin Sonata no.1 in G major (arr. Klengel)
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Torleif Thedéen (cello) Roland Pöntinen (piano)Composer: Brahms Ten years on from recording their Schumann and Chopin disc, Swedish partnership Torleif Thedéen and Roland Pöntinen at last give us some Brahms. This is repertoire ideally suited to the pair. ...
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ArticleBrahms: Complete Violin Sonatas
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Jack Liebeck (violin) Katya Apekisheva (piano)Composer: BrahmsIn this fine set Jack Liebeck approaches Brahms with true Romantic fervour. His tone is sweet and effortlessly expressive, his lyrical spans marked by many a tastefully judged portamento. The G major Sonata no.1 ...
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ArticleBritten: Cello Symphony, Cello Suite no.1
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Pieter Wispelwey (cello) Flanders Symphony Orchestra/Seikyo KimComposer: BrittenBritten’s Cello Symphony makes a timely addition to the suites and Solo Sonata already committed to disc by Wispelwey. Although in the booklet he writes of it as a concerto, his interpretation suggests the subtle ...
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ArticleBull: Nocturne, The Herdgirl’s Sunday, A Mountain Vision, Adagio religioso, Polacca guerriera, Adagio sostenuto, Grand March from Agiaco cubano, Cantabile doloroso e Rondo giocoso, La mélancholie, And
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Arve Tellefsen (violin) HŠvard Gimse (piano) Trondheim Symphony Orchestra/Eivind AadlandComposer: BullThat violin giant Ole Bornemann Bull undertook some composition is not unexpected. His music is largely forgotten today and, without being unduly unkind, this is understandable. These compositions are perfectly pleasant (as ...
