Reviews – Page 188
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ArticleHofmann: Cello Concerto in D major HAYDN Cello Concerto in C major. Mozart: Flute Concerto in D major K314 (arr. Szell/Ciomei)
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Sol Gabetta (cello) Basel Chamber Orchestra/Sergio CiomeiComposer: Hofmann, MozartLeopold Hofmann can justly stand alongside his two illustrious contemporaries here. His interpreters are first-rate: the orchestra’s delicate ritornellos, Sol Gabetta’s pure tone and graceful good taste never straying outside the music’s expressive limits ...
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ArticleLeclair: Violin Sonatas Book 1 nos.9–12
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Adrian Butterfield (Baroque violin) Alison McGillivray (viola da gamba) Laurence Cummings (harpsichord) Composer: Leclair Adrian Butterfield, Alison McGillivray and Laurence Cummings bring sure technical command, sound stylistic sense and uncomplicated, utterly instinctive musicianship to these accounts, which conclude their project on Leclair’s ...
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ArticleMendelssohn: Piano Trios no.1 in D minor op.49 & no.2 in C minor op.66
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Eggner TrioComposer: Mendelssohn Recording performances live does not guarantee a spontaneous result, in fact I sometimes wonder if it militates against one. The young Eggner Trio – the brothers Christoph (piano), Georg (violin) and Florian (cello) – clearly know the ...
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ArticleMozart: Violin Concerto no.3 in G major K216*. Brahms: Violin Concerto in D major op.77†
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Gioconda De Vito (violin) Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Thomas Beecham*, German Opera House Orchestra/Paul van Kempen† Composer: Mozart, BrahmsGioconda De Vito, one of the finest violinists to emerge from Italy in the 20th century (a span her life almost exactly matched), made ...
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ArticleAndrae: String Quartets no.1 in B flat major op.9 & no.2 in E major op.33, Quartet for flute and strings op.43
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Lochrian Ensemble of LondonComposer: Andrae The most profound problem facing any young composer emerging at the beginning of the 20th century was developing a personal voice during a period of constant flux. A number of composers hit upon a fluid ...
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ArticlePaganini: Violin Concertos no.1 in D major op.6 & no.2 in B minor op.7. Rossini: Matilde di Shabran Overture
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Rudolf Koelman (violin) Netherlands Symphony Orchestra/Jan Willem de VriendComposer: Paganini, RossiniRudolf Koelman, one of Heifetz’s last pupils, provides a very persuasive reading of these two well-loved works, while a suitably rumbustious reading of Rossini’s Matilde di Shabran Overture fills this engaging CD.It ...
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ArticleProkofiev: Violin Sonatas no.1 in F minor & no.2 in A major op.94, Five Melodies op.35b
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Vadim Tchijik (violin) David Bismuth (piano)Composer: ProkofievEven in such distinguished company as Itzhak Perlman (RCA) and Schlomo Mintz (DG), Erik Schumann’s 2008 coupling of Prokofiev’s two violin sonatas struck me as especially beguiling, particularly in the First Sonata’s feroce second movement and ...
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ArticleBach: Goldberg Variations BWV988 (arr. Giuranna)
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Trio BrozComposer: Bach (arr. Giuranna)This lovely, eminently listenable live recording serves to introduce an outstanding young Italian string trio consisting of the siblings Barbara, Giada and Klaus Broz. In their naturalness, unobtrusive virtuosity and close ensemble they remind me of ...
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ArticleBeethoven: Violin Concerto in D major op.61*. Britten: Violin Concerto op.15†
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Janine Jansen (violin) Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen*, London Symphony Orchestra† /Paavo JärviComposer: Beethoven, Britten In recent months we’ve had Beethoven concertos both traditional (Capuçon on Virgin Classics) and period-informed (Kopatchinskaja on Naive): here the two come together. Janine Jansen’s melodious, ...
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ArticleSchubert: String Quartets in E flat major D87 & G major D887
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Hugo Wolf Quartet Composer: SchubertThe Hugo Wolf Quartet’s fine-toned, well-blended accounts demonstrate a striking empathy for the tensions that lie within Schubert’s expansive music and amply explore the emotional colours of its unexpected twists of melody and harmony. These players perform the ...
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ArticleDevil's Trills. Music by Kreisler, Sarasate, Schubert, Tartini, Tchaikovsky, Vitali & Wieniawski
THE STRAD RECOMMENDS The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Nemanja Radulović, Guillaume Fontanarosa, Frédéric Dessus (violin) Bertrand Causse (viola) Anne Biragnet (cello) Stanislas Kuchinski (double bass)Composer: Kreisler, Sarasate, Schubert, Tartini, Tchaikovsky, Vitali & Wieniawski There is a desperately fine yet crucial line between on the one hand finding ...
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ArticleEvaristo dall'Abaco: Concertos for strings op.2 nos.5*, 6† , 8‡, 9‡ & 10† & op.6 nos.2*, 3¶ & 6†
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Cappella Coloniensis/Wilfried Boettcher*, Hanns-MartinuSchneidt† , Günther Wich‡, György Fischer¶Composer: Evaristo dall'AbacoFounded in 1954 by Northwest German Radio, Cappella Coloniensis claims to be the oldest period instrument ensemble in the world. It seems to have had a soft spot for the music of ...
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ArticleHaydn: Violin Concertos no.1 in C major Hob.VIIa:1 & no. 4 in G major Hob.VIIa:4. Mozart: Sinfonia concertante K364
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Rachel Podger (violin) Pavlo Beznosiuk (viola) Orchestra of the Age of EnlightenmentComposer: Haydn, MozartThough Haydn was surrounded by virtuoso players in the court orchestra of the wealthy Esterházy family, his early violin concertos do not make excessive demands of the soloist. The ...
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ArticleOlivero: Neharót Neharót. Mansurian: Tagh for the Funeral of the Lord, Three Arias (Sung out the window facing Mount Ararat). Komitas: Oror. Steinberg: Rava Deravin
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Kim Kashkashian (viola) Robyn Schulkovsky (percussion) Tigran Mansurian (piano) Kuss Quartet, Munich Chamber Orchestra/Alexander Liebreich, Boston Modern Orchestra Project/Gil RoseComposer: Olivero, Mansurian, Komitas, SteinbergThis new disc from the American-born violist Kim Kashkashian combines music reflecting her Armenian cultural heritage with two major ...
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ArticlePaganini: Sonata concertata in A major, Cantabile in D major, Tarantella in A minor, Sonatas in A minor, D major, A major & E minor
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Pekka Kuusisto (violin) Ismo Eskelinen (guitar)Composer: PaganiniI had never heard these Paganini duos for violin and guitar before, and it came as a surprise to me to read that the composer himself was a fine guitarist. These works are relatively light on ...
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ArticleTaneyev: Violin Sonata, Romance op.26 no.6 ‘Stalaktiti’ (arr. Feigin), plus piano works
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Ivan Peshkov (violin) Olga Solovieva (piano)Composer: TaneyevIvan Peshkov’s rich, soulful tone colour and sensitively controlled phrasing seems perfectly suited to the two heartfelt works for violin and piano on this disc of music by his compatriot Sergey Ivanovich Taneyev. The declamatory, late-Romantic ...
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ArticleBrahms: Cello Sonata no.2 in F major op.99. Kodály: Solo Cello Sonata op.8. Debussy: Cello Sonata. Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme op.33
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Pierre Fournier (cello) Franz Holetschek (piano)Composer: Brahms, Kodály, Debussy, TchaikovskyRecorded live at the 1958 Salzburg Festival, Pierre Fournier proves his credentials as one of the legendary cellists of the 20th century. His performances come across compellingly throughout, despite the poor mono sound ...
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Article3 Fervent Travelers
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Time for Three: Zach De Pue, Nick Kendall (violin) Ranaan Meyer (double bass)Composer: VariousThis is Time for Three’s third album, but its first major commercial one, combining live and studio recordings. It is an assured blend of popular American styles within original ...
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ArticleRhapsodic Musings: 21st Century Works for Solo Violin. Salonen: Lachen verlernt. Carter: Four Lauds. Read Thomas: Pulsar. Zorn: Goetia
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Jennifer Koh (violin)Composer: Salonen, Carter, Read Thomas, ZornWhen this disc is loaded into a computer, a menu pops up with links to relevant websites, and the option of viewing a video interpretation of Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Lachen verlent, made by artist and filmmaker ...
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ArticleSchumann: String Quartet in A major op.41 no.3, Piano Quintet in E flat major op.44
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Takács Quartet, Marc-André Hamelin (piano)Composer: Schumann As is to be expected, the Takács Quartet provides a sumptuous disc here. In places, however, this lush sound can result in a vibrato that is too wide and slow, especially in the descending fifth ...
