Reviews – Page 110
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FocusFire and ice: the best recordings of the Sibelius violin concerto
Originally published in 2007 for the 50th anniversary of the composer’s death, this critical appraisal by Richard S. Ginell looks for the recordings that do justice to one of the best-loved works in the repertoire
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ReviewChristian Tetzlaff: Bach – Sonatas and Partitas
The Strad Issue: December 2017Description: An alert and flexible live response to the beauties of solo BachMusicians: Christian Tetzlaff (violin)Works: Bach: Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin BWV1001–6 Catalogue Number: ONDINE ODE12992D (2 CDS) The process behind Christian Tetzlaff’s third recording of ...
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ReviewBartholomew LaFollette: Brahms – Works for Cello and Piano
The Strad Issue: November 2017Description: High-quality Brahms in cellist’s debut recordingMusicians: Bartholomew LaFollette (cello), Caroline Palmer (piano)Works: Brahms: Cello Sonatas: no.1 in E minor op.37, no.2 in F major op.99; Four Serious Songs (arr. Shafran); Hungarian Dance no.20 in E minor Catalogue ...
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ReviewQuiroga Quartet: Terra. Works by Bartók, Ginastera, Haffner, Schubert
The Strad Issue: November 2017Description: Powerful passions smoulder in a folk-inspired programmeMusicians: Quiroga QuartetWorks: Bartók: String Quartet no.2 op.17, Ginastera: String Quartet no.1 op.20, Halfeter: Ocho tientos para cuarteto de cuerda op.35, Schubert: Ländler in B flat major D374, Trad.: Panxoliña para o Nadal ...
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ReviewBorenstein: Violin Concerto; The Big Bang and Creation of the Universe; If you will it, it is no dream
The Strad Issue: November 2017Description: Contemporary works full of grand gestures and soaring melodyMusicians: Irmina Trynkos (violin) Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra/Vladimir AshkenazyComposer: Nimrod Borenstein Catalogue Number: CHANDOS CHSA 5209 Tel Aviv-born composer Nimrod Borenstein lays bare his love of the large-scale, virtuosic concerto ...
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ReviewArmida Quartet – Fuga Magna: Bach, Beethoven, Scarlatti, Goldberg, Haussmann
The Strad Issue: November 2017Description: An imaginative exploration of the art of the fugueMusicians: Armida Quartet, Raphael Alpermann (harpsichord)Works: Bach: Contrapunctus I, IV & XI (The Art of Fugue BWV1080), Beethoven: Grosse Fugue in B flat major op.133, Goldberg: Sonata in C minor, ...
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ReviewTasmin Little – Szymanowski: Violin Concertos nos.1 & 2, Karlowicz: Violin Concerto
THE STRAD RECOMMENDS The Strad Issue: November 2017Description: Romantic concertos that stand in a class of their ownMusicians: Tasmin Little (violin) BBC Symphony Orchestra/Edward GardnerComposer: Szymanowski, KarlowiczCatalogue Number: CHANDOS CHSA 5185 ‘I maintain that our national music is not the ossified ghosts of ...
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ArticleMarc Coppey – Bloch: Schelomo, Dvořák: Cello Concerto in B minor; Silent Woods op.68
THE STRAD RECOMMENDS The Strad Issue: November 2017Description: Unusually fine versions of much-recorded cello worksMusicians: Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin/Kirill KarabitsComposer: Bloch, Dvořák Catalogue Number: AUDITE 97.734 It’s a truism that fashion and taste exert quite an influence on performance styles in each decade. Here, Marc Coppey ...
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ArticleMendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor op.64; Symphony no.5 ‘Reformation’ op.107; Concert Overture ‘The Hebrides’ op.26
THE STRAD RECOMMENDS The Strad Issue: November 2017Description: A familiar concerto sounds freshly minted and in tip-top conditionMusicians: Isabelle Faust (violin), Freiburg Baroque Orchestra/Pablo Heras-CasadoComposer: Mendelssohn Catalogue Number: HARMONIA MUNDI HMM 902325 How refreshing it is to witness a soloist adopting some of the recommendations ...
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ReviewMichel Portal, Ébène Quartet: Eternal Stories. Piazolla, Five Tango Sensations; and works by Colombet, Portal, Tribolet, Le Magadure, Merlin and Boisseau
The Strad Issue: October 2017Description: Elegant, catchy and highly accomplished jazz/string quartet fusionMusicians: Michel Portal (clarinet, bandonéon) Xavier Tribolet (keyboards) Richard Hery (drums) Ébène QuartetComposer: Piazolla etc.Catalogue Number: ERATO 0190295839567 The Ébène Quartet has a dual studio career. In between recordings of ...
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ReviewCalifornia Quartet: Sergey Taneyev, String Quartets nos.2 & 6
The Strad Issue: October 2017Description: Russian Romantic composer’s quartets benefits from loving performancesMusicians: California QuartetComposer: TaneyevCatalogue Number: CENTAUR CRC 3589 Sergey Taneyev may have lacked the strong creative personality of his teacher Tchaikovsky and his pupils Rachmaninoff and Scriabin yet, like Glazunov, he was a ...
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ReviewAntonio Meneses: Schumann, Cello Concerto in A minor; Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto no.1 in A minor; Tchaikovsky: Rococo Variations
The Strad Issue: October 2017 Description: Wonderful birthday celebration disc of concertos from a cello star Musicians: Antonio Meneses (cello) Royal Northern Sinfonia/Claudio Cruz Composer: Schumann, Saint-Saëns, Tchaikovsky Catalogue Number: AVIE AV2373 Cellist Antonio Meneses turned 60 this year, and to mark the occasion ...
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ReviewIlya Gringolts: Stravinsky, Pastorale; Duo concertant; Suite for Violin and Piano; etc
The Strad Issue: October 2017Description: A somewhat diffident account of self-effacing StravinskyMusicians: Ilya Gringolts (violin) Peter Laul (piano) Composer: StravinskyCatalogue Number: BIS 2245 (SACD) Stravinsky expressed dissatisfaction with the combination of strings and piano. Sometimes I wonder if he wrote the Duo concertant to prove ...
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ReviewFrancesco & Stefano Cerrato, Armoniosa: Platti Trio Sonatas
The Strad Issue: October 2017Description: The Cerrato brothers make a convincing case for some rarely performed sonatasMusicians: Francesco Cerrato (Baroque violin), Stefano Cerrato (Baroque cello), ArmoniosaComposer: PlattiCatalogue Number: MDG 9031978-6 Giovanni Platti’s (c.1697–1763) Trio Sonatas, written for the unusual combination of violin, cello and continuo, ...
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ArticleIronwood: Brahms, Piano Quartet no.1; Piano Quintet
THE STRAD RECOMMENDS Strad Issue: June 2017Everything’s right in these exquisitely played period performances Musicians: Ironwood: Robin Wilson, Rachael Beesley (violins), Nicole Forsyth (viola), Daniel Yeadon (cello), Neal Peres Da Costa (piano) Composer: Brahms Catalogue Number: ABC CLASSICS 481 4686 This beautiful ...
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ReviewAlina Ibragimova, Cédric Tiberghien: Mozart Violin Sonatas
The Strad Issue: October 2017Description: Standards remain high: some of the most committed Mozart playing you’ll hearMusicians: Alina Ibragimova (violin) Cédric Tiberghien (fortepiano)Composer: MozartCatalogue Number: HYPERION CDA68164 [2 CDs] Volume 4 of this acclaimed cycle sustains the high standards of its predecessors, presenting a careful ...
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ReviewJi Young Lim, Dong Hyen Lim: Mozart and Beethoven violin sonatas
Mozart: Violin Sonatas: no.18 in G major K301, no.21 in E minor K304, no.26 in B flat major K378; Beethoven: Violin Sonata no.1 in D major op.12The Strad Issue: October 2017Description: Stylish Classical debut disc from Queen Elisabeth Prize winner Musicians: Ji Young Lim ...
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ReviewMessiaen: Quatuor pour la fin du temps; Krakauer: Akoka; Socalled: Meanwhile…
The Strad Issue: October 2017Description: Curious bookends that meditate on the end of timeMusicians: Jonathan Crow (violin) Matt Haimovitz (cello) David Krakauer (clarinet) Geoffrey Burleson (piano) Socalled (electronics)Composer: Messiaen, Krakauer, Socalled Catalogue Number: PENTATONE OXINGALE SERIES PTC 5186 560 (hybrid SACD) Matt Haimovitz’s disc is ...
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ReviewIreland: Cello Sonata in G minor; Delius: Violin Sonata no.3 (arr. Handy); Bax: Cello Sonata
The Strad Issue: October 2017Description: An unfairly neglected British cello sonata is given a chance to shineMusicians: Lionel Handy (cello) Jennifer Hughes (piano)Composer: Ireland, Delius, Bax Catalogue Number: LYRITA SRCD361 Commissioned by Gaspar Cassadó, Bax’s Cello Sonata is cloaked in grand gesture and accessible tonal ...
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ReviewHigdon: Viola Concerto; Oboe Concerto; All Things Majestic
The Strad Issue: October 2017Description: Debut on disc for a new American viola concertoMusicians: Roberto Díaz (viola) James Button (oboe) Nashville Symphony/Giancarlo GuerreroComposer: Jennifer Higdon Catalogue Number: NAXOS 8.559823 Jennifer Higdon, teacher of composition at the Curtis Institute of Music, wrote her Viola Concerto in ...
