Reviews – Page 111
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ReviewGlass: Partitas nos.1 (‘Songs and Poems’) & 2; The Secret Agent; The Paris Sky
The Strad Issue: October 2017Description: Engaging and clear performances of Bach-tinted GlassMusicians: Matt Haimovitz (cello)Composer: Glass Catalogue Number: ORANGE MOUNTAIN MUSIC OMM 0117 In the booklet note to this engaging release on his own label, Philip Glass acknowledges the early influence of Bach’s Solo Cello ...
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ReviewChisholm: Violin Concerto; Dance Suite; Preludes from the True Edge of the Great World
The Strad Issue: October 2017Description: Little-known 20th-century violin concerto casts a dramatic spellMusicians: Matthew Trusler (violin) Danny Driver (piano) BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra/Martyn BrabbinsComposer: Chisholm Catalogue Number: HYPERION CDA 68208 Here’s a neglected voice in 20th-century British music – and on the evidence of a ...
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ReviewChaconnes and Fantasias - Britten: String Quartets no.2 in C major op.36 & no.3 in G major op.94; Purcell: Chacony in G minor (arr. Britten), Fantazias nos 6, 8, 10 & 11
The Strad Issue: October 2017Description: Fantasy and intensity at play in a British line of musical successionMusicians: Emerson QuartetComposer: Britten, Purcell Catalogue Number: DECCA GOLD 4815204 The musical relationships between Britten and his illustrious forebear Purcell are explored on this neatly conceived programme, which intermingles ...
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ReviewC.P.E. Bach: Violin Sonatas in D major, D minor, C major, F major, B minor, B flat major, C minor; Sinfonia in D major; Fantasia in F sharp minor; Arioso with Variations in A major
The Strad Issue: October 2017Description: Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s music in its enjoyable, varied entiretyMusicians: Duo Belder KimuraComposer: C.P.E. BachCatalogue Number: RESONUS RES10192 (2 CDs) This comprehensive survey of C.P.E. Bach’s works for keyboard and violin traces his artistic development from the period of his ...
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ReviewSonata Song - Bach: Chaconne; Penderecki: Sarabande; Carter: Figment IV; Harbison: Sonata for viola; Khachaturian: Sonata-Song; Britten: Elegy; Silvestrov: Lacrimosa
The Strad Issue: October 2017Description: A vivid, varied recital of music for viola aloneMusicians: Milan Milisavljević (viola)Composer: Bach, Penderecki, Carter, Khachaturian, Britten, Silvestrov etc.Catalogue Number: DELOS DE 3519 This most recommendable recital by Serbian-born Milan Milisavljević, assistant principal viola at New York’s ...
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ReviewLet Beauty Awake - Vaughan Williams: Songs of Travel - The Vagabond, Let Beauty Awake, The Roadside Fire, Youth and Love, The Infinite Shining Heavens (arr. Nisbeth); Romance for viola and piano etc.
THE STRAD RECOMMENDS The Strad Issue: October 2017Description: English 20th-century music blooms gorgeously on the violaMusicians: Ellen Nisbeth (viola) Bengt Forsberg (piano)Composer: Vaughan Williams Catalogue Number: BIS 2182 (SACD hybrid) Swedish violist Ellen Nisbeth has recently been selected by the European Concert Hall Association as one ...
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ReviewHaydn: Cello Concertos no.1 in C major, no. 2 in D major; C.P.E. Bach: Cello Concerto in A major; Boccherini: Cello Concerto in G major etc.
THE STRAD RECOMMENDS The Strad Issue: October 2017Description: A superb second swipe at Haydn concertos by Isserlis Musicians: Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen/Steven Isserlis (cello)Composer: Haydn, C. P. E. Bach, Boccherini, MozartCatalogue Number: Hyperion CDA 68162 Steven Isserlis returns to the Haydn concertos on disc, two decades on ...
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ReviewBrahms: Piano Quintet in F minor op.34; String Quartet no.3 in B flat major op.67
THE STRAD RECOMMENDS The Strad Issue: October 2017Description: Far-reaching views over a wide Viennese landscapeMusicians: Artis Quartet Vienna, Peter Frankl (piano)Composer: Brahms Catalogue Number: NIMBUS NI 5944 At the beginning of the quintet there is thrilling full-colour playing, almost orchestral heft, as they give the ...
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ReviewRussian Soul: Works for String Orchestra by Tchaikovsky, Arensky, Glinka, Koussevitzky, Rachmaninoff and Rimsky-Korsakov
The Strad Issue: September 2017Description: Two exciting young soloists in the making – hear them here firstMusicians: LGT Young Soloists/Alexander Gilman Composer: Tchaikovsky, Arensky, Glinka, Koussevitzky, Rachmaninov, Rimsky-KorsakovCatalogue Number: RCA RED SEAL 88985 43088 The LGT Young Soloists are essentially a very high-class youth string orchestra, ...
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ReviewIn the Moment - Short Works for String Quartet: Turina, Webern, Mendelssohn, Shostakovich, Nielsen, Wolf, Puccini, Dvořák and Schubert
The Strad Issue: September 2017Description: A fragrant potpourri of short pieces that’s more than the sum of its parts Musicians: Arabella QuartetComposer: Turina, Webern, Mendelssohn, Shostakovich, Nielsen, Wolf, Puccini, Dvořák, Schubert Catalogue Number: NAXOS 8.579013 A disc of short pieces for string ...
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ReviewTchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D major op.35; Pas de deux and Danse russe from Swan Lake; Sérénade mélancolique op.26; Valse-scherzo op.34; Mélodie in E flat major op.42 no.3
The Strad Issue: September 2017Description: Rock-solid, if stately, interpretation of a violin concerto warhorseMusicians: Esther Yoo (violin), Philharmonia Orchestra/Vladimir Ashkenazy Composer: Tchaikovsky Catalogue Number: Deutsche Grammophon 481 5032 Reactions to this highly accomplished account of the Tchaikovsky Concerto will depend on how you view the ...
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ReviewSuites and Fantasies – Schnittke: Suite in Old Style; Falla: Suite popular española; Britten: Suite for violin and piano op.6; Milhaud: Le boeuf sur le toit op.58 etc.
The Strad Issue: September 2017Description: A well-programmed recital of contrasts is at the heart of this discMusicians: Joo Yeon Sir (violin), Irina Andrievsky (piano)Composer: Britten, De Falla, Gershwin, Milhaud, Schnittke Catalogue Number: RUBICON RCD 1003 Suites and Fantasies is an aptly broad title for what ...
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ReviewProkofiev: Violin Concertos nos.1 and 2
The Strad Issue: September 2017Description: Tremendously stylish versions of these acerbic Russian concertosMusicians: Matthew Trusler (violin), BBC National Orchestra of Wales/Grant Llewellyn Composer: ProkofievCatalogue Number: ORCHID CLASSICS ORC 100070 If it’s become fashionable in recent years to miniaturise and prettify the Prokofiev ...
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ReviewNowakovski: String Quartet no.1 ‘Songs of Forgiveness’; Blood, Forgotten1; String Quartet no.2 ‘Grandfather Songs’; Lullaby: O Sleep for Me, Sleep
The Strad Issue: September 2017Description: Ancestral sorrows explored in contemporary string quartetsMusicians: Emily Ondracek-Peterson (violin), Voxare Quartet Composer: Nowakowski Catalogue Number: NAXOS 8.559821 The Polish heritage of American composer Mark Nowakowski (b.1978) is a guiding spirit in these chamber works. The subtitles ...
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ReviewGrieg – Violin Sonatas: no.1 in F major op.8, no.2 in G major op.13, no.3 in C minor op.45
The Strad Issue: September 2017Description: An intoxicating, exhilarating recording of lesser-known Grieg Musicians: Maya Levy (violin) Matthieu Idmtal (piano) Composer: Grieg Catalogue Number: PAVANE ADW 7585 Although Grieg’s C minor Sonata (no.3) has been a staple recital favourite for many years, its younger siblings ...
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ReviewFeldman: Patterns in a Chromatic Field
The Strad Issue: September 2017Description: Listen very carefully and this eerily quiet music will draw you inMusicians: Rohan de Saram (cello) Marianne Schroeder (piano) Composer: Feldman Catalogue Number: HAT HATNOWART 2204 (2 CDs) Written in 1981, Patterns in a Chromatic Field is ...
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ReviewFauré – The Music for Cello and Piano: Romance op.69; Papillon op.77; Sérénade op.98; Berceuse op.16; Cello Sonata no.1 in D minor op.109; Morceau de lecture etc.
The Strad Issue: September 2017Description: A brilliantly heartfelt response to Fauré’s most complex cello writing Musicians: Andreas Brantelid (cello) Bengt Forsberg (piano) Composer: Fauré Catalogue Number: BIS 2220 (SACD) Several decades separate Fauré’s many short cello pieces from his two cello sonatas, ...
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ReviewDvořák: String Quartet no.12 in F major op.96 ‘The American’; String Quintet in E flat major op.97 ‘The American’
The Strad Issue: September 2017Description: Mellow and blended flavours in these two ‘American’ chamber works Musicians: Škampa QuartetComposer: Dvořák Catalogue Number: CHAMPS HILL RECORDS CHRCD 110 The Škampa Quartet’s performance of ’s String Quartet op.96 invites direct comparison with the multi-award-winning version from their Czech ...
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ReviewAn Eventful Morning in East London: 21st-Century Violin Concertos – Patterson Allusions for two violins and strings, Prtichard: Wall of Water, Matthews: Romanza etc.
The Strad Issue: September 2017Description: New music from London’s cultural melting pot delivered with conviction Musicians: Harriet Mackenzie (violin) Philippa Mo (violin), English String Orchestra; English Symphony Orchestra/Kenneth WoodsComposer: Patterson, Pritchard, Matthews, Fokkens, Doolittle Catalogue Number: NIMBUS NI 6295 If this disc’s quirky title leads ...
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ReviewBritish Legends – Kelly: Elegy (in memoriam Rupert Brooke) (arr. Decroix), Vaughan Williams English Folk Song Suite, Elgar: Elegy for strings op.58, Bliss: Music for Strings etc.
The Strad Issue: September 2017Description: An almost-forgotten British composer is at the heart of this recital Musicians: St. George QuartetComposer: Kelly, Bliss, Elgar, Vaughan WilliamsCatalogue Number: ADW 7584 This is a curious CD, inspired by the music of the least well-known composer here, Frederick Septimus ...
