Reviews – Page 119
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ReviewMozart: Violin Concertos: no.2 in D major K211, no.5 in A major K219 ‘Turkish’; Sinfonia concertante in E flat major K3641
THE STRAD RECOMMENDS The Strad Issue: May 2016 Description: Zimmermann continues his new cycle of Mozart’s violin concertos Musicians: Frank Peter Zimmermann (violin) Antoine Tamestit (viola)1 Bavarian Radio Symphony Chamber Orchestra/Radoslaw Szulc Composer: Mozart This is ...
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ReviewSpectrum. Janácek: Violin Sonata. Kreisler: Viennese Rhapsodic Fantasietta. Schubert: Violin Sonata in A major D574 ‘Grand Duo’. Stravinsky: Divertimento
The Strad Issue: May 2016Description: Beilman gets under the music’s skin in a dazzling recitalMusicians: Benjamin Beilman (violin) Yekwon Sunwoo (piano)Composer: Janácek; Kreisler; Schubert; StravinskyWorking alongside his regular accompanist Yekwon Sunwoo, Benjamin Beilman immediately draws us into the elusive sound world of Schubert’s D574 Sonata via his ...
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ReviewGrieg: String Quartet in G minor op.27. Sibelius: String Quartet in D minor op.56 ‘Voces intimae’. Thommessen: Felix Remix
The Strad Issue: May 2016Description: A Norwegian ensemble gets right inside Grieg’s singular String QuartetMusicians: EngegŠrd QuartetComposer: Grieg; Sibelius; ThommessenIt’s good to hear Grieg’s utterly individual string quartet played by an ensemble that has an equally distinctive sound – in this case, the EngegŠrd Quartet’s tight blend ...
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ReviewSerious Business. Fisher-Lochhead: Hack. Haydn: String Quartet in E flat major op.33 no.2 ‘Joke’. Macklay: Many Many Cadences. Reminick: The Ancestral Mousetrap Spektral Quartet
The Strad Issue: May 2016 Description: The Spektral’s exploration of musical humour is no laughing matter Musicians: Spektral Quartet Composer: Fisher-Lochhead; Haydn; Macklay; Reminick Serious Business, the Chicago-based Spektral Quartet knowingly calls its collection of four ...
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ReviewDvorák: String Quartet no.13 in G major op.106. Janácek: String Quartet no.1 ‘The Kreutzer Sonata’. Suk: Meditation on the Old Czech Chorale ‘St Wenceslas’ op.35
The Strad Issue: May 2016Description: The Wihan Quartet brings symphonic space to three Czech worksMusicians: Wihan QuartetComposer: Dvorák; JanácekThe Wihan’s performance of Dvorák’s Thirteenth Quartet injects passion into every bar of the opening movement, the composer’s profusion of dynamic indications used to create so many tonal nuances. ...
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ReviewDvorák: Violin Concerto in A minor op.53; Romance in F minor op.11. Suk: Fantasy in G minor op.24
The Strad Issue: May 2016Description: Characteristically searching playing from Tetzlaff and StorgŠrdsMusicians: Christian Tetzlaff (violin) Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra/John StorgŠrdsComposer: Dvorák; SukSometimes first impressions can be misleading. Although this disc begins with impassioned orchestral playing, answered by equally committed sound from Christian Tetzlaff, the recording sounds a little ...
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ReviewDvorák: String Quartet no.1 in A major op.2. Krenek: String Quartet no.7 op.96. Schoenberg: String Quartet no.1 in D minor op.7
The Strad Issue: May 2016Description: Skilfully played Schoenberg but somewhat slipshod presentationMusicians: Zemlinsky QuartetComposer: Dvorák; Krenek; SchoenbergDvorák’s delightful First Quartet, a rare survivor from his early years that he didn’t try to suppress, gets a tender yet vivacious performance from the Zemlinsky Quartet in this live recording. ...
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ReviewBritten: Violin Concerto in D minor op.15. Korngold Violin Concerto in D major op.35
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: May 2016Description: Frang approaches an odd couple of concertos with lyricism and dramaMusicians: Vilde Frang (violin) Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra/James GaffiganComposer: Britten; KorngoldIn the booklet notes to this release, the Norwegian violinist Vilde Frang describes Britten’s Violin Concerto as ‘one of the ...
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ReviewDavid Oistrakh Plays Johannes Brahms. Brahms: Violin Sonatas: no.1 in G major op.78, no.2 in A major op.100, no.3 in D minor op.108; ‘FAE’ Scherzo in C minor
The Strad Issue: May 2016Description: Frida Bauer brings the best out of Oistrakh in the Brahms sonatasMusicians: David Oistrakh (violin) Frida Bauer, Sviatoslav Richter (piano)Composer: Johannes BrahmsThat great Brahmsian David Oistrakh never systematically recorded the sonatas. We have nothing with his longtime sonata partner Lev Oborin, a ...
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ReviewEnglish Delight. Bridge: Pensiero; Allegro appassionato. Britten: Lachrymae. Clark: E Viola Sonata. Dowland: Flow my tears; If my complaints. Harvey: Chant. Vaughan Williams: Six Studies on English Fo
The Strad Issue: May 2016Description: Vivid viola sounds in La Marca’s thoughtfully conceived programmeMusicians: Adrien La Marca (viola) Thomas Hoppe (piano)Composer: Bridge; Britten; Clarke; Dowland; Harvey; Vaughan Williams; PurcellFrom the opening fanfares of Rebecca Clarke’s Sonata, Adrien La Marca lays down his credentials as a sophisticated player ...
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ReviewThe Szymanowski Trip. Beethoven: String Quartet no.2 in G major op.18 no.2. Laks: String Quartet no.3. Prokofiev: String Quartet no.2 in F major op.92. Ravel: String Quartet in F major. Schubert: Quar
The Strad Issue: May 2016Description: Three recitals follow Szymanowski on his travels around EuropeMusicians: Szymanowski QuartetComposer: Beethoven; Laks; Prokofiev; Ravel; Schubert; Skoryk; Szymanowski; Tchaikovsky; WebernThis set comprises three separate discs, the first two previously released in 2009 and 2011, each setting the quartets of Szymanowski in the ...
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ReviewBartók: 44 Duos for two violins
The Strad Issue: May 2016Description: French sisters round the edges off Bartók’s folksy violin duosMusicians: Sarah Nemtanu, Deborah Nemtanu (violins)Composer: Béla BartókBéla Bartók wrote his 44 violin duos primarily with education in mind, their technical and musical demands growing in complexity from the simple, foursquare openers to ...
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ReviewTake Two. Music by Bach, Biber, Cage, Dick, Falla, Giamberti, Gibbons, Holliger, Machaut, Martini, Milhaud, Sánchez-Chiong, Sotelo, Vivier and Zykan
The Strad Issue: April 2016Description: Characteristically questing playing from Kopatchinskaja and friendsMusicians: Patricia Kopatchinskaja (violin/Baroque violin/voice) Reto Bieri (clarinet/ocarina/violin) Laurence Dreyfus (treble viol) Jorge Sánchez-Chiong (electronics/turntables) Anthony Romaniuk (harpsichord/toy piano) Matthias Würsch (darbuka) Pablo Márquez (guitar) Ernesto Estrella (voice)Composer: Bach, Biber, Cage, Dick, Falla, Giamberti, Gibbons, Holliger, ...
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ReviewLe Violon Harmonique. Vieuxtemps: Etudes de concert op.16; Adagio in E major; Etude in G minor op.48 no.28; Six Morceaux op.55
The Strad Issue: April 2016Description: A worthwhile attempt at a Vieuxtemps revivalMusicians: Francesco Parrino (violin)Composer: VieuxtempsVieuxtemps’s solo violin works are rich in contrapuntal detail, often recalling movements of Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas as well as influences such as Paganini, Rodolphe Kreutzer and his own French contemporaries.The fugues ...
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ReviewShostakovich: String Quartets: no.4 in D major op.83, no.6 in G major op.101; Piano Quintet in G minor op.57; Theatre Suite (arr. Wilson, Pierini, Ekimovsky)
The Strad Issue: April 2016Description: Subtle and restrained playing in Shostakovich’s chamber musicMusicians: Delian Quartet, Anatol Ugorski (piano)Composer: ShostakovichThe Delian Quartet opens Shostakovich’s Fourth Quartet with rich, straightforward playing, and subsequently shows a certain reserve. In the Andantino the playing of first violinist Adrian Pinzaru is bleak, ...
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ReviewShostakovich: Chamber Symphonies: op.73a, op.83a (both arr. Barshai); Traditional: Romanian and Russian klezmer music
The Strad Issue: April 2016Description: Barshai’s quartet arrangements illuminated by top-class playingMusicians: Re:Orchestra/Roberto Beltrán ZavalaComposer: Shostakovich; TraditionalAfter Rudolf Barshai showed his string-orchestra arrangement of Shostakovich’s Eighth String Quartet to the composer, he was given carte blanche to arrange any other pieces he wished. The present CD offers ...
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ReviewSchubert Quintet Live! Schubert: String Quintet in C major D956
The Strad Issue: April 2016Description: A warts-and-all Schubert Quintet played with spiritMusicians: Brentano Quartet, Michael Kannen (cello)Composer: SchubertThe producer and musicians need you to know – hence the disc’s ostentatious title and their discursive booklet notes – that this disc of Schubert’s Quintet was culled from three ...
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ReviewPaganini Rediscovered. Paganini: Sonata a preghiera; Three Ritornelli; Six Preludes; Rondo for violin & cello; Capriccio; Grand Concerto (no.6) in E minor (original version for violin and guitar)
The Strad Issue: April 2016Description: Important repertoire played on Paganini’s own violinMusicians: Luca Fanfoni, Daniele Fanfoni (violins) Luca Simoncini (cello) Luca Ballerini (piano) Fabrizio Giudice (guitar)Composer: PaganiniPaganini’s music is so difficult that it is always a wonder to me that it is played at all. Certainly, many ...
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ReviewThe Franchomme Project. Chopin: Ballade no.2 in F major op.38; Prelude in E major op.28 no.9; Marche funèbre (Piano Sonata no.2 in B flat minor op.35); Mazurka in C major op.33 no.3; Introduction and
The Strad Issue: April 2016Description: Louise-Dubin; Julia-Bruskin; Sæunn-Thorsteinsdóttir; Katherine-Cherbas; Hélène-Jeanney; Andrea-LamMusicians: Louise Dubin, Julia Bruskin, Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir, Katherine Cherbas (cellos) Hélène Jeanney, Andrea Lam (piano)Composer: Chopin; FranchommeThe Franchomme Project showcases some of the celebrated French cellist Auguste Franchomme’s original cello compositions and Chopin arrangements, most of which ...
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ReviewBloch: Violin Sonata no.2 ‘Poème mystique’. Franck: Violin Sonata in A major. Krein: Berceuse
The Strad Issue: April 2016Description: Forgettable Franck but fine fillers from these playersMusicians: Zina Schiff (violin) Cameron Grant (piano)Composer: Bloch; Franck; KreinThere is rarely adequate justification for another recording of Franck’s Sonata in the already overcrowded catalogue. Zina Schiff and Cameron Grant’s account is no exception, falling ...
