Reviews – Page 129
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ReviewBeethoven: Piano Trio in D major op.70 no.1 ‘Ghost’. Tchaikovsky: Piano Trio in A minor op.50. Mendelssohn: Songs Without Words op.62 no.4, op.102 no.4 & op.19b no.1 (arr. Kowalewski)
The Strad Issue: May 2015Description: Persuasive and well-proportioned playing with a rich toneMusicians: Petrof Piano TrioComposer: Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, MendelssohnThe Petrof players perform the outer movements of Beethoven’s ‘Ghost’ Trio with excitement and energy. In the first they sweep though the composer’s dialogue and counterpoint as if engaged ...
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ReviewBach: Three Solo Partitas in B minor BWV1002, D minor BWV1004 & E major BWV1006
The Strad Issue: May 2015Description: Solo masterpieces up close and personal, warts and allMusicians: Gunar Letzbor (Baroque violin)Composer: Bach‘Bach in private’, promises Gunar Letzbor’s apologium for a recording so close, dry and frankly airless that you feel you might be standing a metre or two away from ...
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ReviewAlbéniz: Tango op.165 no.2 (arr. Kreisler). Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances (arr. Székeley). Falla: Siete canciones populares españolas (arr. Kochanski); Danse espagnole from La vida breve (arr. Kreisler
The Strad Issue: May 2015Description: Passion and portamento from a young American violinistMusicians: Emil Altschuler (violin) Keunyoung Sun (piano)Composer: Albéniz, Bartók, Falla, Poulenc, RavelFrom the start this CD is let down by its recording quality, which, despite a seemingly close-in mic, often renders the violin metallic and ...
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ReviewMendelssohn: Piano Trios: no.1 in D minor op.49; no.2 in C minor op.66
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: May 2015Description: Power and symphonic sweep in Mendelssohn’s two triosMusicians: Aquinas Piano TrioComposer: MendelssohnCaptured in opulent sound of unusual depth that gently cushions the music’s semiquaver brilliance, the emotional kinship between Mendelssohn and the Schumann–Brahms tradition has rarely been so powerfully conveyed. ...
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ReviewJongen: Violin Concerto in B minor op.17; Adagio symphonique in B major op.20; Fantasia in E major op.12. Lazzari: Rapsodie in E minor
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: May 2015Description: Graffin makes the best possible case for some long-neglected scoresMusicians: Philippe Graffin (violin) Royal Flemish Philharmonic Orchestra/Martyn BrabbinsComposer: Jongen, LazzariHyperion’s Romantic Violin Concerto series reaches volume 18 with a heartwarming programme of unjustly neglected music, played by Philippe Graffin with ...
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ReviewShostakovich: Preludes op.34 (selection). Rachmaninoff: Eleven Romances (all transc. Urasin)
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: May 2015Description: Eloquent, expressively performed transcriptions of piano preludes and songsMusicians: Boris Andrianov (cello) Rem Urasin (piano)Composer: Shostakovich, RachmaninoffEnterprising, imaginative and brilliantly executed, this CD is almost faultless, even if the recorded sound is perhaps a bit too resonant for my taste. ...
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ReviewA War Concert: Transcriptions by Jascha Heifetz. Works by Ponce, Kreisler, Gershwin, Foster, Debussy and Castelnuovo-Tedesco
The Strad Issue: April 2015Description: A re-creation of Heifetz’s concerts to provide entertainment at the front lineMusicians: Lucio Degani (violin) Andrea Rucli (piano)Composer: Ponce, Kreisler, Gershwin, Foster, Debussy and Castelnuovo-TedescoEntertaining troops at the various points of conflict during the Second World War was the contribution made by ...
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ReviewUnder the Stars. Works by Spencer, Bull, Debussy, Elgar, Bizet/Hubay, Hubay, Dvorák, Tchaikovsky, Kreisler, Fauré, Brahms, Shostakovich and Siem
The Strad Issue: April 2015Description: Starry violinist dazzles and charms in a disc of encore piecesMusicians: Charlie Siem (violin) Munich Radio Orchestra/Paul GoodwinComposer: Spencer, Bull, Debussy, Elgar, Bizet/Hubay, Hubay, Dvorˇák, Tchaikovsky, Kreisler, Fauré, Brahms, Shostakovich and SiemThis disc features a generous mix of virtuoso fireworks and sweetmeats ...
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ReviewTetraktys. Works by Casillas, Nossa, Palacio, Castro, Pichardo, Vergara, Lemus, Sarti, Rivera and Urrusti
The Strad Issue: April 2015Description: Energy and commitment in a collection of new Mexican string quartetsMusicians: Latin American QuartetComposer: Casillas, Nossa, Palacio, Castro, Pichardo, Vergara, Lemus, Sarti, Rivera and UrrustiIt’s certainly a laudable project – a collaboration between Mexico City’s Núcleo Integral de Composición composers’ institute and ...
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ReviewThe English Phantasy. Works by Bridge, Holst, Goossens, Howells, Holbrooke and Hurlstone
The Strad Issue: April 2015Description: Cobbett’s competition works in a useful collectionMusicians: Bridge QuartetComposer: Bridge, Holst, Goossens, Howells, Holbrooke and HurlstoneThis enterprising disc focuses on quartets written for the competitions held between 1906 and 1919 by amateur violinist and chamber music proponent Walter Willson Cobbett to revive ...
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ReviewWolf: Italian Serenade. Grieg: String Quartet no.1 in G minor op.27. Janácek: String Quartet no.2 ‘Intimate Letters’
The Strad Issue: April 2015Description: Mixed results in three varied masterpieces of the quartet repertoireMusicians: Amphion QuartetComposer: Wolf, Grieg, JanácekConvincingly linking the very disparate sections within Grieg’s four-movement structure, the New York-based Amphion Quartet gives a highly impressive account of the composer’s youthfully passionate First Quartet. Having ...
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ReviewCorelli: The ‘Assisi’ Sonatas
The Strad Issue: April 2015Description: Disputed early sonatas provide virtuoso opportunitiesMusicians: Aurora EnsembleComposer: CorelliScholars have hotly debated the provenance of a manuscript of twelve sonatas attributed to Corelli, discovered in 1963 by Mario Fabbri in the library of Assisi’s Franciscan monastery. Musicologist Hans Joachim Marx considered these ...
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ReviewChevillard: Violin Sonata in G minor op.8. Fauré: Violin Sonata no.1 in A major op.13. Gedalge: Violin Sonata no.1 in G major op.12
The Strad Issue: April 2015Description: Father-and-son duo offers a pair of rarely heard French sonatasMusicians: Jean-Jacques Kantorow (violin) Alexandre Kantorow (piano)Composer: Chevillard, Fauré, GedalgeThere is a radiance in the quality of sound and performance of three late 19th-century French sonatas from the recently formed Kantorow duo, the ...
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ReviewNew York Philharmonic Presents: The Glenn Dicterow Collection Vol.1. Bruch: Violin Concerto no.1. Bartók: Violin Concerto no.1. Korngold: Violin Concerto. Williams: Theme from Schindler’s List
The Strad Issue: April 2015Description: A parting gift from the New York Phil to its long-serving concertmasterMusicians: Glenn Dicterow (violin) New York Philharmonic Orchestra/Lorin Maazel, Alan Gilbert, David Robertson, John WilliamsComposer: Bruch, Bartók, Korngold, WilliamsWhat do you give your concertmaster of 34 years when he moves on? ...
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ReviewBeethoven: String Quartet in A minor op.132 – ‘Heiliger Dankgesang’ (arr A Far Cry). Golijov: The Dreams & Prayers of Isaac the Blind. Hildegard of Bingen: O ignis spiritus paracliti (arr A Far Cry).
The Strad Issue: April 2015Description: Heart-on-sleeve playing from a Boston-based string ensembleMusicians: A Far Cry, David Krakauer (clarinet)Composer: Beethoven, Golijov, Hildegard of Bingen, SanlikolIf you like your music cool-headed, objective and analytical, this won’t be for you. If, on the other hand, you go for passionate, hyper-detailed ...
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ReviewMoments of Youth. Bach: Cello Suite no.3 in C major BWV1009. Schumann: Fantasiestücke op.73. Fauré: Élégie. Haydn: Adagio from Cello Concerto no.2 in D major. Cassadó: Requiebros. Piazzolla: Le grand
Description: Debut recital from a teenage cellist – but has he been captured too early?Musicians: Brendan Goh (cello) Reinhard Schobesberger (piano)Composer: Bach, Schumann, Fauré, Haydn, Cassadó, Piazzolla, PaganiniBrendan Goh is clearly a cellist with some promise. At the age of 15 he is already in his first year ...
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ReviewFrom A to Z. Assad: Dreamscapes. Bolcom: Romanza. Daugherty: Fallingwater. Zwilich: Commedia dell’arte
The Strad Issue: April 2015Description: New works for a new century, presented with clarity and vigourMusicians: New Century Chamber Orchestra/Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg (violin)Composer: Assad, Bolcom, Daugherty, ZwilichViolinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg has commissioned several new works since becoming music director of the San Francisco-based New Century Chamber Orchestra (NCCO) in ...
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ReviewSchumann: String Quartets nos.1–3 op.41
The Strad Issue: March 2015Description: A swift but expressive approach to Schumann’s three quartetsMusicians: Ying QuartetComposer: SchumannOn first acquaintance, the Ying Quartet’s tempos seem uncommonly fast, particularly so in the finale to the First Quartet, where there is a breathless urgency. Checking them against Schumann’s metronome markings, ...
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ReviewTime Reflexion. Works by Rust, El-Khoury, Leclair, Stamitz, Tanguy and Narekatsi
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: April 2015Description: Old and new combined by this Armenian violinist and friendsMusicians: Chouchane Siranossian (violin) with Rüdiger Lotter (baroque violin) Jean-Marc Phillips-Varjabedian (violin) Levon Chatikyan (duduk)Composer: Rust, El-Khoury, Leclair, Stamitz, Tanguy and NarekatsiIf pretentious titles usually put you off heterogeneous concept albums, ...
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ReviewStenhammar: String Quartets vol.2: no.1 in C major op.2; no.2 in C minor op.14
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: April 2015Description: Scandinavian players do their namesake proud as they continue their explorationMusicians: Stenhammar QuartetComposer: StenhammarThe Stenhammar Quartet has an eponymous obligation to do justice to Wilhelm Stenhammar’s quartets, and indeed it does in this disc that follows up the ensemble’s vol.1 ...
