Reviews – Page 149
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ReviewSpain Through Strings. Arriaga: String Quartet no.3 in E flat major. Turina: La oración del torero. Toldrá: Vistas al mar. Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Quintet for guitar and strings op.143A
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A rewarding disc of mainly Spanish works for string quartetMusicians: Zemlinsky Quartet, Miriam Rodriguez Brüllová (guitar)Composer: Arriaga, Turina, Toldrá, Castelnuovo-TedescoAlthough the Italian-born Castelnuovo-Tedesco is an interloper in a disc of otherwise Spanish composers, it is his Guitar Quintet that forms the highlight. ...
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ReviewDittersdorf: Double Bass Concertos nos.1 & 2, Sinfonia concertante for viola & double bass, Duetto
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Highly accomplished performances of Dittersdorf’s complete double bass concertante worksMusicians: Leon Bosch (double bass) Robert Smissen (viola) Academy of St Martinuin the Fields/Kenneth Sillito (director)Composer: Dittersdorf Leon Bosch’s accounts of Dittersdorf’s two solo concertos abound in personality, imagination, warmth and humanity. His ...
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ReviewGammelpols
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A rare exploration of one of Norway’s more esoteric folk fiddle traditionsMusicians: Tron Steffen Westberg (fiddle)Composer: TradAs the booklet notes explain, ‘gammelpols’ is the most highly prized form of the ‘pols’ folk dance of the Røros district of central Norway. Already, then, ...
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ReviewGuido: Le quattro stagioni
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A welcome change from the ubiquitous Vivaldi concertosMusicians: Caroline Balding (violin) Band of Instruments/Roger HamiltonComposer: GuidoWith recordings of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons still dominating the catalogues, it is refreshing to hear another composer’s take on a similar idea, his work likewise inspired by ...
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ReviewHaydn: String Quartet in G major op.77 no.1. Nordheim: Duplex. Bartók: String Quartet no.5
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Music-making that is often overshadowed by the richness of the recordingMusicians: EngegŠrd QuartetComposer: Haydn, Nordheim, BartókIt’s the recording itself that’s the real star of this disc. 2L’s exceptionally transparent, generous sound picks out each of the quartet’s players as individuals, yet also ...
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ReviewHaydn: String Quartets op.33 ‘Russian’
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Ear-opening period-instrument performances from an early printed editionMusicians: London Haydn QuartetComposer: HaydnPlaying on gut strings and with Classical bows, the London Haydn Quartet has reached op.33 in its survey for Hyperion of the Haydn quartets. As in the previous three releases the ...
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ReviewMendelssohn: String Quartets in E minor op.44 no.2 & F minor op.80, Capriccio op.81 no.3
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A generally successful first volume in a Mendelssohn cycleMusicians: Maggini QuartetComposer: MendelssohnHaving gained much critical acclaim in the field of rarely recorded British music, the Maggini Quartet is spreading its wings with this first release in a projected cycle of Mendelssohn’s works ...
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ReviewBach: Cello Suites BWV1007–12
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Mixed results in performances that combine mannerism and eloquenceMusicians: Jan Vogler (cello)Composer: BachJan Vogler uses a standard four-string set-up for all six of the Bach Cello Suites. His range of tone adds to the power of his performances, infectiously rhythmic in the ...
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ReviewString Paths. Tabakova: Insight, Concerto for cello & strings, Frozen River Flows, Suite in Old Style, Such different paths
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Compelling music from a young British–Bulgarian composerMusicians: Janine Jansen, Julia-Maria Kretz, Roman Mints (violin) Amihai Grosz (viola) Torleif Thedéen, Boris Andrianov, Kristina Blaumane (cello) Stacey Watton, Donatas Bagurskas (double bass) Raimondas Sviackevi?ius (accordion) Vaiva Eidukaityt?-Storastien? (harpsichord) Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra/Maxim Rysanov (viola/conductor)Composer: TabakovaPärt ...
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ReviewSvendsen: Violin Concerto in A major op.6, Symphony no.1, Norwegian Artists’ Carnival, Two Icelandic Melodies
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A sympathetic performance of a little-known Romantic concertoMusicians: Marianne Thorsen (violin) Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra/Neeme JärviComposer: SvendsenAs part of Chandos’s enterprising Svendsen orchestral series, Marianne Thorsen, who has already played a major role in the cycle, here turns her attention to the rarely ...
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ReviewTaylor: String Quartets nos.5, 6 & 7
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Three quartets play three quartets by a single composerMusicians: Dante Quartet, Allegri Quartet, Salieri QuartetComposer: TaylorThis disc follows the release seven years ago of a selection of chamber works by British composer and conductor Matthew Taylor, and features his three most recent ...
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ReviewStrauss: Don Quixote, Till Eulenspiegel
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A well-characterised account of Strauss’s ‘Fantastic Variations’Musicians: Alban Gerhardt (cello) Lawrence Power (viola) Gürzenich Orchester Köln/Markus StenzComposer: StraussStrauss’s mastery of brilliant orchestral timbres allows him full scope to depict the two rogues in these tone poems in the most vivid of terms. ...
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ReviewSciarrino: String quartets nos.7 & 8, Sei quartetti brevi
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Confident accounts of the work of an Italian modernistMusicians: Prometeo QuartetComposer: SciarrinoIt’s easy for the strange, evanescent, half-heard micro-gestures of contemporary Italian composer Salvatore Sciarrino’s fragile music to sound cold and clinical – a catalogue of glistening sound effects with no story ...
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ReviewSchnittke: Piano Quartet, String Trio, Piano Quintet
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Performances that get to the heart of a Russian composer’s bared emotionsMusicians: Molinari Quartet, Marcin Swoboda (viola) Louise Bessette (piano)Composer: SchnittkeWhen Schnittke composed his Piano Quintet between 1972 and 1976, the deaths of his mother and of his friend Shostakovich weighed heavily ...
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ReviewTelemann: 12 Fantasias for solo violin TWV40:14–25
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Stylish performances of Telemann’s solo violin fantasiasMusicians: Maya Magub (violin)Composer: TelemannMaya Magub’s accounts confirm her musical allegiances in both modern and period camps – she uses a modified c.1760 Gagliano violin tuned to modern concert pitch, a relatively modern bow, a combination ...
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ReviewMoeran Cello Concerto, Serenade in G major, Lonely Waters, Whythorne’s Shadow
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: An eloquent account of a rarely heard British cello concertoMusicians: Guy Johnston (cello) Rebekah Coffey (soprano) Ulster Orchestra/JoAnn FallettaComposer: MoeranWritten in 1945, Moeran’s Cello Concerto is a lyrical work. It is given a sensitive and persuasive rendition by British cellist Guy Johnston, ...
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ReviewLiszt: Élégies nos.1 & 2, Romance oubliée, La lugubre gondola, Die Zelle in Nonnenwerth, Consolations, O du mein holder Abendstern. Dohnányi: Cello Sonata in B flat major op.8, Ruralia hungarica op.32
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A disc of Hungarian cello music that impresses most in the lower registersMusicians: Raphael Wallfisch (cello) John York (piano)Composer: Liszt, Dohnányi, KodályA feast of Hungarian music is added here to Raphael Wallfisch’s already hugely extensive discography. It is surprising to realise that ...
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ReviewLalo: Piano Trio no.1 in C minor op.7. Bruch: Piano Trio in C minor op.5. Mendelssohn: Piano Trio in D minor op.49
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: More delicacy than indulgence in Romantic piano trios from a Czech ensembleMusicians: Petrof Piano TrioComposer: Lalo, Bruch, MendelssohnCellist Kamil Žvak gets several opportunities to demonstrate his gentle, lyrical skills in Lalo’s C minor Trio, opening the first and last movements with understated ...
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ReviewSonata–Monologue. Khachaturian: Violin Sonata, Sonata–Monologue, Dance, Song–Poem ‘In Honour of an Ashugh, Nocturne & Waltz from Masquerade, Dance of the Rose Maidens, Nuneh Variation & Sabre Dance fr
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: An exploration of a neglected side to an orchestral masterMusicians: Masayuki Kino (violin) Mami Shikimori (piano)Composer: KhachaturianKhachaturian’s popular reputation is based almost entirely on his highly colourful and exuberant concertos and ballet scores. Admittedly, included here are skilful transcriptions of a nocturne ...
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ReviewHindemith: Viola Sonatas op.11 no.4, op.25 no.1 & ‘1939’, Capriccio op.8 no.1 (arr. Gandelsman)
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A generally successful survey of Hindemith’s viola musicMusicians: Yuri Gandelsman (viola) Ralph Votapek (piano)Composer: HindemithThe Uzbek violist Yuri Gandelsman studied with Genrikh Talalyan (and is therefore a grand-student of the great Vadim Borisovsky). After stints as principal of the Israel Philharmonic and ...
