Reviews – Page 167
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ArticleFranz Benda: Violin Sonatas no.10 in F minor, no.14 in E flat major, no.23 in C minor, no.28 in F major & no.32 in E major
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Persuasive accounts of violin sonatas by an 18th-century Bohemian masterMusicians: Hans-Joachim Berg (Baroque violin) Naoko Akutagawa (harpsichord)Composer: Franz BendaFranz Benda’s sonatas demonstrate his capacity for resourceful melody, structural authority and skilful craftsmanship. The cantabile character of his works was especially noted by ...
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ArticleFrench Impressions. Saint-Saëns: Violin Concerto no.3 in B minor op.61. Ysaÿe: Berceuse de l’enfant pauvre op.20, Rêve d’enfant op.16 (orch. d’Alba). Chausson: Poème op.25. Ravel: Tzigane
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Electrifying accounts of Gallic classics for violinMusicians: Rachel Kolly d’Alba (violin) Bienne Symphony Orchestra/Jean-Jacques Kantorow, Pays de la Loire National Orchestra/John AxelrodComposer: Saint-Saëns, Ysaÿe, Chausson, Ravel As a follow up to her fine recording of Ysaÿe sonatas last year, ...
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ArticleFrom the Old World to the New. Loeffler: Quatre poèmes op.5. Brahms: Zwei Gesänge op.91. Bridge: Three Songs for voice, viola and piano, Two Pieces for viola and piano. Copland: Twelve Poems of Emily
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A welcome recital that puts the viola in a vocal contextMusicians: Rebecca Jones (viola) Karina Lucas (mezzo-soprano) Simon Lane (piano)Composer: Loeffler, Brahms, Bridge, CoplandGiven that the viola can be seen as the ‘mezzo-soprano’ of strings, pairing it with a real mezzo-soprano voice ...
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ArticleHaydn: String Quartets op.71, op.74
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Performances that bring out all the characteristics of Haydn’s artMusicians: Takács QuartetComposer: HaydnThe Takács Quartet seems to be working its way backwards through Haydn. The opp.76, 77 and 103 quartets are already in the Decca catalogue, and now here are ...
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ArticleMendelssohn: Cello Sonata no.2 in D major op.58, Lied ohne Worte in D major op.109. Chopin: Cello Sonata in G minor, Waltzes op.64 (arr. Davydov)
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Cellist and pianist uncover the Beethovenian influence behind two Romantic sonatasMusicians: Pieter Wispelwey (cello) Paolo Giacometti (piano)Composer: Mendelssohn, Chopin Pieter Wispelwey strips away the sweet veneer of Mendelssohn’s music to uncover a strong connection with a Beethovenian impulse in the Second ...
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ArticleBach and Blues. Poulenc: Violin Sonata. Ravel: Violin Sonata Biber: Passacaglia for solo violin. Bach: Chaconne from Partita no.2 in D minor BWV1004
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Beguiling coupling of classical-meets-jazz and Baroque from a young violinist Musicians: Iskandar Widjaja (violin) Anastassiya Dranchuk (piano)Composer: Poulenc, Ravel, Biber, Bach Berlin-born and -trained, and gold medal- winner at the first International Hindemith Competition, Iskandar Widjaja was taught by Susan Mann ...
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ArticleBerlioz: Harold en Italie op.16, Overture to ‘Béatrice et Bénédict’ op.27. Paganini: Sonata per la gran viola op.35
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A celebration of Paganini in his guise as a violistMusicians: David Aaron Carpenter (viola) Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra/Vladimir AshkenazyComposer: Berlioz, PaganiniPaganini wrote his Sonata per la gran viola after finding Berlioz’s Harold in Italy inadequate for his needs. ‘There are too many rests ...
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ArticleBrahms: Viola Sonatas op.120. Schumann: Märchenbilder op.113
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Welcome new versions of much-recorded repertoireMusicians: Rachel Roberts (viola) Lars Vogt (piano)Composer: Brahms, SchumannIt takes some courage to add yet another version of this over-recorded coupling to the lists, but from the first bars of the piano introduction, this recording commands attention: ...
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ArticleCroft: Violin Sonatas in A major, G minor & B minor, Harpsichord Suites in D minor, F major & G major Anonymous Violin Sonata in D minor
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Over-cautious accounts of English Baroque sonatasMusicians: Duo Dorado: Hazel Brooks (violin) David Pollock (harpsichord)Composer: CroftWilliam Croft’s three violin sonatas combine Italian and English idioms from the late 17th-century and are among the first sonatas for a single instrument and continuo to be ...
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ArticleReich: WTC 9/11, Mallet Quartet, Dance Patterns
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Reich’s 9/11 commemoration seems less than the sum of its partsMusicians: Kronos Quartet, S? Percussion, James Preiss, Thad Wheeler (vibraphone) Frank Cassara, Garry Kvistad (xylophone) Edmund Niemann, Nurit Tilles (piano)Composer: ReichThis disc includes two of Reich’s percussion pieces, but it is dominated ...
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ArticleRöntgen: Violin Concertos in A minor & F sharp minor, Ballad
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A worthy disc exposing a rarely heard strand of late RomanticismMusicians: Liza Ferschtman (violin) Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz/David PorcelijnComposer: RöntgenThe posthumous reputation of German-trained Dutch polymath Julius Röntgen (1855–1932) is still relatively minor. As with many composers of his generation, it is probable ...
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ArticleScelsi: Manto, Coelocanth, Elegia per Ty, Three Studies, Xnoybis
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Gripping performances of the music of an Italian modernistMusicians: Vincent Royer (viola) Séverine Ballon (cello)Composer: ScelsiVolume nine of Mode’s Scelsi edition collects together the composer’s complete works for viola, in persuasive performances by contemporary music specialist Vincent Royer, a former Ensemble Modern ...
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ArticleSchubert: Piano Quintet in A major D667 ‘Trout’, Die Forelle D550. Tomter/Sollid: Fjellørreten. Whittall: Hors d’oeuvre. Schmid/Carstensen: Forelle Blue
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A festive performance of Schubert’s sociable masterpieceMusicians: Benjamin Schmid (violin) Lars Anders Tomter (viola) Jan Vogler (cello) Janne Saksala (double bass) Antti Siirala (piano) Erik Sollid (Hardanger fiddle) Stian Carstensen (accordion)Composer: Schubert, Tomter/Sollid, Whittall, Schmid/Carstensen With its unorthodox scoring, Schubert’s ‘Trout’ Quintet ...
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ArticleArnold: Cello Concerto op.136*, Symphony for Strings op.13† , Concertino for flute and strings op.19a (orch. Ellis)† , Fantasy for recorder and string quartet op.140† , Saxophone Concerto (arr. Ellis)
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: The concerto soloist does his best in the face of weak musical materialMusicians: Raphael Wallfisch (cello) Esther Ingram (flute) John Turner (recorder) Carl Raven (alto saxophone) Northern Chamber Orchestra/Nicholas Ward*, Manchester Sinfonia/Richard Howarth† Composer: ArnoldMalcolm Arnold has garnered many plaudits for his ...
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ArticleSibelius: Violin Concerto. Edwards: Violin Concerto ‘Maninyas’
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Nordic cool meets the heat of the Australian desert in an unusual coupling of concertosMusicians: Adele Anthony (violin) Adelaide Symphony Orchestra/Arvo VolmerComposer: Sibelius, EdwardsAdele Anthony won the ABC competition back in 1984 aged just 13 playing the Sibelius Concerto, and now you ...
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ArticleStanford: Cello Concerto in D minor, Rondo in F major, Ballata and Ballabile op.160, Irish Rhapsody no.3 op.137
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Warm-hearted Stanford from a rising star of the celloMusicians: Gemma Rosefield (cello) BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra/Andrew ManzeComposer: Stanford Marking British cellist Gemma Rosefield’s Hyperion debut, this is a significant disc for her and she does not disappoint. Winner of the ...
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ArticleBach: Violin Sonatas in E major BWV1016 & G major BWV1021, Partita no.3 in E major BWV1006. Biber: Violin Sonatas no.4 in D major & no.8 in A major
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Invigorating performances of Baroque classicsMusicians: Evgeny Sviridov (violin) Zita Mikijanska (harpsichord)Composer: Bach, BiberThis debut recording from 2010 Leipzig Bach Competition winner Evgeny Sviridov admirably showcases his enviable technique, minute attention to detail, rhythmic vitality and subtle tonal colourings. He makes light of ...
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ArticleFauré: Piano Trio, String Quartet, Piano Quartets, Piano Quintets, Violin Sonatas, Cello Sonatas, Romances, Berceuse, Andante, Élégie, Papillon, Sérénade, Sicilienne, Morceau de lecture, Morceau de le
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Fauré’s complete string chamber music in benchmark performancesMusicians: Renaud Capuçon (violin) Gérard Caussé (viola) Gautier Capuçon, Raphaël Merlin (cello) Michel Dalberto, Nicholas Angelich (piano) Ébène QuartetComposer: FauréThe Capuçon brothers, separately and together, have the lion’s share of this survey of Fauré’s chamber ...
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ArticleHolbrooke: Violin Sonata no.1 op.6a, Violin Concerto op.59 ‘Grasshopper’, Horn Trio in D major op.28, L’extase from Mezzo-Tints op.55
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: First-rate performances do little to pin down a little-known composer’s styleMusicians: Kerenza Peacock (violin) Mark Smith (horn) Robert Stevenson (piano)Composer: HolbrookeJoseph Holbrooke (1878–1958) is best remembered, if at all, for his Wagner-aping cycle of Celtic music dramas, but he was prolific in ...
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ArticleHuber: Violin Sonatas no.5 in E major op.112 & no.6 in D minor op.116 ‘Appassionata’, Phantasie in G minor op.17
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Swiss performers revel in the high Romanticism of a follower of Brahms and StraussMusicians: Gilles Colliard (violin) Timon Altwegg (piano)Composer: HuberGilles Colliard and Timon Altwegg’s performances radiate real empathy with the vintage Romantic idiom of these works by their compatriot, Swiss composer ...
