Reviews – Page 173
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ArticleWritten in Sand. Ruders: Variations. Salonen: Lachen verlernt. Hallgrímsson: Offerto, Poemi*
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Violin music by three contemporary Nordic composers is vividly brought to lifeMusicians: Sølve Sigerland (violin) Risør Festival Strings/Per Kristian Skalstad*Composer: Ruders, Salonen, HallgrímssonNorwegian violinist Sølve Sigerland makes a strong case for these demanding works by three contemporary Nordic composers, combining ...
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ArticleDemus: Sonata sylvestre op.48. Debussy: Violin Sonata in G minor. Franck: Violin Sonata in A major
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: The familiar Debussy and Franck violin sonatas gain a novel companionMusicians: Thomas Albertus Irnberger (violin) Jörg Demus (piano)Composer: Demus, Debussy, FranckAn unusual supporting work for the Debussy/Franck sonata coupling comes as a pleasant change, and it is a bonus to have its ...
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ArticleDiversions. Stravinsky: Suite after Pergolesi, Divertimento, Duo concertant, Chanson russe, Danse russe
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A young Australian violinist finds the charm in StravinskyMusicians: Ray Chen (violin) Timothy Young (piano)Composer: StravinskyRay Chen, winner of the Yehudi Menuhin Competition in 2008 and the Queen Elisabeth Competition a year later, finds a gentle, thoughtful side to Stravinsky in this ...
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ArticleDvorák: Cello Concertos in A major & B minor op.104, Rondo op.94, Silent Woods op.68 no.5
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Mixed results in a collection of Dvorák’s complete works for cello and orchestraMusicians: Tomáš Jamník (cello) Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra/Tomáš NetopilComposer: DvorákAlthough this warmly recorded double CD set featuring all of Dvo?ák’s works for cello and orchestra seems an attractive proposition, it’s ...
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ArticleGeminiani: Cello Sonatas op.5
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Mid-18th-century cello sonatas played with drama and expressionMusicians: Gaetano Nasillo (cello) Tobias Bonz (cello continuo) Jesper Christensen (harpsichord)Composer: GeminianiGaetano Nasillo is fleet of left and right hands, particularly in the final Allegro of Sonata no.1, and he overcomes Geminiani’s challenging string crossings, ...
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ArticleGlass: Violin Concerto no.2 ‘The American Four Seasons’
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: An intriguing marriage of Baroque and Minimalism from an American iconMusicians: Robert McDuffie (violin) London Philharmonic Orchestra/Marin AlsopComposer: GlassAs a response to a request from Robert McDuffie to write a companion piece to Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, Philip Glass’s Second Violin Concerto, ...
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ArticleGórecki: String Quartets no.1 op.62 ‘Already it is dusk’, no.2 op.64 ‘Quasi una fantasia’ & no.3 op.67 ‘…songs are sung’
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Obsession rules the day in string quartets by a modern Polish master who died last yearMusicians: Royal QuartetComposer: GóreckiHenryk Górecki composed his three string quartets over a period of seven years in the 1980s and 90s, although he held back the last ...
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ArticleGrieg: Violin Sonata no.1 in F major op.8. Bartók: Sonata for Solo Violin. Strauss: Violin Sonata in E flat major op.18
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A winning sonata debut from a young Norwegian violinistMusicians: Vilde Frang (violin) Michail Lifits (piano) Composer: Grieg, Bartók, Strauss The young Norwegian violinist’s first sonata disc is an almost total success and her prize-winning piano partner handles his assignments so well that ...
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ArticleHaydn: String Quartets op.33
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A great Russian quartet cements its modern credentials in Haydn’s most carefree setMusicians: Borodin QuartetComposer: HaydnThis hugely enjoyable set confirms my impression that the current line-up of the Borodin Quartet is the best ever. I cannot imagine the previous incarnations ...
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ArticleLux Nordica. Grieg: Cello Sonata in A minor op.36, Intermezzo. Sibelius: Four Pieces op.78, Two Pieces op.77, Malinconia op.20
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Two southern Europeans shine a light on Nordic cello musicMusicians: Mattia Zappa (cello) Massimiliano Mainolfi (piano) Composer: Grieg, SibeliusMattia Zappa and his long-standing recital partner travel far from their own southern European roots for this smoothly recorded disc, their second for ...
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ArticlePohjonen/Kosminen: Uniko
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: An unusual combination of string quartet and accordion makes too little of the possibilities offeredMusicians: Kronos Quartet, Kimmo Pohjonen (accordion/voice) Samuli Kosminen (string & accordion samples/programming)Composer: Pohjonen/KosminenKronos commissioned Uniko from this Finnish duo back in 2004, with the recording laid down in ...
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ArticleThe Romantic Violinist – A Celebration of Joseph Joachim. Works by Bruch, Joachim, Brahms, Dvorák, C. Schumann & Schubert
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A tribute to the great 19th-century violinist lacks an authentic sense of styleMusicians: Daniel Hope (violin/viola) Sebastian Knauer, Bengt Forsberg (piano) Anne Sofie von Otter (mezzo-soprano) Royal Stockholm Philharmonic/Sakari OramoComposer: Bruch, Joachim, Brahms, Dvorák, C. Schumann & SchubertAs a Joachim scholar myself, ...
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ArticleCaprices Viennois. Kreisler: Violin miniatures
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A selection of some of Kreisler’s many lollipops lacks something of the master himselfMusicians: Frédéric Laroque (violin) Ryoko Hisayama (piano)Composer: Kreisler‘Kreisleriana’ has for some time occupied a neglected position among serious artists. Conversely, Kreisler’s reputation as a violinist has become rather better ...
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ArticleRubbra: String Quartets no.1 in F minor op.35, no.3 op.112 & no.4 op.150
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Vindication for an under-appreciated English composerMusicians: Maggini QuartetComposer: RubbraThis latest instalment in the Maggini Quartet’s survey of British music for Naxos completes the Rubbra set: the players have already recorded the Second Quartet on a disc that also includes his First Piano ...
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ArticleSchoenberg: String Quartets no.3 op.30 & no.4 op.37, Phantasy op.47
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Exemplary performances of Schoenberg’s later music for stringsMusicians: Fred Sherry Quartet, Rolf Schulte (violin) Christopher Oldfather (piano)Composer: Schoenberg These recordings of Schoenberg’s String Quartets nos.3 and 4 are surely close to exemplary. Phrasing is so beautifully shaped, and the ...
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ArticleSchumann: Piano Quartet in E flat major op.47, Fantasiestücke op.88, Liederkreis op.24
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A mixed Schumann concert that lacks songfulness and fantasyMusicians: London Bridge Ensemble, Ivan Ludlow (baritone)Composer: SchumannAfter a suitably mysterious opening, the players move pleasantly into the main tempo of the Piano Quartet’s Allegro; but the live recording, before a blessedly quiet audience, ...
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ArticleStachowski: Concerto for cello and string orchestra, Recitativo e la preghiera, Adagio ricordamente
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Bold and colourful concertante works for cello from PolandMusicians: Dorota Imielowska (cello) Beethoven Academy Orchestra/Piotr SulkowskiComposer: StachowskiThe cello was central to the later works of Marek Stachowski (1936–2004). The Polish composer apparently felt a strong pull to the instrument’s sound when accompanying ...
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ArticleD'Erlanger: Violin Concerto in D minor op.17, Poème in D major. Cliffe: Violin Concerto in D minor
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Mellifluous accounts of two rare Romantic violin concertos in Hyperion’s ongoing seriesMusicians: Philippe Graffin (violin) BBC National Orchestra of Wales/David Lloyd-JonesComposer: D'Erlanger, CliffeI can’t imagine I’m alone in having never heard a note of Frédéric d’Erlanger (1868–1943) or Frederic Cliffe ...
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ArticleEnglish Music for Viola. Works by Clarke, Walton, Bridge, Bax, Bliss, Vaughan Williams & Holland
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Convincing performances that unearth some forgotten gems of English viola repertoireMusicians: Matthew Jones (viola) Michael Hampton (piano)Composer: Clarke, Walton, Bridge, Bax, Bliss, Vaughan Williams & Holland With this realistically recorded CD, Matthew Jones and Michael Hampton – collectively known as ...
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ArticleFlight of Fancy
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A string quartet with a difference conjoins the worlds of classical and jazzMusicians: Eclectica!: Lizzie Ball (violin/vocals) Bernard Gregor-Smith (cello) Pete Oxley, Nicolas Meier (guitar)Composer: Various Bringing together a cross-genre violinist–vocalist (and leader of Nigel Kennedy’s Orchestra of Life), a ...
