All The Strad articles in Web Issue – Page 126
-
ArticleLost quartet by 14-year-old Max Bruch unearthed in Frankfurt
A musicologist based in Frankfurt has discovered the manuscript of a previously unknown string quartet by composer Max Bruch. Written when the composer was just 14 years old, the work will have its modern premiere in 2014. Researcher Ulrike Kienzle discovered the manuscript while investigating the ...
-
GalleryHospital CT scan for 'Titanic violin'
A violin thought to have been played during the sinking of the RMS Titanic has undergone a hospital CT scan to determine its age and condition. The research, commissioned by auctioneers Henry Aldridge & Son, showed 'that the original wood was cracked and showed signs of possible restoration', according to ...
-
ArticleThe world's largest viola ensemble in performance
More than 300 musicians gathered at a shopping centre in Porto, Portugal, on 19 May to break the world record for the largest ever viola ensemble. The number of players has now been confirmed by Guinness World Records as 353 violists – 32 more than the previous ...
-
GalleryBehind the scenes at our June issue cover shoot – by The Strad's designer, Elma Aquino
It was a cold and damp April morning when I made my way to a London photography studio for the June cover and poster instrument shoot. Deputy editor Peter Somerford and I met the photographer Benjamin Ealovega and his assistant Robert Le Baron at the studio to shoot cellist Raphael ...
-
ArticleCellist Emanuel Feuermann plays Dvorák and Popper
Cellist Emanuel Feuermann (22 November 1902–25 May 1942) made many recordings but very few filmed performances. Here is one of the few, made in 1939. Feuermann plays Dvorák's Rondo op.94 and Popper's Spinning Song, with Theodore Saidenberg at the piano.
-
BlogsPicture perfect
The Strad's designer, Elma Aquino, goes behind the scenes at our June issue cover shoot
-
ReviewTchaikovsky: Album for the Young (arr. Dubinsky), String Quartet no.1 op.11. Stravinisky: Concertino. Schnittke: Canon in memoriam Igor Stravinsky, Various Variations on a Russian Folk Song
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Sophisticated performances of Russian music for quartetMusicians: Kuss QuartetComposer: Tchaikovsky (arr. Dubinsky), Stravinisky, Schnittke As the booklet notes for this CD point out, the string quartet was not a natural medium for Russian composers of the 19th century, especially ...
-
ReviewTchaikovsky: String Quartets nos.1–3, Souvenir de Florence*
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A commendable addition to the Tchaikovsky quartet discographyMusicians: IPO Richter Quartet, Vladislav Krasnov (viola)* Kirill Mihanovsky (cello)*Composer: TchaikovskyFollowing years of critical neglect, the Tchaikovsky quartets have gained in popularity to the point that there are now a substantial number of ...
-
ReviewDvorák: Cello Concerto in B minor op.104, The Water Goblin op.107, In Nature’s Realm op.91
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A warm-hearted solo interpretation let down by its orchestral accompanimentMusicians: Zuill Bailey (cello) Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra/Jun MärklComposer: DvorákThis latest release of Dvorák’s ever-popular Cello Concerto, recorded live in February 2011, boasts a fine rendition of the cello part, but the contribution from ...
-
ReviewHalvorsen: Crépuscule*, Élégie*, Air norvégien*, Danse visionaire*, Little Dance Suite op.22*, Concert Caprice on Norwegian Melodies† , Sarabande with Variations‡, Five miniatures op.29*, Andante con
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Melodiousness rather than pyrotechnics dominates a disc of Norwegian violin musicMusicians: Birgitte Staernes, Berit Cardas† , Yi Yang¶ (violin) Povilas Syrrist-Gelgota‡ (viola) Frida Fredrikke Waaler WaervŠgen¶ (cello) Helge Kjekshus (piano)*Composer: HalvorsenJohan Halvorsen, a virtuoso violinist himself, is probably best known today among ...
-
ReviewSalva: Concerto for Cello and Chamber Orchestra; Three Arias; Little Suite; Slovak Concerto grosso no.3; Eight Preludes
The Strad Issue: eptember 2012Description: An invigorating disc of music from a postwar Czech modernistMusicians: Eugen Prochác, Ján Slávik (cello) Juraj ?ižmarovi? (violin) Nora Skuta (piano) Bernadetta Š u?avská (organ) Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra/Marián LejavaComposer: Salva Born in what was then Czechoslovakia, Tadeáš Salva ...
-
ReviewBloch: Schelomo, From Jewish Life (arr. Palmer), Voice in the Wilderness. Bruch: Kol nidrei op.47
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A deeply felt exploration of music for cello on Jewish subjectsMusicians: Natalie Clein (cello) BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra/Ilan VolkovComposer: Bloch (arr. Palmer) & Bruch The restrained dignity and expressive intensity of Natalie Clein’s playing are effectively displayed in these ...
-
ReviewOutside. Sciarrino: Six Caprices. Ravel: Violin Sonata in G major (first movement). Zinovieff/Orazbayeva: Five Bagatelles from OUR. Salvador/Tsepin: Pchela i babachka. Lachenmann/Orazbayeva: Toccatina
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Mystifying recording decisions detract from some enjoyable playingMusicians: Aisha Orazbayeva (violin/voice) Matthew Schellhorn (piano) Peter Zinovieff (electronics)Composer: Sciarrino, Ravel, Zinovieff/Orazbayeva, Salvador/Tsepin, Lachenmann/OrazbayevaYoung Kazakh-born violinist Aisha Orazbayeva’s debut CD is a hugely adventurous offering, with a rich mix of uncompromising contemporary music, electronics, ...
-
ReviewEnglish music for viola and piano. Bainton: Viola Sonata. Holland: Suite in D major. Bowen: Piece for viola. Bantock: Viola Sonata in F major ‘Colleen’
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A highly welcome exploration of little-known English viola repertoireMusicians: Sarah-Jane Bradley (viola) Christian Wilson (piano)Composer: Bainton, Holland, Bowen, BantockThis latest instalment in Naxos’s review of English viola music is particularly succulent, including as it does Granville Bantock’s monumental ‘Colleen’ Sonata. Christian Wilson’s ...
-
ReviewDuos for Viola and Violoncello. Works by Rolla, Lutoslawski, Kirchner, Milone, Clarke, Hindemith & Beethoven
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A brave survey of music for a rare instrumental combinationMusicians: Katrin Melcher (viola) MartinuOstertag (cello)Composer: Rolla, Lutoslawski, Kirchner, Milone, Clarke, Hindemith & BeethovenThe rich timbral combination of viola and cello sadly boasts pretty limited repertoire and inevitably the quality of compositions becomes ...
-
ReviewSublime Discourses. Milton/Peerson: Complete instrumental music
The Strad Issue: Febraury 2012Description: Domestic-scaled performances of some little-known English consort musicMusicians: Fretwork, Michael Chance (countertenor) Sophie Yates (virginals)Composer: Milton/PeersonViol consort music was big business in early 17th-century England. Fretwork’s latest disc features two of the multitude of composers who turned their hand to it: John ...
-
ReviewHidden Treasure
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A generous, wide-ranging viola collection from an eloquent playerMusicians: Rivka Golani (viola) Michael Hampton (piano)Composer: Rubinstein, Vieuxtemps, Enescu, Bowen, Mendelssohn, Pártos & ZimbalistThis well-recorded pair of CDs is a wonderful testimony to Rivka Golani’s passionate musicianship. Additionally, it presents a ...
-
ArticleShlomo Mintz plays Paganini
One of the greatest ever violinists, Niccolò Paganini, died on 27 May 1840 aged 57. Here's Shlomo Mintz performing the cadenza in Paganini's Violin Concerto no.1 at a 1997 concert with the Limburg Symphony Orchestra conducted by Yoel Levi. Mintz is playing Paganini's own violin, the 1743 'Cannone' ...
-
ArticleMax Bruch's String Quartet no.1
A string quartet by the 14-year-old Max Bruch has been located in an archive in Frankfurt. According to musicologist Ulrike Kienzle, who found the manuscript, the themes of the second and third movements are identical to themes in Bruch's Quartet no.1 of 1858, performed here by the ...
-
ReviewShostakovich: String Quartet no.3 in F major op.73. Beethoven: String Quartet in E minor op.59 no.2 ‘Rasumovsky’
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A triumphant coupling of two complementary quartets from different centuriesMusicians: Valentin Berlinsky QuartetComposer: Shostakovich, BeethovenThe Valentin Berlinsky Quartet, named after the founding cellist of the legendary Borodin Quartet, goes from strength to strength with a beautifully engineered coupling that finds ...
