All The Strad articles in Web Issue – Page 36
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ArticleSchumann: String Quartet in A major op.41 no.3, Piano Quintet in E flat major op.44
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Takács Quartet, Marc-André Hamelin (piano)Composer: Schumann As is to be expected, the Takács Quartet provides a sumptuous disc here. In places, however, this lush sound can result in a vibrato that is too wide and slow, especially in the descending fifth ...
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ArticleTippett: String Quartets nos.3 & 5
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Tippett QuartetComposer: TippettThis is a superb follow-up to the Tippett Quartet’s first disc of its namesake’s works (reviewed in December 2008). The two quartets here are separated by 45 years, but share a penchant for lyricism combined with a fascination for Beethovenian ...
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ArticleFeldman: Spring of Chosroes. Zimmermann: Violin Sonata. Schoenberg: Phantasy op.47. Xenakis: Dikhthas
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Carolin Widmann (violin) Simon Lepper (piano)Composer: Feldman, Zimmermann, Schoenberg, XenakisAlthough the booklet note talks about a 20th-century crisis in music for violin and piano, in the hands of young German violinist Carolin Widmann the four sharply contrasting works on this impressive new ...
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ArticleSchubert: String Quintet in C major D956, String Quartets in D minor D810 ‘Tod und das Mädchen’ & G major D887
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Belcea Quartet, Valentin Erben (cello)Composer: Schubert In this vividly recorded and well-filled pair of CDs, the Belcea Quartet continues its survey of Schubert’s late chamber music pieces with monumental readings of the three greatest of them. ...
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ArticleWorld Wide Bass. Works by Piazzolla, Tugcular, Hirai, Abou-Khalil, Towner, Lowka, Egilsson & Trad
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Christine Hoock, Glen Moore (double bass) Dietmar Lowka (double bass/percussion) Barbara Nussbaum (piano) Andreas Hinterseher (accordion)Composer: Piazzolla, Tugcular, Hirai, Abou-Khalil, Towner, Lowka, Egilsson & Trad. Ten tracks take us on a highly enjoyable musical journey around the world, Christine Hoock and her ...
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ArticleForgotten Virtuosi. Works by Striggio, Baltzar, Schop, Nau, Castello, Marini etc
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Jonathan Talbott (Renaissance violin), Tormod Dalen (bass violin) Maxine Eilander (double harp), Andrew Maginley (theorbo/guitar) Stephen Taylor (organ)Composer: Striggio, Baltzar, Schop, Nau, Castello, Marini etcThis disc comprises an adventurous and engaging programme of violin works from the first half of the 17th ...
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ArticleJoshua Bell – at home with friends. Music by Grieg, Rachmaninoff, Lennon & McCartney, Berlin, Gershwin, etc
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Joshua Bell (violin) & guestsComposer: Grieg, Rachmaninoff, Lennon & McCartney, Berlin, Gershwin, etcJoshua Bell’s many admirers can rest assured that he is at his most tonally lustrous and musically seductive throughout this generous collection of lighter musical fare on the reflective side. ...
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ArticleFranck: String Quartet in D major, Piano Quintet in F minor
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Fine Arts Quartet, Cristina Ortiz (piano) Composer: FranckConsidering the popularity of the Violin Sonata it is surprising how rarely Franck’s other major chamber works are encountered both in the concert hall and on disc. The answer lies with his twin musical ...
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BlogsOpinion: Get rid of histrionics in quartet playing
Over-the-top emoting by individual players ruins the whole point of chamber music, says David Kettle
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Article
Argentine violinist and conductor Alberto Lysy dies in Lausanne aged 74
Argentine violinist, conductor and teacher Alberto Lysy has died aged 74. He was a student of Menuhin, with whom he premiered Malcolm Arnold's Concerto for Two Violins and recorded Bach's Double Concerto. Lysy went on to honour his mentor by co-founding the International Menuhin Music Academy in Gstaad in 1977. ...
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Article
The Strad launches new website
Welcome to The Strad's new website. As well as a fresh look, the site now offers new features such as videos and easy one-click access to articles, competitions, directories and our official Twitter feed. There are also more opportunities for you to post your comments on news stories and our ...
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Article
Curtis Quartet cellist Orlando Cole dies aged 101
Cellist Orlando Cole has died at the age of 101. He studied at Philadelphia's Curtis Institute with Felix Salmond, and went on to teach there for more than 50 years - among his students were Lynn Harrell and Lorne Munroe. As a member of the Curtis Quartet, Cole toured the ...
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Article
Cultural commentator Norman Lebrecht to write for The Strad
The veteran journalist and string-music lover Norman Lebrecht will be casting his acerbic eye over the string world in a new monthly opinion piece, starting with the March issue of The Strad. The column will be in the magazine only but the conversation will open out on our website. ...
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Article
New pay deal for Seattle Symphony
Musicians at the Seattle Symphony have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract. They have accepted a five per cent cut in pay until the end of this season, with the current pay scale resuming in 2011. Each of the 84 players will also contribute $2,010 towards the orchestra's ...
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ArticleTaneyev: Violin Sonata, Romance op.26 no.6 ‘Stalaktiti’ (arr. Feigin), plus piano works
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Ivan Peshkov (violin) Olga Solovieva (piano)Composer: TaneyevIvan Peshkov’s rich, soulful tone colour and sensitively controlled phrasing seems perfectly suited to the two heartfelt works for violin and piano on this disc of music by his compatriot Sergey Ivanovich Taneyev. The declamatory, late-Romantic ...
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ArticleHaydn: Violin Concertos no.1 in C major Hob.VIIa:1 & no. 4 in G major Hob.VIIa:4. Mozart: Sinfonia concertante K364
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Rachel Podger (violin) Pavlo Beznosiuk (viola) Orchestra of the Age of EnlightenmentComposer: Haydn, MozartThough Haydn was surrounded by virtuoso players in the court orchestra of the wealthy Esterházy family, his early violin concertos do not make excessive demands of the soloist. The ...
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ArticleEvaristo dall'Abaco: Concertos for strings op.2 nos.5*, 6† , 8‡, 9‡ & 10† & op.6 nos.2*, 3¶ & 6†
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Cappella Coloniensis/Wilfried Boettcher*, Hanns-MartinuSchneidt† , Günther Wich‡, György Fischer¶Composer: Evaristo dall'AbacoFounded in 1954 by Northwest German Radio, Cappella Coloniensis claims to be the oldest period instrument ensemble in the world. It seems to have had a soft spot for the music of ...
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ArticleSchubert: String Quartets in E flat major D87 & G major D887
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Hugo Wolf Quartet Composer: SchubertThe Hugo Wolf Quartet’s fine-toned, well-blended accounts demonstrate a striking empathy for the tensions that lie within Schubert’s expansive music and amply explore the emotional colours of its unexpected twists of melody and harmony. These players perform the ...
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ArticleOlivero: Neharót Neharót. Mansurian: Tagh for the Funeral of the Lord, Three Arias (Sung out the window facing Mount Ararat). Komitas: Oror. Steinberg: Rava Deravin
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Kim Kashkashian (viola) Robyn Schulkovsky (percussion) Tigran Mansurian (piano) Kuss Quartet, Munich Chamber Orchestra/Alexander Liebreich, Boston Modern Orchestra Project/Gil RoseComposer: Olivero, Mansurian, Komitas, SteinbergThis new disc from the American-born violist Kim Kashkashian combines music reflecting her Armenian cultural heritage with two major ...
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ArticlePaganini: Sonata concertata in A major, Cantabile in D major, Tarantella in A minor, Sonatas in A minor, D major, A major & E minor
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Pekka Kuusisto (violin) Ismo Eskelinen (guitar)Composer: PaganiniI had never heard these Paganini duos for violin and guitar before, and it came as a surprise to me to read that the composer himself was a fine guitarist. These works are relatively light on ...
