All The Strad articles in Web Issue – Page 99
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ReviewMendelssohn: Piano Trios no.1 in D minor op.49 & no.2 in C minor op.66. Schumann: Studien für den Pedal-Flügel op.56 (arr. Kirchner)
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Fire and lyricism characterise performances of Mendelssohn’s triosMusicians: Shaham–Erez–Wallfisch TrioComposer: Mendelssohn, Schumann (arr. Kirchner)For their recording debut as a trio, the cellist Raphael Wallfisch joins the long-established duo partnership of violinist Hagai Shaham and pianist Aron Erez in two of Mendelssohn’s most ...
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ReviewThe Soviet Experience Vol.2. Shostakovich: String Quartets nos.1–4. Prokofiev: String Quartet no.2
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A rewarding second volume in an ongoing Shostakovich cycleMusicians: Pacifica QuartetComposer: Shostakovich, Prokofiev The Pacifica Quartet launched its Soviet Experience series, a sort of complete-Shostakovich-plus-one, with the fifth to eighth quartets and Miaskovsky’s 13th. In this second ...
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ReviewFive-Stringed Tenor Viola. Schubert: Sonata A minor D821 ‘Arpeggione’. Bach: Cello Suite no.6 BWV1012. Taneyev: Trio op.31
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A largely successful experiment in recreating a niche instrumentMusicians: Thomas Riebl (tenor viola) Erich Höbarth (violin) Predrag Katanic (viola) Mari Kato (piano)Composer: Schubert, Bach, Taneyev Thomas Riebl, viola professor at the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg, loves Schubert’s ‘Arpeggione’ Sonata so ...
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ReviewVirtuoso Cello. Paganini: Moses Variations. Brahms: Hungarian Dance no.5. Sarasate: Zigeunerweisen op.20, Carmen Fantasy op.25. Wieniawski: Scherzo–tarantelle op.16. Monti: Czardas. Bazzini: The Round
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A disappointing recital of violin showpieces transferred to celloMusicians: Seeli Toivio (cello) Kalle Toivio (Piano)Composer: Paganini, Brahms, Sarasate, Wieniawski, Monti, BazziniThere is every reason for cellists to look towards the violin repertoire as a means of expanding their musical horizons, but some ...
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ReviewNeapolitan Cello Concertos. Leo: Cello Concerto in D minor. Fiorenza: Cello Concerto in B flat major, Sinfonia. Majo: Cello Concerto in F major. Sollima: Fecit Neap. 17..
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Techniques old and new come together on a disc of Baroque concertosMusicians: Giovanni Sollima (cello) I Turchini/Antonio FlorioComposer: Leo, Fiorenza, Majo, Sollima Giovanni Sollima is the spirited, dexterous soloist in three Baroque Neapolitan cello concertos, in performances that unashamedly ...
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ReviewChopin: Cello Sonata in G minor op.65. Rachmaninoff: Cello Sonata in G minor op.19
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Chalk and cheese in a coupling of Romantic warhorsesMusicians: Jeffrey Noel Lastrapes (cello) Constance Carroll (piano) Composer: Chopin, Rachmaninoff Rachmaninoff fares better in the hands of Jeffrey Noel Lastrapes than Chopin, whose elegant phrases sound overloaded with emotion in ...
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ReviewSprezzatura. Chihara: Viola Sonata. Siskind: Etwas für Bratsche (etwas rasch!). Britten: Lachrymae op.48. Hindemith: Viola Sonata (1939)
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A disc that lives up to its name in making everything sound effortlessMusicians: Shelly Tramposh (viola) Cullan Bryant (piano)Composer: Chihara, Siskind, Britten, HindemithA term taken from Renaissance Italy’s courtly etiquette, sprezzatura is the art of making whatever you do appear easy. I ...
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ReviewBuxtehude: Trio Sonatas op.2 BuxWV259—65
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Spontaneous-sounding accounts of a varied set of trio sonatasMusicians: Catherine Manson (violin) Paolo Pandolfo (viola da gamba) Ton Koopman (harpsichord/organ) Mike Fentross (lute)Composer: Buxtehude This latest release in Challenge Classics’s Buxtehude Opera Omnia project comprises the seven trio sonatas ...
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ReviewViolin Concertos from Dresden. Pisendel: Concerto in G major. J.F. Fasch: Concerto in D major FWV L:D8. Handel: Trio Sonata in F major HWV392 (arr. Pisendel). Telemann: Concerto in B flat major TWV51:
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Athletic accounts of Baroque concertosMusicians: Johannes Pramsohler (violin) International Baroque PlayersComposer: Pisendel, J.F. Fasch, Handel (arr. Pisendel), Telemann, HeinichenThis debut disc for both violinist Johannes Pramsohler and the period-instrument International Baroque Players explores concertos by 17th-century German composers associated with ...
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ReviewRococo Cello Variations. Beethoven: Variations on ‘Bei Männern’ WoO46, Variations on ‘Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen’ op.66. Gemrot: Ludwigsgruss, Variations on a Theme of Dvorák. Martinu: Variations on a
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A worthwhile exploration of cello variations let down by poor soundMusicians: Jeremy Findlay (cello) Per Rundberg (piano)Composer: Beethoven, Gemrot, MartinuThe concept of recording cello variations written across three centuries makes for interesting listening, and reveals the extent to which composers have progressively ...
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ReviewWright: Violin Concerto (‘And then there was silence…’)*, Momentum*. Vaughan Williams: Symphony no.5 in D major†
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A sensitive account of a new, commemorative concertoMusicians: Fenella Humphreys* (violin) Christopher Wilson* (tenor) Royal Scottish National Orchestra*, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra† /MartinuYatesComposer: Wright, Vaughan Williams Composed in memory of his violinist wife Ruth, who died of cancer in 2009, ...
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ReviewSchubert: String Quartets in A minor D804 ‘Rosamunde’ and D minor D810 ‘Death and the Maiden’
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Compelling coupling of two of Schubert’s best-known quartetsMusicians: Wihan QuartetComposer: Schubert Schubert remains one of the most elusive of pre-Romantic composers, not least in his mature string quartets. Emphasise the Classicist side of his nature and you ...
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ReviewFratres. Stravinsky: Suite d’après des thèmes, fragments et morecaux de Giambattista Pergolesi. Dallapiccola: Tartiniana seconda. Reger: Suite in the Old Style op.93. Pärt: Fratres. Schnittke: Suite i
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A recital of new-meets-old music that needs more gutsinessMusicians: Szymon Krzeszowiec (violin) Niklas Sivelöv (piano)Composer: Stravinsky, Dallapiccola, Reger, Pärt, SchnittkeIt might have been a mistake for Polish violinist Szymon Krzeszowiec, leader of the Silesian Quartet and professor at Katowice’s Szymanowski Academy, to ...
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ReviewReverie. Bottesini: Tarantella, Melodia, Allegretto capriccio, Elegia in D major, Capriccio di bravura, Introduzione e Gavotta, Grande allegro di concerto alla Mendelssohn, Reverie
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Subtlety and fireworks from a master bassistMusicians: Knut Erik Sundquist (double bass) Nils Anders Mortensen (piano)Composer: Bottesini This disc’s booklet relates how in 1978 the 16-year-old Norwegian Knut Erik Sundquist bought a Bottesini LP featuring Ludwig Streicher ...
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ReviewWarning: May Cause Mood Swings
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A rather too uptight collection of string arrangementsMusicians: Saint Michael TrioComposer: Various Covers of everything from Ennio Morricone and Led Zeppelin to Gershwin via Stevie Wonder explain the album title here. But despite the variety of repertoire, the mood doesn’t ...
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ReviewPfitzner: Cello Concerto in G major. Mayer: Probhanda, Ragamalas
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: An unusual coupling of late Romanticism and Indian ragas has mixed resultsMusicians: Rohan de Saram (cello) Druvi de Saram (piano) John Mayer (tanpura) Netherlands Radio Orchestra/Bohumil GregorComposer: Pfitzner, Mayer If there’s a link between the diverse works on this ...
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ArticlePablo Casals plays Bach's Cello Suite no.1
In the October issue, editor Ariane Todes reports from the Casals Festival, which still takes place annually in the French village of Prades. Here, the great cellist performs in the village's Abbaye Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa, in a film made in 1954. You can find out more about the issue ...
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FocusSzigeti as teacher: Andrew Watkinson
Andrew Watkinson, violinist and teacher at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, remembers how he met and studied with Joseph Szigeti in 1970:'I was 16 years old at the time, and I’d secured a university place, but I was looking for something to do as a gap ...
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Article
Lost Persichetti violin sonata set for debut
A sonata for violin and piano by American composer Vincent Persichetti (1915–87) is to have its world premiere this September. The 1941 work was discovered by University of Utah violin professor Hasse Borup in the archives of the New York Public Library (NYPL) in 2010. The handwritten score was ...
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Article
Man who stole violins from Glinka Museum is detained after second robbery
Moscow police have arrested a convicted thief who once stole a Stradivari violin on suspicion of stealing £80,000 in cash and valuables from a city apartment. Jakob Subbota, 43, a Chechen native, was convicted in 1998 of stealing a Stradivari violin and a Stainer violin from the Glinka Museum ...
