All Reviews articles – Page 108
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ReviewBrahms: Viola Sonatas op.120: no.1 in F minor, no.2 in E flat major; Four Hungarian Dances
The Strad Issue: December 2015Description: Violists of different generations take on Brahms’s sonatasMusicians: Nils Mönkemeyer (viola) William Youn (piano) Signum QuartetComposer: BrahmsThese CDs feature performances by a Grand Old Man of the viola and one of the instrument’s most celebrated present advocates. Now in his seventies, Rainer ...
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ReviewBach: Viola da gamba sonatas: no.1 in G major BWV1027, no.2 in D major BWV1028, no.3 in G minor BWV1029; Ich ruf’ zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ BWV639. Handel: Violin Sonata in G minor. D. Scarlatti: Sonat
The Strad Issue: November 2015Description: Steven Isserlis finally joins forces with Richard Egarr in a Bach extravaganzaMusicians: Steven Isserlis (cello) Richard Egarr (harpsichord) Robin Michael (cello continuo)Composer: Bach, HandelGiven their impressive individual track records with Bach, this first recording collaboration by Steven Isserlis and Richard Egarr is ...
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ReviewBach 2 the Future. Bach: Partita no.3 in E major BWV1006. Biber: Passacaglia from Mystery (Rosary) Sonatas. Crosse: Orkney Dreaming. Frances-Hoad: Suite no.1. Hellawell: Balcony Scenes. Scott: Bumbleb
The Strad Issue: November 2015Description: Bach’s Third Partita plus Ysaÿe’s reimagining and three new commissionsMusicians: Fenella Humphreys (violin)Composer: Bach, Biber, Crosse, Frances-Hoad, Hellawell, Scott, YsaÿeI heard Fenella Humphreys play this contrasting programme of Bach-plus at The Forge, Camden, in the late spring. On that occasion there were ...
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ReviewBach: Solo Cello Suites BWV1007–12
The Strad Issue: November 2015Description: The Suites in hybrid historical performances from a Scottish cellistMusicians: Philip Higham (cello)Composer: BachAll cellists are reared on the Bach Suites from the middle grades onwards. Recording these mighty solo works, however, is only for the intrepid; and although this latest release ...
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ReviewFathers and Sons. Abel: Sonata no.2 in E minor (arr. Callus). Bach: Viola da gamba sonatas: no.1 in G major BWV1027, no.2 in D major BWV1028, no.3 in G minor BWV1029. Krebs: Andante from Trio in C min
The Strad Issue: November 2015Description: Bach’s gamba sonatas adapted for the modern viola of Helen CallusMusicians: Helen Callus (viola) Luc Beauséjour (harpsichord)Composer: Abel, Bach, KrebsThe sonatas for viola da gamba and harpsichord are arrangements made by Bach from some of his older chamber music (one of them ...
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ReviewVivaldi: The Four Seasons; Bassoon Concertos: ‘per Maestro dè Morzin’ in G minor RV496, ‘La notte’ in B flat major RV501; Concertos for violin ‘in tromba marina’: in D major RV221, in G major RV313
The Strad Issue: November 2015Description: Another Four Seasons – played with real style and dynamismMusicians: Adrian Chandler (violin/director) Peter Whelan (bassoon) La SerenissimaComposer: VivaldiVivaldi’s Four Seasons may be among the most-recorded of all works, yet there will always be room for performances of this exceptional calibre. Period-instrument ...
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ReviewWartime Consolations. Hartmann: Concerto funebre. Shostakovich: Unfinished Violin Sonata (1945). Weinberg: Concertino op.42; Moldavian Rhapsody op.47 no.3
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: November 2015Description: Dark Hartmann, lighter Weinberg and a Shostakovich firstMusicians: Linus Roth (violin) José Gallardo (piano) Württemburg Chamber Orchestra, Heilbronn/Ruben GazarianComposer: Hartmann, Shostakovich, WeinbergA Shostakovich premiere in 2015? Linus Roth has done his homework and dug out the unfinished movement for a ...
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ReviewBeethoven: Six String Quartets op.18
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: November 2015Description: A quartet fully alive to the characters of Beethoven’s early op.18 setMusicians: Jerusalem QuartetComposer: BeethovenThe Jerusalem Quartet members bring their own cultivated blend to these extraordinary works without either dampening their novelty or introducing anachronistic mannerisms: they respect the set’s ...
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ReviewTartini: Violin Sonata in G minor ‘Devil’s Trill’; Pastorale in A major op.1 no.13. Veracini: Violin Sonatas in G minor op.2 no.5; in D minor op.2 no.12
The Strad Issue: October 2015Description: Devilish deeds and chromatic caprices from a multinational trioMusicians: Rie Kimura (Baroque violin) Fantasticus: Robert Smith (Baroque cello) Guillermo Brachetta (harpsichord)Composer: Tartini, VeraciniJoined by cellist Robert Smith and harpsichordist Guillermo Brachetta from her ensemble Fantasticus, Rie Kimura prepares the scene well for ...
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ReviewMendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor. Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D major
The Strad Issue: October 2015Description: Steinbacher brings sweetness to two 19th-century concert warhorsesMusicians: Arabella Steinbacher (violin) Orchestre de la Suisse Romande/Charles DutoitComposer: Mendelssohn, TchaikovskyThe absence of the ‘unusual’ need not equate with a lack of quality. This disc, nicely presented, tidily recorded and admirably accompanied by veteran ...
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ReviewHorner: Pas de deux. Einaudi: Divenire. Pärt: Fratres. Sollima: Violoncelles, vibrez!
The Strad Issue: October 2015Description: The late film composer James Horner’s return to concert musicMusicians: Mari Samuelsen (violin) HŠkon Samuelsen, Alisa Weilerstein, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra/Vasily Petrenko, Clark RundellComposer: Horner, Einaudi, Pärt, SollimaJames Horner died on 22 June, at the age of 61, when his single-engine plane ...
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ReviewHindemith: Three Pieces op.8; Solo Cello Sonata op.25 no.3; Meditation from ‘Nobilissima visione’; Cello Sonata op.11 no.3
The Strad Issue: October 2015Description: A cellist whose tone could have been made for Hindemith’s musicMusicians: David Geringas (cello) Ian Fountain (piano)Composer: HindemithHindemith’s cello works have perhaps never received the attention given to his pieces for viola or for violin. They are all relatively early works and ...
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ReviewFauré: Piano Trio in D minor. Salter: Piano Trio. Ravel: Piano Trio in A minor
The Strad Issue: October 2015Description: French piano trios illuminated by a British contemporary workMusicians: Fournier TrioComposer: Fauré, Salter, RavelDespite being teacher and pupil, Fauré and Ravel came up with very different ways of approaching the medium of the piano trio. Put a vigorously contemporary work between them ...
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ReviewCaldara: Trio Sonatas op.1: no.4 in B flat major, no.5 in E minor, no.6 in C minor, no.12 in D minor; op.2: no.2 in B flat major, no.4 in G minor, no.8 in F major, no.11 in E major, no.12 in B flat ma
The Strad Issue: October 2015Description: Stylish and perceptively played trio sonatas from SwitzerlandMusicians: Amandine Beyer, Leila Schayegh (violins) Jonathan Pesek (cello) Jörg-Andreas Bötticher (harpsichord/organ) Matthias Spaeter (liuto attiorbato)Composer: CaldaraThis selection from the opp.1 and 2 trio sonatas by Antonio Caldara (c.1670–1736) exemplifies his personal yet Corelli-influenced approach, ...
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ReviewDvorák: Cello Concerto in B minor. Schumann: Cello Concerto in A minor. Tchaikovsky: Pezzo capriccioso in B minor
The Strad Issue: October 2015Description: Rostropovich’s fine concerto recordings remastered in high-definition soundMusicians: Mstislav Rostropovich (cello) Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Adrian Boult; Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, USSR State Symphony Orchestra/Gennady RozhdestvenskyComposer: Dvorák, Schumann, TchaikovskyHere are two of Mstislav Rostropovich’s best concerto recordings. The 1957 Dvorák, from Abbey Road Studio 1, ...
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ReviewBrahms: Cello Sonatas: no.1 in E minor op.38; no.2 in F major op.99. Schumann: Fantasiestücke op.73
The Strad Issue: October 2015Description: Classical restraint in Romantic music for this French duo’s recording debutMusicians: Bruno Philippe (cello) Tanguy de Williencourt (piano)Composer: Brahms, SchumannTwo young French musicians offer promising and subtly interpreted performances of these central works of the Romantic cello repertoire for their debut disc.Bruno ...
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ReviewBeethoven: Complete String Trios
The Strad Issue: October 2015Description: A late-style approach to Beethoven’s early worksMusicians: Jacques Thibaud String TrioComposer: BeethovenBefore he reached the age of 28, Beethoven had produced five works for that troublesome, ill-established genre, the string trio. The First Symphony (1799–1800) lay in the near future, as did ...
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ReviewSonatas for Fortepiano and Violin Vol.1. Beethoven: Violin Sonatas: no.4 in A minor op.23; no.9 in A major op.47 ‘Kreutzer’
The Strad Issue: October 2015Description: Old and new styles come together in period-instrument sonatasMusicians: Susanna Ogata (violin) Ian Watson (fortepiano)Composer: BeethovenThis first instalment of a projected four-volume cycle marks the debut of ‘Coro Connections’, an addition to the Coro label that features performers associated with Harry Christophers ...
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ReviewBeethoven: Violin Sonatas: no.4 in A minor op.23; no.5 in F major op.24 ‘Spring’. Schumann: Violin Sonata no.1 in A minor op.105
The Strad Issue: October 2015Description: Character and colour from a pair of Bulgarian musicians in AmericaMusicians: Dimitri Hadjipetkov (violin) Sarkis Baltaian (piano)Composer: Beethoven, SchumannDimitri Hadjipetkov and Sarkis Baltaian give a firm, incisive performance of Beethoven’s A minor Sonata, opening with a high-spirited dash through the Presto, punching ...
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ReviewComplete String Quartets Vol.1. Bacewicz: String Quartets nos.1, 3, 6 & 7
Description: Poles together: the Lutoslawski Quartet embarks on a Bacewicz cycleMusicians: Lutoslawski QuartetComposer: BacewiczThe seven string quartets of Polish composer GraŠ¼yna Bacewicz (1909–69) have been called the 20th century’s most significant contributions to the genre after those of Bartók. It’s a big claim – but on the strength ...
