All Reviews articles – Page 121
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ReviewYsaÿe's 6 Sonatas for Solo Violin op.27
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Spotless accounts of these solo violin masterpiecesMusicians: Karl Stobbe (violin)Composer: YsaÿeWith Ysaÿe’s sonatas one has the choice of performances that spell out the virtuosity required, or those that brush aside such problems. Canadian violinist Karl Stobbe’s falls right between the two, with an ...
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ReviewCorelli: Church Sonatas opp.1 & 3
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A fine conclusion to a tercentennial survey of the Baroque masterMusicians: Avison EnsembleComposer: CorelliI wrote positively about the previous releases in this 300th anniversary series (see The Strad, June and October 2013), and this final issue sustains all their virtues. The Avison’s ...
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Review1917 – Works for Violin and Piano. Debussy: Violin Sonata in G minor. Respighi: Violin Sonata in B minor. Sibelius: Five Pieces op.81. Elgar: Violin Sonata in E minor op.82
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2014Description: An enterprising collection capturing a year in musicMusicians: Tamsin Waley-Cohen (violin) Huw Watkins (piano)Composer: Respighi, Sibelius, ElgarChronology is as good an excuse as any to collect some fine music together, and these pieces make an attractive set. Tamsin Waley-Cohen approaches Debussy ...
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ReviewBach: Viola da Gamba Sonatas BWV1027–9
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: An unusual but successful account of Bach’s gamba sonatasMusicians: Inviolata: Asbjørn Nørgaard (viola) Andreas Borregaard (accordion)Composer: BachPlaying Bach’s keyboard compositions on the accordion may at first sound like an unlikely proposition, but the instrument has an uncanny ability to impersonate a chamber organ. ...
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ReviewBeethoven: String Trio in E flat major op.3, Serenade in D major op.8
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Triumphant advocacy for Beethoven’s early string triosMusicians: Zimmermann TrioComposer: BeethovenEvincing an old-world allure and sophistication with barely a whiff of ‘historically informed’ rhetoric along the way, the all-star Zimmermann Trio (violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann, violist Antoine Tamestit and cellist Christian Poltéra) ...
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ReviewC.P.E. Bach: Viola da Gamba Sonatas in C major Wq136 & D major Wq137. Alborea: Cello Sonatas in C major, G major & D major
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Interesting instrumental decisions on a disc of Baroque sonatasMusicians: Jennifer Morsches (violoncello piccolo/Baroque cello) Robin Bigwood (harpsichord/organ) David Miller (theorbo/archlute) Jane Gower (bassoon)Composer: C.P.E. Bach, AlboreaAt first it seems an unusual decision to perform C.P.E. Bach’s two viola da gamba sonatas on the five-string ...
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ReviewShostakovich: Cello Concertos no.1 in E flat major op.107 & no.2 in G minor op.126
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A heartfelt addition to the Shostakovich discographyMusicians: Truls Mørk (cello) Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra/Vasily PetrenkoComposer: ShostakovichTruls Mørk’s intelligent artistry and Vasily Petrenko’s vibrant conducting combine in a fine new recording of Shostakovich’s two great cello concertos, both written for Rostropovich. Mørk is a ...
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ReviewSchumann: Cello Concerto in A minor op.129 Dvorák: Cello Concerto in B minor op.104 Arr. Casals: El cant dels ocells
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Heartfelt accounts of of two Romantic cello concertosMusicians: Pablo Ferrández (cello) Stuttgart Philharmonic/Radoslaw SzulcComposer: Schumann, Dvorák, arr.CasalsSchumann’s Cello Concerto is nothing if not full of feeling and Pablo Ferrández, on this impressive disc, manages to play with huge emotion while still keeping ...
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ReviewSaygun: Suite for violin & piano op.33 ‘Demet’. Janácek: Violin Sonata. Prokofiev: Violin Sonata no.1 in F minor op.80
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A trio of major 20th-century violin works from a resourceful Turkish duoMusicians: zcan Ulucan (violin) Bírsen Ulucan (piano)Composer: Saygun, Janácek, ProkofievAhmed Adnan Saygun was among the first generation of Turkish composers to use the essence of traditional folk melodies dressed in West ...
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ReviewMister Paganini. Paganini: I palpiti op.13, La campanella (arr. Kreisler). Paganini–Kreisler: Violin Concerto in One Movement. Kreisler: La gitana, Petite valse. Albéniz: Malagueña (arr. Kreisler). Ys
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: An ingenious celebration of Paganini and his legacyMusicians: Laurent Korcia (violin) Haruko Ueda (piano) Paris Chamber Orchestra/Jean-Jacques KantorowComposer: Paganini, Kreisler, Albéniz, YsaÿeIn this neatly themed release, Laurent Korcia presents a selection of arrangements centring on Nicolò Paganini, and including homages to the ...
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ReviewMozart: Violin Concertos in B flat major K207, D major K211, G major K216, D major K218, A major K219 & D major K271A
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A disappointing sameyness of tone mars an otherwise interesting approachMusicians: Mirijam Contzen (violin) Bavarian Chamber Philharmonic/Reinhard GoebelComposer: MozartA set of Mozart concertos given by former Tibor Varga pupil Mirijam Contzen and directed by period-instrument specialist Reinhard Goebel (currently concentrating on ‘galant’ repertoire) is ...
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ReviewThe American Premieres 2011–12. Mays: String Quartet no.2 ‘Dreaming Butterfly’. Schoenfield: Three Rhapsodies. Bolcom: Piano Quintet no.2. Harbison: String Quartet no.5
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A string quartet enters its second century celebrating new repertoireMusicians: Pro Arte Quartet, Brian Hsu, Christopher Taylor (piano)Composer: Mays, Schoenfield, Bolcom, HarbisonAfter a century of existence featuring six different leaders, eight second violinists, four violists (German Prevost and Richard Blum served for 35 ...
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ReviewLachenmann: Gran torso, Reigen seliger Geister, Grido
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Performances so seemingly precise that they neglect the music in the soundsMusicians: Jack QuartetComposer: LachenmannThink of this as a reference item to be dipped into: it’s not easy taking in the complexities of Helmut Lachenmann’s three string quartets in a single sitting. His ‘instrumental musique ...
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ReviewCapriccio. Foss: Capriccio. Dvorák: Romance op.11. Stravinsky: Suite italienne (arr. Dushkin/Silverthorne). Schumann: Violin Sonata in A minor op.105. Mendelssohn: Songs without words op.19 no.1 (arr.
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Confident, authoritative playing on both violin and violaMusicians: Helena Baillie (violin/viola) Tanya Gabrielian (piano)Composer: Foss, Dvorák, Stravinsky, Schumann, MendelssohnThat controversial critic Hans Keller once proclaimed viola playing a ‘phoney profession’, his point being that any violinist would be able to do it ...
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ReviewKagel: Piano Trios nos.1–3
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Playfulness and tragedy lie side by side in dazzling performancesMusicians: ImÁ ge TrioComposer: KagelOn the surface, Mauricio Kagel’s three piano trios sound traditional enough, with fairly conventional melodies, often tonal harmonies and precious few moments of avant-garde weirdness. But look further and ...
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ReviewAnyone with a Heart
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Three jazz musicians collaborate in a classical mediumMusicians: Iiro Rantala String TrioComposer: VariousThe make-up of a piano trio means different things to classical and jazz audiences. To the latter, it refers to the classic line-up of piano, double bass and drums of Oscar Peterson ...
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ReviewHaydn: String Quartet in F minor op.20 no.5. Trümpy: String Quartet II
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Restless live recordings of quartets old and newMusicians: Szymanowski QuartetComposer: Haydn, TrümpyFor this second volume in the Szymanowski Quartet’s ‘First Performance’ series, you can choose between watching this live concert on a Blu-Ray disc at a sampling rate of 96,000Hz and 24-bit resolution ...
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ReviewHaydn: String Quartet op.51 ‘Die sieben letzte Worte unseres Erlösers am Kreuze’
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A performance that finds the spirituality in Haydn’s sacred meditationsMusicians: Casals QuartetComposer: HaydnWith sparing use of vibrato and subtlety in the application of tonal colours, the players of the Casals Quartet bring a suitably devotional approach to Haydn’s ‘Seven Last Words of Christ ...
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ReviewBritten: Cello Symphony op.68, Cello Sonata in C major op.65
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Enlightening accounts of two key Britten works for celloMusicians: Zuill Bailey (cello) Natasha Paremski (piano) North Carolina Symphony Orchestra/Grant LlewellynComposer: BrittenThis live concert performance of the Cello Symphony, captured over two nights in North Carolina, is made extra exciting by its vibrant recorded sound ...
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ReviewBrahms: String Quintets no.1 in F major op.88 & no.2 in G major op.111
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A Brahms disc in which the violas, in particular, shineMusicians: Takács Quartet, Lawrence Power (viola)Composer: BrahmsThese players project Brahms’s thick, symphonic textures with warmth and passion, teasing out countless subtleties with their responsive interplay. Violist Geraldine Walther is outstanding in the first ...
