All Reviews articles – Page 122
-
ReviewBrahms: Cello Sonatas no.1 in E minor op.38 & no.2 in F major op.99, Violin Sonata no.1 in G major op.78 (arr. Brahms), Hungarian Dances nos.1, 2 & 5–7 (arr. Piatti), Lieder (arr. Anon), ‘FAE’ Scherzo
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A complete Brahms cello collection that proves more successful at the smaller scaleMusicians: Jonathan Aasgaard (cello) MartinuRoscoe (piano)Composer: BrahmsThis ambitious project is something of a mixed bag. There are plenty of moments to savour in the clear and ambient recording, highlighted by ...
-
ReviewC.P.E. Bach: Violin Sonatas in D major Wq.71, B minor Wq.76 & C minor Wq.78, Arioso in A major Wq.79/70, Fantasie in F sharp minor Wq.80
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: An admirable tercentenary tribute from a Swiss Baroque-violin specialistMusicians: Leila Schayegh (Baroque violin) Jörg Halubek (harpsichord/tangent piano)Composer: C.P.E. BachThis disc features compositions spanning almost 60 years, from the Sonata Wq.71 (1731/rev.1746) through the two galant Sonatas Wq.76 and 78 of the 1760s to ...
-
ReviewSibelius: Violin Concerto in D minor op.47, Karelia Suite op.11, Finlandia op.26, Valse triste op.44 no.1, Andante festivo, Valse lyrique op.96a, The Swan of Tuonela op.22 no.2
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A mature reading from a young British violinistMusicians: Jennifer Pike (violin) Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra/Andrew DavisComposer: SibeliusThis sequence of unashamed Sibelius classics deserves the success it is sure to receive. Aged only 24, Jennifer Pike has an unwavering command of the Concerto ...
-
ReviewMendelssohn: Variations concertantes op.17, Cello Sonatas no.1 in B flat major op.45 & no.2 in D major op.58, Lied ohne Worte op.109, Assai tranquillo
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A persuasive account of Mendelssohn’s complete works for cello and pianoMusicians: Marie Macleod (cello) MartinuSturfält (piano)Composer: MendelssohnMarie Macleod and MartinuSturfält’s partnership had reached its sixth anniversary when these live performances were recorded. Their compelling accounts, expertly captured in 2009, reveal ...
-
ReviewHaydn: String Quartets in G major op.76 no.1, B flat major op.50 no.1 & G major op.77 no.1
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Searching if idiosyncratic Haydn from a polished ensembleMusicians: Modigliani QuartetComposer: HaydnI waxed lyrical about the musical insight, unanimity and polish of the Modigliani Quartet’s first Haydn disc in 2008 (see The Strad, October 2008). This ensemble’s recent Haydn release confirms my opinion, ...
-
ReviewNew World Quartets. Dvorák: String Quartet in F major op.96 ‘American’. Copland: Two Pieces, Hoe Down (arr. Cassidy & Thomas). Barber: String Quartet op.11. Gershwin: Lullaby. Brubeck: Regret
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A novel collection let down by indulgence in the headline workMusicians: Brodsky QuartetComposer: Dvorák, Copland, Barber, Gershwin, BrubeckThere is excellent playing on this CD: it starts at track five. The first four contain a fussy, mannered performance of Dvorák's ‘American’ Quartet, which ...
-
ReviewReflections. Bridge Viola Sonata (arr. Outram), There is a willow grows aslant a brook (arr. Britten), Pensiero, Allegro appassionato, Allegretto. Britten: Reflection, Elegy, Portrait no.2 ‘EBB’ (arr.
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A pragmatic but rewarding expansion of two composers’ viola repertoireMusicians: MartinuOutram (viola) Julian Rolton (piano)Composer: Bridge, BrittenBoth Benjamin Britten and his composition teacher Frank Bridge were proficient viola players (the latter at professional level), and their writing for the instrument is accordingly ...
-
ReviewPfitzner: Cello Concertos in G major op.42, A minor op.52 & A minor op. posth., Duo op.43
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Worthy advocacy for works of a neglected German late RomanticMusicians: Alban Gerhardt (cello) Gergana Gergova (violin) Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra/Sebastian WeigleComposer: PfitznerAlthough the two most memorable things about Hans Pfitzner (1869–1949) have to be his opera Palestrina and his hospital visit by ...
-
ReviewPierné: Piano Quintet in E minor op.41. Vierne: String Quartet in D minor op.12
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Triumphant resuscitation of long-forgotten French chamber worksMusicians: Goldner Quartet, Piers Lane (piano)Composer: Pierné, VierneThe record industry continues to titillate with a seemingly unending feast of seldom-performed music. Here we have two names who enjoyed enormous success in their lifetime, but whose chamber ...
-
ReviewConcertos Parlando. Shchedrin: Concerto parlando for violin, trumpet and strings. Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto op.35. Prokofiev: Five Melodies op.35b (orch. Prokofiev/Shchedrin). Dvarionas: Pezzo eleg
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: An enterprising collection centring around a new Russian concertoMusicians: Philippe Graffin (violin) MartinuHurrell (trumpet) BBC Symphony Orchestra/Mikhail Agrest, Lithuanian National Philharmonic Orchestra/Robertas Š ervenikasComposer: Shchedrin,Tchaikovsky,Prokofiev,DvarionasTwelve years ago the French violinist Philippe Graffin asked Rodion Shchedrin if he would compose a work for ...
-
ReviewVibrez: Works by Wagner, Schubert, Liszt, Wieniawski, Mendelssohn, Bach, Barber (all arr. Birchall) & Sollima
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Luxuriant performances of music largely arranged for eight cellosMusicians: CellophonyComposer: Wagner, Schubert, Liszt, Wieniawski, Mendelssohn, Bach, Barber (all arr. Birchall) & SollimaThis release is a debut both for London-based cello octet Cellophony and for Edition’s new Classics label. ‘Vibrez’, a request not ...
-
ReviewEuropean Folkscapes
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A tour of European folk traditions that misses the rustic elementMusicians: Apollo Chamber Players: Matthew Detrick, Anabel Ramirez (violin) Whitney Bullock (viola) Matthew Dudzik (cello)Composer: TradThis Houston-based string quartet is dedicated to performing music that bridges classical music and folk traditions. The ...
-
ReviewBeethoven: Piano Trio in E flat major op.70 no.2. Schumann: Piano Trio no.3 in G minor op.110
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Vivid interpretations of two contrasting piano triosMusicians: Les Esprits TrioComposer: Beethoven, SchumannThe members of Les Esprits Trio – violinist Mi-Sa Yang, cellist Victor Julien-Laferrière and pianist Adam Laloum – founded just two years ago, are all graduates of the Paris ...
-
ReviewSibelius: Violin Concerto in D minor op.47, Humoresques in D major op.87 no.2, G minor op.89 no.2 & E flat major op.89 no.3. Adès: Violin Concerto ‘Concentric Paths’
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A fresh but purposeful coupling of two violin concertosMusicians: Augustin Hadelich (violin) Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra/Hannu LintuComposer: Sibelius, AdèsThe Sibelius and Adès violin concertos are not obvious companions for a CD. But Augustin Hadelich likes pairing pieces in which he sees subtle ...
-
ReviewMendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor op.64. Adams: Violin Concerto
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Key Romantic and modern concertos make for an auspicious CD debutMusicians: Chad Hoopes (violin) MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra/Kristjan JärviComposer: Mendelssohn, AdamsCleveland-trained Chad Hoopes, playing the magnificent 1713 ‘Cooper’ Stradivari, creates the ideal sound world for the Mendelssohn E minor Concerto: lithe, ...
-
ReviewMlynarski: Violin Concertos no.1 in D minor op.11 & no.2 in D major op.16. Zarzycki: Introduction and Cracovienne op.35, Mazurka in G major op.26
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Rare works from the Polish tradition, colourfully performedMusicians: Eugene Ugorski (violin) BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra/Michal Dworzy?skiComposer: Mlynarski, ZarzyckiVolume 15 in Hyperion’s series ‘The Romantic Violin Concerto’ features works by two adopted Polish composers, Lithuanian-born Auer pupil Emil Mlynarski and Ukrainian-born Aleksander Zarzycki. ...
-
ReviewKreisler: Original compositions & arrangements of works by Gluck, Falla, Tartini & Dvorák
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Some of the violinist–composer’s best-known works are given a faceliftMusicians: Jack Liebeck (violin) Katya Apekisheva (piano)Composer: KreislerJack Liebeck and Katya Apekisheva have stripped away the sugary coating that has, over the years, surrounded Fritz Kreisler’s original compositions and revealed pleasing duets and ...
-
ReviewFeldman: Music for cello: Two Pieces, Projection, Four Songs to Poems by e.e. cummings, Intersection 4, Two Instruments, Durations 2, Voices and Cello, Patterns in a Chromatic Field
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: There’s control but too little detachment in this Feldman surveyMusicians: Marco Simonacci (cello) Paola Ronchetti, Ilaria Severo (soprano) Fabio Frapparelli (horn) Giancarlo Simonacci (piano)Composer: FeldmanThere’s no mistaking the fervency nor the passion of young Italian cellist Marco Simonacci in this vivid two-disc ...
-
ReviewBruch: Scottish Fantasy op.46. Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D major op.35
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: Performances that don’t quite rise above the worthyMusicians: Ning Feng (violin) Deutsches Symphony Orchestra Berlin/Yang YangComposer: Bruch, TchaikovskyAlthough conductor Yang Yang strikes just the right pulse and mood for the picture of an old bard that opens Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy, the performance ...
-
ReviewBritten: Cello Sonatas in A major & C major op.65, Cello Suites nos.1–3, Tema ‘Sacher’
The Strad Issue: January 2014Description: A well-performed set let down by recessed soundMusicians: Alexander Ivashkin (cello) Andrew Zolinsky (piano)Composer: BrittenAs a recording artist, Alexander Ivashkin, who died in January, will be best remembered for his series of Chandos discs in the 1990s: surveys of Russian repertoire ranging ...
