All Reviews articles – Page 129
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ReviewBeethoven: Piano Trio op.97 ‘Archduke’, Piano Trio in E flat major WoO38, Variations on ‘Ich bin der Schneider Kakadu’
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A good-natured ‘Archduke’ that highlights the piece’s singing qualitiesMusicians: Ida Bieler (violin) Maria Kliegel (cello) Nina Tichman (piano)Composer: BeethovenIt is a never-ending source of wonder how distinguished musicians can produce such fundamentally different accounts of the same score, while keeping within well-defined interpretative ...
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ReviewBarber: Cello Concerto op.22, Cello Sonata op.6, Adagio for strings op.11
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Expansive, cantabile accounts of Barber’s engaging cello musicMusicians: Christian Poltéra (cello) Kathryn Stott (piano) Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra/Andrew LittonComposer: Barber How good to have a fresh recording of Barber’s Cello Concerto after rather a dearth of versions over the past ...
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ReviewLigeti: String quartets nos.1 & 2. Barber: Molto adagio from String Quartet op.11
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Revelatory performances of jarringly juxtaposed repertoireMusicians: Keller QuartetComposer: Ligeti, Barber It’s hard to know what to admire most about this remarkable new disc – the bravery of the strange but compelling juxtaposition of repertoire; the technical brilliance of ...
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ReviewGrieg: Violin Sonatas nos.1–3
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Two players at one with the composer’s lyrical freshnessMusicians: Christian Svarfvar (violin) Helge Kjekshus (piano)Composer: Grieg The C minor (no.3) may be the most overtly dramatic of Grieg’s three violin sonatas, yet for sheer enchantment and lyrical ...
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ReviewSolo. Cassadó: Suite for solo cello. Ginastera: Puneña no.2 op.45. Ligeti: Sonata. Kodály: Sonata op.8
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Masterful playing in a highly persuasive solo cello programmeMusicians: Santiago Cañón Valencia (cello)Composer: Cassadó, Ginastera, Kodály Colombian-born cellist Santiago Cañón Valencia delivers simply tremendous playing on this warmly recorded CD. In fact, I would go as far as to say ...
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ReviewShostakovich: Cello Concertos no.1 op.107 and no.2 op.126
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A coupling at its best when the soloist loses his inhibitionsMusicians: Dmitry Kouzov (cello) St Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra/Vladimir LandeComposer: ShostakovichThis recording fulfils a dream for Dmitry Kouzov, whose passion for Shostakovich was fuelled by being born in the same city, St ...
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ReviewStenhammar: String Quartets vol.1: no.3 in F major op.18 & no.4 in A minor op.25, Elegi & Intermezzo op.39
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: An imposing start to a Stenhammar quartet cycleMusicians: Stenhammar QuartetComposer: StenhammarDespite being one of the most important Swedish musicians of the early 20th century, Wilhelm Stenhammer (1871–1927) has only recently begun receiving his full due as a composer. His distinguished series of ...
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ReviewAn American in Paris. Poulenc: Violin Sonata op.119. Ives: Decoration Day. Gershwin: An American in Paris (transc. Heifetz), Five selections from ‘Porgy and Bess’ (transc. Heifetz). Ravel: Violin Sona
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A worthy celebration of Franco–American musical relationshipsMusicians: Tamsin Waley-Cohen (violin) Huw Watkins (piano)Composer: Poulenc, Ives, Gershwin, RavelTamsin Waley-Cohen celebrates her joint American and European heritage on this CD, most obviously with the title track, of which more later. She opens with Poulenc’s ...
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ReviewChaconne. Works by Saint-Saëns, Lalo, Brahms, Wieniawski, Bach, Sarasate & Mozart
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Inimitable playing from a veteran violinistMusicians: Ida Haendel (violin) Yukari Arai, Walter Delahunt (piano)Composer: Saint-Saëns, Lalo, Brahms, Wieniawski, Bach, Sarasate & MozartThis CD has taken a while to reach us. It was recorded in 2008 when the great fiddler was a mere ...
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ReviewSaariaho: Chamber works for strings vol.1: Tocar, Vent nocturne, Calices, Spins and Spells, Nocturne, Nymphéa
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Individual quartet members come to the fore in a disc of contemporary soundsMusicians: Meta4, Anna Laakso (piano) Marko Myöhänen (electronics)Composer: SaariahoIt’s hard to imagine more passionate, committed or meticulously crafted accounts of Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho’s exquisitely strange chamber music for strings ...
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ReviewPart Two
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A successful follow-up to a jazz–classical group’s disc debutMusicians: Basquiat Strings: Emma Smith, Vicky Fifield (violin) Jennymay Logan (viola) Ben Davis (cello) Richard Pryce (double bass) Seb Rochford (drums)Composer: VariousLed by London-based improvisatory cellist Ben Davis, Basquiat Strings caused a stir in ...
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ReviewEnescu: Complete Works for Violin and Piano vol.1: Violin Sonatas in A minor ‘Torso’, no.2 in F minor op.6 & no.3 in A minor op.25 ‘dans le caractère populaire roumain’, Impromptu concertant
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Highly successful performances of music from Enescu’s youth and maturityMusicians: Axel Strauss (violin) Ilya Poletaev (piano)Composer: EnescuIn common with many composers working in a post-Romantic idiom, George Enescu struggled initially to find his own stylistic niche, as is exemplified by the early ...
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ReviewGhedini: Violin Sonatas in A major & E flat major, Bizzarria, Due poemi
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Welcome complete recording of an Italian composer’s violin musicMusicians: Emy Bernecoli (violin) Massimo Giuseppe Bianchi (piano)Composer: GhediniGiorgio Federico Ghedini (1892–1965) was one of a large number of composers active during the first half of the last century whose music is so poetically ...
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ReviewDvorák: Cello Concerto in A major (orch. Burghauser), Serenade for Strings
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A brave attempt to revive the composer’s abandoned first concertoMusicians: Musica Viva/Alexander Rudin (director/cello)Composer: DvorákListening to this early concerto, one can almost hear Dvorák asking ‘Why?’ Why, when he left it unorchestrated and unperformed, and told his students that he regretted its ...
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ReviewBritten: Cello Suites no.1 in G major op.72, no.2 in D major op.80 & no.3 in C minor op.87
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Mixed results in a centenary tribute to BrittenMusicians: Antoine Pierlot (cello)Composer: BrittenFrench cellist Antoine Pierlot offers persuasive accounts of Britten’s three solo suites in a clear recording taken from a live concert. There are some movements, however, in which a more discernible line ...
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ReviewBrahms: Violin Sonatas no.1 in G major op.78, no.2 in A major op.100 and no.3 in D minor op.108
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Brahms playing that is perhaps too self-regarding for comfortMusicians: Sergey Khachatryan (violin) Lusine Khachatryan (piano)Composer: BrahmsSergey and Lusine Khachatryan present Brahms’s First Sonata as seen through the eyes of the daydreaming Schumann, with the music often wistful, frequently sad, and on occasion ...
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ReviewBeethoven: String Quartets op.59 nos.1—3 ‘Rasumovsky’
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Imposing and fleet-footed Beethoven from a leading US quartetMusicians: Miró QuartetComposer: Beethoven If you are looking for recordings of the three ‘Rasumovsky’ Quartets in a single package, then these two discs from the University of Texas at Austin Center for American ...
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ReviewBach: Violin Sonatas BWV1014–19
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A fascinating mixture of playing traditions revealed in Bach’s accompanied sonatasMusicians: Michelle Makarski (violin) Keith Jarrett (piano)Composer: BachVersatile violinist Michelle Makarski renews her fruitful association with legendary jazz pianist Keith Jarrett in these strikingly individual accounts. Jarrett emerges as the stronger personality ...
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ReviewBach: Cello Suites BWV1007–12. Casals: Song of the Birds
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A few caveats fail to detract from a generally successful traversal of Bach’s SuitesMusicians: Peter Martens (cello)Composer: Bach, CasalsPeter Martens’s interpretations are thoughtfully prepared and generally commendably executed, balancing modern performance practices with the simple clarity of period style. However, the South ...
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ReviewRavel: Piano Trio. Debussy: Cello Sonata, Violin Sonata. Fauré: Piano Trio op.120
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A superbly played collection of French duos and triosMusicians: Shaham–Erez–Wallfisch TrioComposer: Ravel, Debussy, Fauré This delightful tranche of French chamber music opens with an exquisite account of Ravel’s 1914 Piano Trio. The first movement is delicate and precious, the staccato ...
