All Reviews articles – Page 130
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ReviewElgar: Cello Concerto op.85. Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme op.33. Dvorák: Rondo op.94, Silent Woods op.68 no.5
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Spellbinding Elgar and more from a master of the celloMusicians: Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello) BBC Symphony Orchestra/Ji?í B?lohlávekComposer: Elgar, Tchaikovsky, DvorákJean-Guihen Queyras is a remarkable artist who breathes new life into well-worn repertoire. Even the salon pieces by Dvorák in this ...
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ReviewCorelli: Chamber Sonatas opp.2 & 4
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A masterclass in Baroque string playingMusicians: Avison Ensemble/Pavlo Beznosiuk (director/Baroque violin)Composer: CorelliVolume 3 of the Avison Ensemble’s chamber music extravaganza commemorating the 300th anniversary of Corelli’s death focuses on the 24 Chamber Sonatas opp.2 and 4. These works demonstrate the ...
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ReviewTrio
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: An intriguing disc of cello-led fusionMusicians: Jacob Szekely TrioComposer: VariousThis trio took me by surprise. Maybe it’s that the ‘piano’ of the booklet notes actually extends into synth and organ, or that the drums are heavy without drowning out the cello. Whatever, ...
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ReviewThe Art of the Violin. Saint-Saëns: Violin Sonata no.1 in D minor op.75. Pierné: Violin Sonata in D minor op.36. Franck: Violin Sonata in A major. Massenet: ‘Méditation’ from Thaïs
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A warm-hearted exploration of Franco–Belgian violin sonatasMusicians: Solenne Païdassi (violin) Laurent Wagschal (piano)Composer: Saint-Saëns, Pierné, Franck, MassenetThe ‘Art of the Violin’ indeed. Specifically the Art of the Franco–Belgian Violin at the end of the 19th century. The composers are a cosy group, ...
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ReviewReicha: Complete String Quartets vol.1: Quartets in C major op.48 no.1 & G major op.48 no.2
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: An important if flawed release of music by a Beethoven contemporaryMusicians: Kreutzer QuartetComposer: ReichaWhen considering the works of Anton Reicha (1770–1836), one finds that comparisons with Beethoven are inevitable. These quartets come out of this rather well: they are experimental in conception, ...
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ReviewA Century of Russian Colours. Rachmaninoff: Cello Sonata in G minor op.19. Kabalevsky: Cello Sonata in B flat major op.71. Auerbach: 24 Preludes op.47 (selection)
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A celebration of 100 years of typically Russian emotionsMusicians: Camille Thomas (cello) Beatrice Berrut (piano)Composer: Rachmaninoff, Kabalevsky, AuerbachAs a student of both Philippe Muller and Frans Helmerson it is clear that award-winning French cellist Camille Thomas has benefited from excellent tutoring. It’s ...
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ReviewProkofiev: Symphony–Concerto in E minor op.125. Britten: Cello Symphony op.68
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Impassioned readings of two 20th-century cello symphoniesMusicians: Daniel Müller-Schott (cello) WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne/Jukka-Pekka SarasteComposer: Prokofiev, BrittenTwo works indebted to Rostropovich and premiered by him in Moscow are paired here by top German cellist Daniel Müller-Schott. Prokofiev’s Symphony–Concerto opens arrestingly, the sound ...
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ReviewLeclair: Violin Sonatas op.2: no.1 in E minor, no.2 in F major, no.3 in C major, no.4 in A major, no.5 in G major & no.8 in D major
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Sensitive accounts of 18th-century sonatasMusicians: Adrian Butterfield (violin) Jonathan Manson (viola da gamba) Laurence Cummings (harpsichord)Composer: Leclair This trio offers intelligent, idiomatic performances of sonatas from Leclair’s second book, which demonstrates a striking synthesis of Italian melodiousness and French elegance. Adrian Butterfield ...
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ReviewGodowsky: 12 Impressions, Waltz Poems nos.1 & 2, Avowal, Alt-Wien (arr.Heifetz), Night in Tangier (arr. Kreisler)
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: An enterprising collection celebrating a great pianist–composer’s violinistic connectionsMusicians: Nazrin Rashidova (violin) Roderick Chadwick (piano)Composer: GodowskyLeopold Godowsky is principally celebrated as one of the finest pianist–composers of the early 20th century, yet his violinist connections and admirers were no less exemplary. Avowal ...
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ReviewBritish Violin Sonatas vol.1. Ferguson: Violin Sonata no.2 op.10. Britten: Suite op.6. Walton: Violin Sonata, Two Pieces
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A new survey of British violin repertoire begins in fine styleMusicians: Tasmin Little (violin) Piers Lane (piano)Composer: Ferguson, Britten, WaltonFeeling out of sympathy with modern trends, Howard Ferguson (1908–99) decided to abandon composition at the mid-point of his life – an acute ...
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ReviewDuphly: Ouverture, La du Tailly, La de Valmalette, La de May, La Madin, La de Casaubon. Mozart: Violin Sonatas K6–9
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: The violin holds its ground as ‘accompaniment’ in Duphly and early MozartMusicians: Stéphanie-Marie Degand (violin) Violaine Cochard (harpsichord)Composer: DuphlyOn paper the coupling of character pieces by Jacques Duphly (one of Paris’s most renowned harpsichordists during the instrument’s so-called golden age) with Mozart’s ...
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ReviewChonguri. Works by Tsintsadze, Bach, Cassadó, Chopin, Webern, Fauré, Liszt, Milhaud & Demenga
The Strad Issue: January 2013Musicians: Thomas Demenga (cello) Thomas Larcher (piano) Teodoro Anzellotti (accordion)Composer: Tsintsadze, Bach, Cassadó, Chopin, Webern, Fauré, Liszt, Milhaud & DemengaIn this exceptionally clear and warm recording, Thomas Demenga proves once again that he is a cellist adept at mixing the old with the ...
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ReviewDale: Suite in D major op.2, Phantasy op.4, Introduction and Andante op.5
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Quality rather than quantity marks a superb disc of neglected viola musicMusicians: Yuko Inoue (viola) Stephen Coombs (piano) RAM Viola SextetComposer: DaleWhat a wonderful composer Benjamin Dale was. In the words of his composition teacher at the Royal Academy of Music (RAM), ...
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ReviewBruch: Violin Concerto no.1 in G minor op.26, Scottish Fantasy op.46, Romance in F major op.85 (arr. Braunstein)
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A Bruch disc with too many caveats to enjoy the music to the fullMusicians: Guy Braunstein (violin) Bamberg Symphony Orchestra/Ion MarinComposer: Bruch, Bruch arr.BraunsteinSoon to step down from his role as concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic to pursue a solo career, Guy ...
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ReviewBen-Haim: Piano Quartet op.4, Clarinet Quintet op.31a, Two Landscapes op.27, Canzonetta op.34 no.4, Improvisation and Dance op.30
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Landmark recordings of neglected mid-20th-century musicMusicians: ARC EnsembleComposer: Ben-HaimIn concert and on disc, the ARC Ensemble of Toronto, formed by members of the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory, has made a feature of music composed in exile. The group’s first ...
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ReviewBax: Sonatina in D major, Rhapsodic Ballad, Folk-Tale, Legend–Sonata in F sharp minor
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Welcome exposure for some rarely heard British cello repertoireMusicians: Lionel Handy (cello) Nigel Clayton (piano)Composer: BaxThis disc features the entire solo cello and cello–piano output of Arnold Bax, apart from the 1923 Sonata in E flat major. The earliest piece, the Folk-Tale, ...
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ReviewAll Hands on Deck. Music by Waller, Carmichael, Jolson, etc
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Violin playing worthy of Grappelli on a disc of pre-war swing tunesMusicians: Man OverboardComposer: VariousA five-piece outfit dedicated to playing swing tunes of the 1920s and 30s, Man Overboard features Louisa Jones on vocals, clarinettist Ewan Bleach, guitarist Jean-Marie Fagon ...
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ReviewImages. Marais: Pièces for viola da gamba and theorbo
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Beautifully characterised performances of Marais’s gamba piecesMusicians: Mieneke van der Velden (viola da gamba) Fred Jacobs (French theorbo)Composer: MaraisPublished between 1686 and 1725, Marais’s five books of bass viol pieces reflect the changing tastes of his time, not least because ...
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ReviewBartók: Violin Concertos nos.1 & 2
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Highly successful accounts of two very different concertos from the same penMusicians: Isabelle Faust (violin) Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra/Daniel HardingComposer: BartókBartók’s two violin concertos exemplify the stylistic jolt that many composers experienced in attempting to bridge the creative chasm between ...
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ReviewWolf: String Quartet in D minor, Intermezzo in E flat major, Italian Serenade in G major
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Sometimes grim but often powerful music from a troubled late RomanticMusicians: Hugo Wolf QuartetComposer: WolfHow convenient that the complete quartet music of Hugo Wolf fits neatly on to one CD (six seconds short of an hour on this one). The eponymous quartet ...
