All Reviews articles – Page 134
-
ReviewSalva: Concerto for Cello and Chamber Orchestra; Three Arias; Little Suite; Slovak Concerto grosso no.3; Eight Preludes
The Strad Issue: eptember 2012Description: An invigorating disc of music from a postwar Czech modernistMusicians: Eugen Prochác, Ján Slávik (cello) Juraj ?ižmarovi? (violin) Nora Skuta (piano) Bernadetta Š u?avská (organ) Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra/Marián LejavaComposer: Salva Born in what was then Czechoslovakia, Tadeáš Salva ...
-
ReviewHalvorsen: Crépuscule*, Élégie*, Air norvégien*, Danse visionaire*, Little Dance Suite op.22*, Concert Caprice on Norwegian Melodies† , Sarabande with Variations‡, Five miniatures op.29*, Andante con
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Melodiousness rather than pyrotechnics dominates a disc of Norwegian violin musicMusicians: Birgitte Staernes, Berit Cardas† , Yi Yang¶ (violin) Povilas Syrrist-Gelgota‡ (viola) Frida Fredrikke Waaler WaervŠgen¶ (cello) Helge Kjekshus (piano)*Composer: HalvorsenJohan Halvorsen, a virtuoso violinist himself, is probably best known today among ...
-
ReviewDvorák: Cello Concerto in B minor op.104, The Water Goblin op.107, In Nature’s Realm op.91
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A warm-hearted solo interpretation let down by its orchestral accompanimentMusicians: Zuill Bailey (cello) Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra/Jun MärklComposer: DvorákThis latest release of Dvorák’s ever-popular Cello Concerto, recorded live in February 2011, boasts a fine rendition of the cello part, but the contribution from ...
-
ReviewTchaikovsky: Album for the Young (arr. Dubinsky), String Quartet no.1 op.11. Stravinisky: Concertino. Schnittke: Canon in memoriam Igor Stravinsky, Various Variations on a Russian Folk Song
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Sophisticated performances of Russian music for quartetMusicians: Kuss QuartetComposer: Tchaikovsky (arr. Dubinsky), Stravinisky, Schnittke As the booklet notes for this CD point out, the string quartet was not a natural medium for Russian composers of the 19th century, especially ...
-
ReviewTchaikovsky: String Quartets nos.1–3, Souvenir de Florence*
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A commendable addition to the Tchaikovsky quartet discographyMusicians: IPO Richter Quartet, Vladislav Krasnov (viola)* Kirill Mihanovsky (cello)*Composer: TchaikovskyFollowing years of critical neglect, the Tchaikovsky quartets have gained in popularity to the point that there are now a substantial number of ...
-
ReviewBowen: Violin Sonatas in B minor op.7 & E minor op.112, Allegretto op.105, Suite in D minor op.28, Melody for the G string op.47, Phantasie in E minor op.34, Song, Bolero, Melody, Albumleaf, Romance i
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Beguiling playing of British music from the first half of the last centuryMusicians: Chloë Hanslip (violin) Danny Driver (piano)Composer: BowenHyperion’s York Bowen series continues in the sensitive hands of Chloë Hanslip, partnered by Danny Driver, who has already recorded the ...
-
ReviewSpohr: Grand Duo concertant in E major op.112, Adagio in G major WoO37, Rondoletto in G major op.149, Sechs Salonstücke op.135
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Easy virtuosity on display in early Romantic repertoireMusicians: Ingolf Turban (violin) Kolja Lessing (piano)Composer: SpohrIngolf Turban and Kolja Lessing are worthy advocates for the blend of virtuosity, emotional unpredictability and lyrical charm that comprises Spohr’s Grand Duo concertant op.112. They possess the ...
-
ReviewHistoire de Tango. Piazzolla: Histoire du Tango. Falla: Canciones populares españolas (excerpts). Paganini: Sonata concertata in A major op.61, Moses–Fantasy, Cantabile in D major. Sarasate: Zigeunerw
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: An unusual collection with violin in league with guitarMusicians: Augustin Hadelich (violin) Pablo Sáinz Villagas (guitar)Composer: Piazzolla, Falla, Paganini, SarasateDespite its rather nebulous title, this curiously constructed disc confirms Augustin Hadelich’s place among the most admired violinists of his generation. Opening with ...
-
ReviewMendelssohn: Violin Concertos in D minor & E minor op.64, Violin Sonata in F minor op.4
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A rare coupling of Mendelssohn’s two violin concertosMusicians: Tianwa Yang (violin) Romain Descharmes (piano) Sinfonia Finlandia Jyväskylä/Patrick GalloisComposer: MendelssohnIn certain respects, the Mendelssohn E minor Concerto is the most demanding of all the great violin concertos. Everything must sound entirely effortless, with ...
-
ReviewSchumann: Cello Concerto in A minor op.129. Dvorák: Cello Concerto in B minor op.104, Silent Woods op.68 no.5
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: An unsatisfactory coupling of two Romantic concertosMusicians: Jamie Walton (cello) Philharmonia Orchestra/Vladimir AshkenazyComposer: Schumann, DvorákSchumann’s Cello Concerto is a notoriously difficult work to navigate, as the ebb and flow of the musical line can lack overall direction, which is to my mind ...
-
ReviewGerhard: String quartets nos.1 & 2, Chaconne for solo violin
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Serialism meets folk music in the works of a Spanish exileMusicians: Arditti QuartetComposer: GerhardBorn in Spain in 1896, Roberto Gerhard became Schoenberg’s only Spanish student, later fleeing his homeland at the start of the Civil War to settle in Cambridge and become ...
-
ReviewDebussy: String Quartet in G minor. Saint-Saëns: String Quartet no.1 in E minor. Ravel: String Quartet in F major
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A welcome interloper freshens up a classic quartet couplingMusicians: Modigliani QuartetComposer: Debussy, Saint-Saëns, RavelRadiantly engineered and tonally beguiling, these are performances that generate pleasure simply because of the sound they make. Some ensembles audibly struggle to shift their textural emphasis from the ...
-
ReviewProkofiev: String quartets no.1 op.50 & no.2 op.92, Visions fugitives op.22 (arr. Samsonov)
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Electrifying performances that tap the music’s inventivenessMusicians: Energie Nove QuartetComposer: ProkofievProkofiev’s quartets have tended to remain on the outer fringes of the central performing repertoire: a consequence of his wide-ranging stylistic terms of reference, dazzlingly hyperactive changes of musical direction and intimidating ...
-
ReviewDvorák: Cypresses, String Quartet in G major op.106
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Technically exemplary accounts that miss a Czech authenticityMusicians: Cypress QuartetComposer: DvorákWith their trenchant response to the opening bars of Dvorák’s op.106, the players of the Cypress Quartet emphatically announce a very purposeful performance of dynamic extremes. The care taken over internal balance ...
-
ReviewIn the Shadow of War. Bloch: Schelomo. Bridge: Oration. Hough: The Loneliest Wilderness
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: An inspired programme, searingly playedMusicians: Steven Isserlis (cello) German Symphony Orchestra Berlin/Hugh Wolff, Tapiola Sinfonietta/Gábor Takács-NagyComposer: Bloch, Bridge, HoughSteven Isserlis is nothing if not thoughtful and creative when it comes to programming, as this combination of three works linked by the psychological ...
-
ReviewRavel: Violin Sonata in G major, Violin Sonata (1897), Sonata for violin & cello, Pièce en forme de habanera, Berceuse sur le nom de Gabriel Fauré, Kaddish, Tzigane
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Reference accounts of Ravel’s complete chamber music for violinMusicians: Lena Neudauer (violin) Julian Steckel (cello) Paul Rivinius (piano)Composer: RavelThe young German-born violinist Lena Neudauer has here laid down what is my new benchmark for recorded performances of the two Ravel ...
-
ReviewBartók: Violin Sonatas nos.1 & 2, Sonata for Solo Violin
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Powerful accounts of Bartók’s three sonatas for violinMusicians: Barnabás Kelemen (violin) Zoltán Kocsis (piano)Composer: BartókBarnabás Kelemen takes a muscular approach to Bartók’s three sonatas (in this he is not alone). He and Zoltán Kocsis give an extraordinary performance of the First Sonata, ...
-
ReviewLe Phénix – Solo Double Bass in Baroque and Contemporary Music
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A celebration of the double bass across the centuriesMusicians: Christine Hoock, Thomas Martinu Thomas Jauch, Stephen Bauer (double bass) Florian Birsak (harpsichord) Barbara Nussbaum (piano)Composer: Vivaldi, Glass, Bach, Pärt, Corrette, Zbinden & HandelIs there a collective word for double basses? ...
-
ReviewBach: Violin Concertos in A minor BWV1041 & E major BWV1042, Concerto in D minor for Two Violins BWV1043, Concerto in D major for Three Violins BWV1064R
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Successful performances marked by a bold approach to ornamentationMusicians: Petra Müllejans, Gottfried von der Goltz, Anne Katharina Schreiber (violin) Freiburg Baroque OrchestraComposer: BachThese first-rate period performances are stylish, polished, thoughtfully prepared and sympathetically recorded, with ensemble tautly controlled throughout. Peter Müllejans and ...
-
ReviewA Violin's Life: Music for the ‘Lipinski’ Stradivari. Tartini: Sonata in G minor ‘Devil’s Trill’. Lipinski: Caprice op.29 no.3. Schumann: Violin Sonata no.2 in D minor op.121. Röntgen: Violin Sonata n
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A novel programme united by a historic instrumentMusicians: Frank Almond (violin) William Wolfram (piano)Composer: Tartini, Lipinski, Schumann, Röntgen This disc is the outcome of Frank Almond’s mission to chronicle in an artistically meaningful way the performing history of the 1715 Stradivari violin named ...
