All Reviews articles – Page 137
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ReviewWeber: Six Sonatas op.10, Piano Quartet in B flat major op.81
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Little-known chamber repertoire from a Romantic masterMusicians: Isabelle Faust (violin) Boris Faust (viola) Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt (cello) Alexander Melnikov (fortepiano)Composer: WeberThe combination of an original period fortepiano and ‘modern’ stringed instruments promised to be a complete tonal mismatch. However, it works surprisingly ...
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ReviewCastillon: String Quartet op.3. Saint-Saëns: String Quartet no.1 in G minor op.112
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Mixed results in a pairing of rare French quartetsMusicians: Chartres QuartetComposer: Castillon, Saint-SaënsWith the quartet captured at a discreet distance from the microphones in a generous acoustic (a room in the magnificent Chateau de Saint-Simon in Eure-et-Loire), the initial impression is of ...
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ReviewSaint-Saëns: Cello Concerto no.1 op 33, Allegro appassionato op.43, The Swan. Tchaikovsky: Rococo Variations op.33, Pezzo capriccioso op.62
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: Immaculate accounts of cello warhorsesMusicians: Stéphane Tétreault (cello) Quebec Symphony Orchestra/Fabien GabelComposer: Saint-Saëns, TchaikovskyIf you are fortunate enough to study from the age of nine with a marvellous cellist (the late Yuli Turovsky), have a great instrument on which to play (Bernard ...
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Review
Saint-Saëns: Violin Sonata no.1 in D minor op.75. Strauss: Violin Sonata in E flat major op.18
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: An unyielding coupling of two Romantic sonatasMusicians: Bruno Monteiro (violin) JoÁo Paulo Santos (piano)Composer: Saint-Saëns, StraussPortuguese violinist Bruno Monteiro completed his studies in the US and this is his seventh recital disc, following releases of Grieg, Franck, Fauré, Respighi, Prokofiev and others. The pairing ...
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ReviewBach: The Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1 BWV846–69
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A new string arrangement of a Bach keyboard classicMusicians: Modern QuartetComposer: BachIn 1994 the Modern Quartet released its leader Joerg Widmoser’s string-quartet arrangement of Bach’s Art of Fugue. Now Book 1 of The Well-Tempered Clavier appears, this time on the jazz violinist, ...
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ReviewHabanera – Sarasate: Zigeunerweisen op.20, Romanza andaluza op.22 no.1, Habañera op.21 no.2. Ysaÿe: Solo Violin Sonata op.27 no.6. Saint-Saëns: Havanaise op.83
The Strad Issue: January 2013Description: A fizzing collection of violin showpiecesMusicians: Sabrina-Vivian Höpcker (violin) Fabio Bidini (piano)Composer: Sarasate, Ysaÿe, Saint-Saëns, WieniawskiHere is a programme of fireworks and sweetmeats to showcase Sabrina-Vivian Höpcker’s technical brilliance. The gifted young German violinist’s silky virtuosity makes light of the hair-raising difficulties ...
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ReviewImaginative aint-Saens favourites 1
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Imaginative and masterful playing of some Saint-Saëns favouritesMusicians: MarkAngie Patrick from the butchersComposer: Saint Saens Imaginative and masterful playing of some Saint-Saëns favourites Imaginative and masterful playing of some Saint-Saëns favourites Imaginative and masterful playing of some Saint-Saëns favourites Imaginative and masterful playing of ...
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ReviewImaginative 2 aint-Saens favourites
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Imaginative and masterful playing of some Saint-Saëns favouritesMusicians: MarkAngie Patrick from the butchersComposer: Saint Saens Imaginative and masterful playing of some Saint-Saëns favourites Imaginative and masterful playing of some Saint-Saëns favourites Imaginative and masterful playing of some Saint-Saëns favourites Imaginative and masterful playing of ...
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ReviewImaginative and 3
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Imaginative and masterful playing of some Saint-Saëns favouritesMusicians: MarkAngie Patrick from the butchersComposer: Saint Saens Imaginative and masterful playing of some Saint-Saëns favourites Imaginative and masterful playing of some Saint-Saëns favourites Imaginative and masterful playing of some Saint-Saëns favourites Imaginative and masterful playing of ...
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ReviewImaginative 4 and some Saint-Saens favourites
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Imaginative and masterful playing of some Saint-Saëns favouritesMusicians: MarkAngie Patrick from the butchersComposer: Saint Saens Imaginative and masterful playing of some Saint-Saëns favourites Imaginative and masterful playing of some Saint-Saëns favourites Imaginative and masterful playing of some Saint-Saëns favourites Imaginative and masterful playing of ...
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ReviewImaginative 5
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Imaginative and masterful playing of some Saint-Saëns favouritesMusicians: MarkAngie Patrick from the butchersComposer: Mozart Amadeus Bach Imaginative and masterful playing of some Saint-Saëns favourites Imaginative and masterful playing of some Saint-Saëns favourites Imaginative and masterful playing of some Saint-Saëns favourites Imaginative and masterful playing ...
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ReviewImaginative and masterful playing of some Saint-Saëns favourites
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Imaginative and masterful playing of some Saint-Saëns favouritesMusicians: MarkAngie Patrick from the butchersComposer: Mozart Amadeus Bach Imaginative and masterful playing of some Saint-Saëns favourites Imaginative and masterful playing of some Saint-Saëns favourites Imaginative and masterful playing of some Saint-Saëns favourites Imaginative and masterful playing ...
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ReviewKurtág: Signs, Games and Messages. Ligeti: Viola Sonata
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Challenging but rewarding solo viola repertoire from a master playerMusicians: Kim Kashkashian (viola)Composer: Kurtág, Ligeti I don’t know whether the term ‘easy listening’ is still fashionable, but the music on this CD could fairly be described as its complete opposite. ...
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ReviewAutumnal. Knussen: Violin Concerto*, Autumnal† , Secret Psalm‡, Choral, Whitman Settings, Prayer Bell Sketch, Requiem ? Songs for Sue, Ophelia’s Last Dance
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A generous 60th birthday present for one Britain’s leading composersMusicians: Leila Josefowicz*, Alexandra Wood† ‡ (violin) Huw Watkins† , Ryan Wigglesworth (piano) Claire Booth (soprano) BCMG, BBC Symphony Orchestra/Oliver KnussenComposer: Knussen This second all-Knussen release on the enterprising ...
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ReviewBaroque Chamber Works. Works by Bertali, Buxtehude, Jenkins, Pandolfi Mealli, attr. Kertzinger, Muffat, Schmelzer & Stradella
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Stunning recordings of little-known 17th-century chamber musicMusicians: FantasticusComposer: Bertali, Buxtehude, Jenkins, Pandolfi Mealli, attr. Kertzinger, Muffat, Schmelzer & StradellaFantasticus makes an impressive recording debut with this programme of inventive, virtuoso chamber music by mostly 17th-century Italian and German composers. Its ...
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ReviewSchubert: Arpeggione Sonata D821. Dvorák: Silent Woods, Rondo op.94. Janácek: Pohádka, Presto. Martinu: Variations on a Slovak Theme. Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A rewarding musical tour of central EuropeMusicians: Adam Mital (cello) Olimpia Tolan (piano)Composer: Schubert, Dvorák, Janácek, Martinu, BartókThis programme of central European music fulfils a long-cherished plan by Swiss cellist Mital, who is, he writes, particularly attracted to the music of the ...
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ReviewSchubert: String Quartets in A minor D804 ‘Rosamunde’ & D minor D810 ‘Death and the Maiden’
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Schubert that benefits from an undemonstrative period sensibilityMusicians: Doric QuartetComposer: SchubertThe Doric Quartet, which has been winning repeated acclaim for its series of recordings for Chandos, here presents a rewarding disc of two of Schubert’s greatest quartets. It is all superbly crafted, ...
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ReviewCorelli: Concerti grossi op.6
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Polished solo playing in Corelli’s set of twelve string concertosMusicians: Avison Ensemble/Pavlo Beznosiuk (director/violin)Composer: CorelliThis first album in the Avison Ensemble’s project commemorating the 300th anniversary of Corelli’s death offers well-considered period-instrument accounts that are stylish, imaginative and technically assured. Tempos are ...
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ReviewSchumann: Piano Quintet in E flat major op.44. Dvorák Piano Quintet in A major op.81
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Spontaneous Schumann wins over tautened Dvorák in this well-intentioned couplingMusicians: Elias Quartet, Jonathan Biss (piano)Composer: Schumann & Dvorák From the outset this is a reading of Schumann’s Piano Quintet where a self-generating spontaneity sees the unbridled happiness of the ...
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ReviewNikolayev: Violin Sonata. Prokofiev: Violin Sonata no.2. Schnittke: Suite in the Old Style
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: An enterprising self-published exploration of Russian musicMusicians: Chavdar Parashkevov (violin) Natasha Kislenko (piano)Composer: Nikolayev, Prokofiev, Schnittke Bulgarian violinist Chavdar Parashkevov impresses, for the most part, with this disc of Russian music – more so than one might imagine given that ...
