All Reviews articles – Page 139
-
ReviewPerspectives. Webern: Five Movements op.5. Pärt: Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten. Kurtág: Aus der Ferne III. Högberg: Hitting the First Base. Lutoslawski: Musique funèbre
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A contemplative northern view on music from central Europe and beyondMusicians: Dan Styffe (double bass) Tromsø Chamber Orchestra/Kolbjørn HoltheComposer: Webern, Pärt, Kurtág, Högberg, LutoslawskiThe documentation for this disc tries a little too hard to relate what is primarily a programme of music ...
-
ReviewHandel: Violin Sonatas in A major HWV361, G minor HWV364a, F major HWV370, D minor HWV359a, G major HWV358, D major HWV371, A major HWV372 & E minor HWV375
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Some rather over-wrought solo playing is mitigated by a skilled continuo teamMusicians: Riccardo Minasi (violin) Musica Antiqua RomaComposer: HandelThese dramatic, extrovert performances will either delight or displease. Riccardo Minasi is a creative violinist, whose contribution is strong in imagination and personality. His ...
-
ReviewPleyel: String Quartets in C major B334, A major B335, E flat major B336
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Good-humoured performances of quartets by a Mozart contemporaryMusicians: Pleyel Quartet KölnComposer: Pleyel These seldom-heard works form the ‘deuxième livre’ (nos.4–6) of Pleyel’s twelve ‘Prussian’ quartets, dedicated to Frederick William II of Prussia. The Pleyel Quartet presents a largely persuasive ...
-
ReviewCerha: String quartets nos.3 & 4, Eight Movements after Hölderlin Fragments*
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Compelling accounts of music by a modern Austrian masterMusicians: Stadler Quartet, Ulrike Jaeger (viola)* Sebestyén Ludmány (cello)*Composer: Cerha The Salzburg-based Stadler Quartet has an impressive track record in contemporary music, and it shows in this disc of music for ...
-
ReviewSvendsen: String Octet in A major op.3. Bruch: String Octet in B flat major
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Two rarely heard string octets that give Mendelssohn a run for his moneyMusicians: Tharice VirtuosiComposer: Svendsen & BruchThe string octet literature is so dominated by Mendelssohn’s exhilarating teenage masterpiece that it has proved almost impossible for other composers to get much of ...
-
ReviewMendelssohn: Violin Concertos in E minor op.64 & D minor, The Hebrides Overture op.26
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A more-than-welcome addition to a crowded discographyMusicians: Alina Ibragimova (violin) Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment/Vladimir JurowskiComposer: Mendelssohn Does the world really need another recording of Mendelssohn’s E minor Violin Concerto? Well, yes, when it’s as good ...
-
ReviewThe Art of Transcription. Bach: Goldberg Variations BWV988 (arr. Sitkovetsky), 15 Sinfonias BWV787—801 (arr. Sitkovetsky)
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A transcription that has become a modern classic back in the hands of its creatorMusicians: Dmitry Sitkovetsky (violin) Yuri Zhislin (viola) Luigi Piovano (cello)Composer: Bach (arr. Sitkovetsky) Dmitry Sitkovetsky began work on a string trio arrangement of Bach’s Goldberg Variations in ...
-
ReviewMendelssohn: String Quartets in E flat major op.12 & A minor op.13
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Accounts of Mendelssohn’s early quartets that recognise their Beethovenian influenceMusicians: Minetti QuartetComposer: Mendelssohn Mendelssohn’s string quartets are currently enjoying considerable popularity both in the concert hall and on disc. This new recording comes from the Austrian-based Minetti Quartet, a ...
-
ReviewLa viola romantica. Glinka: Viola Sonata in D minor. Schubert: Arpeggione Sonata in A minor D821. Schumann: Märchenbilder op.113
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Mixed results on a disc of Romantic viola musicMusicians: Danilo Rossi (viola) Stefano Bezziccheri (piano)Composer: Glinka, Schubert, Schumann Earlier this year I reviewed a recording of the Brahms viola sonatas presented by these artists in a similar dual audio/video ...
-
ReviewBach: Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin vol.2: Sonata in G minor BWV1001, Partita in B minor BWV1002 & Sonata in A minor BWV1003
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Unbeatable playing in the conclusion to a benchmark Bach projectMusicians: Isabelle Faust (violin)Composer: Bach Anyone who owns the first volume of Isabelle Faust’s unaccompanied Bach (reviewed in June 2010) has probably ordered this CD already. Faust herself, ...
-
ReviewLiszt: La lugubre gondola, Six Consolations (arr. de Swert), Elégies nos.1 & 2, Romance oubliée, Valse oubliée no.1 (arr. Busoni), Die Zelle in Nonnenwerth, Angelus ! Prière aux anges gardiens (arr. W
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: An enterprising cello recital exploring the more mystical side of Liszt’s outputMusicians: Christophe Pantillon (cello) Marc Pantillon (piano)Composer: LisztThere are few works in the cello repertoire that plumb the depths of profound despair as far as Liszt’s La lugubre gondola. This work ...
-
ReviewBeethoven: Piano Trio in E flat major op.1 no.1. Armstrong: Stop laughing: we’re rehearsing! Haydn: Piano Trio in D major HobXV:24. Liszt: Tristia (Vallée d’Obermann)
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A novel setting for two elegantly played Classical piano triosMusicians: Andrej Bielow (violin) Adrian Brendel (cello) Kit Armstrong (piano)Composer: Beethoven, Armstrong, Haydn, Liszt An unusual mix of works characterises this release from Ukrainian violinist Andrej Bielow, British cellist Adrian ...
-
Review
Last Spring
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Jazz takes on traditional and composed melodies from a resourceful violinistMusicians: Henning Kraggerud (violin/viola/viola concorda) Bugge Wesseltoft (piano)Composer: Kraggerud & Wesseltoft Norwegian violinist Henning Kraggerud seems to move freely between solo and chamber music, between standard repertoire and new commissions. This album ...
-
ReviewYoung: Works for viola da gamba consort
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: An interesting revival of music from the English BaroqueMusicians: Hamburger Ratsmusik/Simone Eckert (viola da gamba/director)Composer: Young Viol player William Young’s collection of Sonate a 3, 4 e 5 (1653) was the first by an Englishman explicitly to prescribe the ...
-
ReviewPresent. Works by Halvorsen, Kukal, Ströble, Cirri, Schulhoff & Ravel
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Mixed results in a wide-ranging recital for violin and celloMusicians: Eight Strings: Valeria Nasushkina (violin) Mikael Samsonov (cello)Composer: Halvorsen, Kukal, Ströble, Cirri, Schulhoff & Ravel This disc sheds light on some of the byways of music for violin and cello, ...
-
ReviewKraus: Viola Concertos in E flat major & C major, Concerto in G major for viola and cello
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Fearless performances of familiar concertos under a new attributionMusicians: David Aaron Carpenter (viola) Riitta Pesola (cello) Tapiola SinfoniettaComposer: KrausI was more than a little surprised when a CD of viola concertos by Mozart’s exact contemporary Joseph MartinuKraus arrived, since I didn’t even ...
-
ReviewVanhal: Cello Concertos in C major, A major & C major
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Generally solid accounts of newly rediscovered Classical concertosMusicians: Péter Szabó (cello/conductor) Sinfonietta PannonicaComposer: VanhalPéter Szabó here disseminates more outcomes from his enterprising explorations of library and museum shelves, presenting three world premiere recordings of cello concertos by Vanhal, based on manuscript sources. ...
-
ReviewEternal Echoes: Songs and Dances for the Soul. A Dudele, Mizmor L’Dovid, Shoyfer Shel Moshiakh, Romanian Doyne, T’filas Tal, Yism’chu, R’tzay, Dem Trisker Rebn’s Nign, Sheyibone Bays Hamikdosh, Kol ni
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: The Israeli—American violinist explores his Jewish rootsMusicians: Itzhak Perlman (violin) Yitzchak Meir Helfgot (cantor) Hankus Netsky (piano/arranger) various instrumentalistsComposer: TradItzhak Perlman has made klezmer recordings in the past. Here he has joined forces with the renowned cantor Yitzchak Meir Helfgot ...
-
ReviewSchubert: String Quartets in E flat major D87 & in G major D887
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Early and mature Schubert brought to life in immaculate performancesMusicians: Casals QuartetComposer: Schubert From the mysterious opening of the G major Quartet, a score of epic scale whose length exceeds most symphonies of the period, the Casals Quartet fills ...
-
ReviewBeethoven: String Quartet in F minor op.95 ‘Serioso’. Schubert: String Quartet in D minor D810 ‘Death and the Maiden’
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Blistering playing from a young Italian ensembleMusicians: Prometeo QuartetComposer: Beethoven & SchubertThe DVD version of this two-in-one release has the quartet surrounded by columns and microphones, attended by a small Classical torso. It also has short interviews with the composer Salvatore Sciarrino ...
