All Reviews articles – Page 141
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ReviewKlengel: Capriccio for solo cello*, Three Pieces for two cellos & organ, Little Suite for three cellos, Impromptu for four cellos, Hymnus for twelve cellos. Bach: Sarabande from Suite no.5† . Tartini:
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A worthy tribute to a great cellist–composer and teacherMusicians: Raphael Wallfisch*, Julius Klengel† (cello) Cello Classics EnsembleComposer: Klengel, Bach, Tartini, Cossmann, PopperThis disc pays tribute to Julius Klengel (1859–1933). Born in Leipzig, he played in the city’s famous Gewandhaus Orchestra for ...
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ReviewMozart: Duos for violin & viola in G major K423 & B flat major K424. Halvorsen: Passacaglia after Handel. Brustad: Capricci for violin & viola
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A rewarding disc of duos for violin and violaMusicians: Elise Bätnes (violin) Henninge Bätnes Landaas (viola)Composer: Mozart, Halvorsen, Brustad In many ways, this is a conventional disc: the Mozart duos are of course much recorded, and Halvorsen’s virtuosic Passacaglia ...
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ReviewHaydn: String Quartets op.64 nos.3, 4 & 5
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A disc for those who prefer a light touch in HaydnMusicians: Leipzig QuartetComposer: Haydn The Leipzig Quartet is working its way through Haydn’s quartets in idiosyncratic fashion. It started in 2009 with the Seven Last Words and has since ...
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ReviewChausson: Concert in D major op.21, Poème op.25
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A highlight of French Romanticism that could benefit from deeper insightMusicians: Bruno Monteiro (violin) Jõao Paulo Santos (piano) Lopes-Graça QuartetComposer: ChaussonCompleted in 1892, Chausson’s Concert is a unique attempt at creating a score of symphonic proportions for just six musicians, with its ...
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ReviewVoyage musical. Stravinsky: Suite italienne (arr. Dushkin). Bloch: Nigun. Hindemith: Solo Violin Sonata op.31 no.2. Schoenberg: Phantasy. Prokofiev: Cinq mélodies op.35b. Ravel: Tzigane
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: An enjoyable collection of short 20th-century piecesMusicians: Noah Bendix-Balgley (violin) Reiko Hozu (piano)Composer: Stravinsky (arr. Dushkin), Bloch, Hindemith, Schoenberg, Prokofiev, Ravel Concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, 28-year-old US violinist Noah Bendix-Balgley here offers a thoughtfully chosen selection of ...
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ReviewThe French Album. Franck: Violin Sonata in A major op.14. Debussy: Cello Sonata in D minor. Fauré: Élégie op.24, Sicilienne op.78, Après un rêve. Offenbach: Les larmes de Jacqueline op.76 no.2
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A promising debut from a young Dutch cellistMusicians: Harriet Krijgh (cello) Kamilla Isanbaeva (piano)Composer: Franck, Debussy, Fauré, OffenbachIn this tried and tested repertoire, Harriet Krijgh gives a fervent account of the Franck Violin Sonata in its cello guise, entirely appropriate to the ...
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ReviewTelemann: 12 Fantasies for solo viola TWV40:14—25 (transcr. Kam)
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Historically aware account of a collection for solo violaMusicians: Ori Kam (viola)Composer: Telemann (transcr. Kam) Telemann’s Fantasies, published in 1735, are sometimes thought of as poor cousins to Bach’s slightly earlier unaccompanied violin and cello works, but – although admittedly less ambitious ...
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ReviewMendelssohn: String Quartets in E flat major op.12, A minor op.13 & E flat major (1823)
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: An ebullient recording of Mendelssohn’s early music for quartetMusicians: Mandelring QuartetComposer: Mendelssohn The Mandelring Quartet, in concert or on disc, always achieves an instinctive internal balance, and here the players bring their distinctive blend and contrast of ...
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ReviewBy Footpath and Stile. Finzi: By Footpath and Stile op.2, Romance op.11, Prelude, Interlude op.21, Elegy op.22, Five Bagatelles op.23
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A notable recording debut for a young British string quartetMusicians: Finzi Quartet, Marcus Farnsworth (baritone) Robert Plane (clarinet) Ruth Bolister (oboe)Composer: Finzi Prizewinner at the 2010 Royal Over-Seas League Competition, the Finzi Quartet has turned to its namesake for ...
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ReviewBrahms By Arrangement Vol.1. Brahms: String Quintet in F minor op.34, String Quintet in B minor op.115
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Mixed results on a disc of familiar Brahms in rarer guisesMusicians: Zebra Trio, Krysia Osostowicz (violin) James Boyd (viola) Richard Lester (cello)Composer: Brahms For Brahms enthusiasts, the major draw of this release will be Finnish cellist Anssi Karttunen’s ...
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ReviewBrahms: Violin Sonatas nos.1–3
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Refreshingly intimate Brahms from a refined playerMusicians: Anthony Marwood (violin) Aleksandar Madžar (piano)Composer: BrahmsAnthony Marwood’s Brahms is like no other. The centralist viewpoint, familiar from countless recordings, is that these sonatas are chamber music writ large, requiring generous quantities of ...
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ReviewBruch: Violin Concerto no.1 in G minor op.26. Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor op.64. Beethoven: Romances nos.1 & 2
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A revitalising take on a classic concerto couplingMusicians: Philippe Quint (violin) Orquesta Sinfónica de Mineria/Carlos Miguel PrietoComposer: Bruch, Mendelssohn, Beethoven Bruch’s G minor Concerto cries out for espressivo intensity and Philippe Quint delivers it in spades. Like Isaac Stern ...
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ReviewPfitzner: Cello Concerto in G major. Mayer: Probhanda, Ragamalas
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: An unusual coupling of late Romanticism and Indian ragas has mixed resultsMusicians: Rohan de Saram (cello) Druvi de Saram (piano) John Mayer (tanpura) Netherlands Radio Orchestra/Bohumil GregorComposer: Pfitzner, Mayer If there’s a link between the diverse works on this ...
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ReviewWarning: May Cause Mood Swings
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A rather too uptight collection of string arrangementsMusicians: Saint Michael TrioComposer: Various Covers of everything from Ennio Morricone and Led Zeppelin to Gershwin via Stevie Wonder explain the album title here. But despite the variety of repertoire, the mood doesn’t ...
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ReviewReverie. Bottesini: Tarantella, Melodia, Allegretto capriccio, Elegia in D major, Capriccio di bravura, Introduzione e Gavotta, Grande allegro di concerto alla Mendelssohn, Reverie
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Subtlety and fireworks from a master bassistMusicians: Knut Erik Sundquist (double bass) Nils Anders Mortensen (piano)Composer: Bottesini This disc’s booklet relates how in 1978 the 16-year-old Norwegian Knut Erik Sundquist bought a Bottesini LP featuring Ludwig Streicher ...
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ReviewFratres. Stravinsky: Suite d’après des thèmes, fragments et morecaux de Giambattista Pergolesi. Dallapiccola: Tartiniana seconda. Reger: Suite in the Old Style op.93. Pärt: Fratres. Schnittke: Suite i
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A recital of new-meets-old music that needs more gutsinessMusicians: Szymon Krzeszowiec (violin) Niklas Sivelöv (piano)Composer: Stravinsky, Dallapiccola, Reger, Pärt, SchnittkeIt might have been a mistake for Polish violinist Szymon Krzeszowiec, leader of the Silesian Quartet and professor at Katowice’s Szymanowski Academy, to ...
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ReviewSchubert: String Quartets in A minor D804 ‘Rosamunde’ and D minor D810 ‘Death and the Maiden’
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Compelling coupling of two of Schubert’s best-known quartetsMusicians: Wihan QuartetComposer: Schubert Schubert remains one of the most elusive of pre-Romantic composers, not least in his mature string quartets. Emphasise the Classicist side of his nature and you ...
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ReviewWright: Violin Concerto (‘And then there was silence…’)*, Momentum*. Vaughan Williams: Symphony no.5 in D major†
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A sensitive account of a new, commemorative concertoMusicians: Fenella Humphreys* (violin) Christopher Wilson* (tenor) Royal Scottish National Orchestra*, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra† /MartinuYatesComposer: Wright, Vaughan Williams Composed in memory of his violinist wife Ruth, who died of cancer in 2009, ...
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ReviewRococo Cello Variations. Beethoven: Variations on ‘Bei Männern’ WoO46, Variations on ‘Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen’ op.66. Gemrot: Ludwigsgruss, Variations on a Theme of Dvorák. Martinu: Variations on a
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A worthwhile exploration of cello variations let down by poor soundMusicians: Jeremy Findlay (cello) Per Rundberg (piano)Composer: Beethoven, Gemrot, MartinuThe concept of recording cello variations written across three centuries makes for interesting listening, and reveals the extent to which composers have progressively ...
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ReviewViolin Concertos from Dresden. Pisendel: Concerto in G major. J.F. Fasch: Concerto in D major FWV L:D8. Handel: Trio Sonata in F major HWV392 (arr. Pisendel). Telemann: Concerto in B flat major TWV51:
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Athletic accounts of Baroque concertosMusicians: Johannes Pramsohler (violin) International Baroque PlayersComposer: Pisendel, J.F. Fasch, Handel (arr. Pisendel), Telemann, HeinichenThis debut disc for both violinist Johannes Pramsohler and the period-instrument International Baroque Players explores concertos by 17th-century German composers associated with ...
