All Reviews articles – Page 142
-
ReviewBuxtehude: Trio Sonatas op.2 BuxWV259—65
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Spontaneous-sounding accounts of a varied set of trio sonatasMusicians: Catherine Manson (violin) Paolo Pandolfo (viola da gamba) Ton Koopman (harpsichord/organ) Mike Fentross (lute)Composer: Buxtehude This latest release in Challenge Classics’s Buxtehude Opera Omnia project comprises the seven trio sonatas ...
-
ReviewSprezzatura. Chihara: Viola Sonata. Siskind: Etwas für Bratsche (etwas rasch!). Britten: Lachrymae op.48. Hindemith: Viola Sonata (1939)
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A disc that lives up to its name in making everything sound effortlessMusicians: Shelly Tramposh (viola) Cullan Bryant (piano)Composer: Chihara, Siskind, Britten, HindemithA term taken from Renaissance Italy’s courtly etiquette, sprezzatura is the art of making whatever you do appear easy. I ...
-
ReviewChopin: Cello Sonata in G minor op.65. Rachmaninoff: Cello Sonata in G minor op.19
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Chalk and cheese in a coupling of Romantic warhorsesMusicians: Jeffrey Noel Lastrapes (cello) Constance Carroll (piano) Composer: Chopin, Rachmaninoff Rachmaninoff fares better in the hands of Jeffrey Noel Lastrapes than Chopin, whose elegant phrases sound overloaded with emotion in ...
-
ReviewNeapolitan Cello Concertos. Leo: Cello Concerto in D minor. Fiorenza: Cello Concerto in B flat major, Sinfonia. Majo: Cello Concerto in F major. Sollima: Fecit Neap. 17..
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Techniques old and new come together on a disc of Baroque concertosMusicians: Giovanni Sollima (cello) I Turchini/Antonio FlorioComposer: Leo, Fiorenza, Majo, Sollima Giovanni Sollima is the spirited, dexterous soloist in three Baroque Neapolitan cello concertos, in performances that unashamedly ...
-
ReviewVirtuoso Cello. Paganini: Moses Variations. Brahms: Hungarian Dance no.5. Sarasate: Zigeunerweisen op.20, Carmen Fantasy op.25. Wieniawski: Scherzo–tarantelle op.16. Monti: Czardas. Bazzini: The Round
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A disappointing recital of violin showpieces transferred to celloMusicians: Seeli Toivio (cello) Kalle Toivio (Piano)Composer: Paganini, Brahms, Sarasate, Wieniawski, Monti, BazziniThere is every reason for cellists to look towards the violin repertoire as a means of expanding their musical horizons, but some ...
-
ReviewFive-Stringed Tenor Viola. Schubert: Sonata A minor D821 ‘Arpeggione’. Bach: Cello Suite no.6 BWV1012. Taneyev: Trio op.31
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A largely successful experiment in recreating a niche instrumentMusicians: Thomas Riebl (tenor viola) Erich Höbarth (violin) Predrag Katanic (viola) Mari Kato (piano)Composer: Schubert, Bach, Taneyev Thomas Riebl, viola professor at the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg, loves Schubert’s ‘Arpeggione’ Sonata so ...
-
ReviewShostakovich: Violin Concertos no.1 in A minor op.77 & no.2 in C sharp minor op.129
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: An impressive pairing of two of Shostakovich’s darkest masterpiecesMusicians: Sayaka Shoji (violin) Ural Philharmonic Orchestra/Dmitri LissComposer: Shostakovich Japanese violinist Sayaka Shoji took first prize at the 1999 Paganini Competition, and her teachers have included Zakhar Bron and Shlomo Mintz. ...
-
ReviewMendelssohn: Piano Trios no.1 in D minor op.49 & no.2 in C minor op.66. Schumann: Studien für den Pedal-Flügel op.56 (arr. Kirchner)
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Fire and lyricism characterise performances of Mendelssohn’s triosMusicians: Shaham–Erez–Wallfisch TrioComposer: Mendelssohn, Schumann (arr. Kirchner)For their recording debut as a trio, the cellist Raphael Wallfisch joins the long-established duo partnership of violinist Hagai Shaham and pianist Aron Erez in two of Mendelssohn’s most ...
-
ReviewThe Soviet Experience Vol.2. Shostakovich: String Quartets nos.1–4. Prokofiev: String Quartet no.2
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A rewarding second volume in an ongoing Shostakovich cycleMusicians: Pacifica QuartetComposer: Shostakovich, Prokofiev The Pacifica Quartet launched its Soviet Experience series, a sort of complete-Shostakovich-plus-one, with the fifth to eighth quartets and Miaskovsky’s 13th. In this second ...
-
ReviewNew Street
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A British-born violinist explores various modern jazz currentsMusicians: Ben Powell Quartet, Stéphane Grappelli Tribute TrioComposer: Ben PowellThere is a backwards-looking glance about a lot of the music here. But what violinist Ben Powell does, he does very well, and there ...
-
ReviewEnescu: Piano Trios in G minor & A minor, Sérénade lointaine
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Welcome recordings of rare chamber works by the Romanian composer–violinistMusicians: Brancusi TrioComposer: Enescu George Enescu’s G minor Piano Trio was composed in his early teenage years and was thought lost until a set of parts recently turned up. Probably ...
-
ReviewHeavy. Works by Byron, Halle, Wolfe, King, Mesinai, Lang, Bunch & Zarvos
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A disc of contemporary music with a 1970s feelMusicians: EthelComposer: Byron, Halle, Wolfe, King, Mesinai, Lang, Bunch & Zarvos There’s an intriguing juxtaposition between the contemporary music for string quartet on this album – all from the last 20 years ...
-
ReviewPostcards from Home. Bhambra: Dervish Dancer, Darker Sides, Escape to Tibet. Shave: Machair to Myrrh, Sounds of Harris. Parricelli: Parc Floral, Another Place, Summer in Le Marais, Guarana
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: An engaging world tour from an unusual trio of instrumentsMusicians: Jacqueline Shave (violin) John Parricelli (guitar) Kuljit Bhamra (tabla)The minimal booklet notes give no information on how or why this unusual group came together; perhaps it just seemed like a good idea. ...
-
ReviewVasks: Vox amoris, Violin Concerto ‘Distant Light’, Lonely Angel
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Persuasive performances of three essays in Baltic melancholyMusicians: Alina Pogostkina (violin) Sinfonietta Riga/Juha KangasComposer: VasksListening to this disc straight through might not be the best way to appreciate it: the three pieces for violin and string orchestra by Latvian composer P?teris Vasks ...
-
ReviewThe Scottish Viola: A tribute to Watson Forbes. Works by Nardini, Orr, Richardson, S. Forbes, Alwyn, Rameau & Bach
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A worthy testimonial to a great Scottish violistMusicians: MartinuOutram (viola) Julian Rolton (piano)Composer: Nardini, Orr, Richardson, S. Forbes, Alwyn, Rameau & Bach As somebody who appreciates historic continuity, I am very glad to see a Royal Academy of Music professor ...
-
ReviewString Trios from the East. Gubaidulina: String Trio. Paiberdin: Organum A-nn-A. Kancheli: Time… and again, Rag-gidon-time. Knaifel: E.F. and three visiting cards of the poet
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Too much control and self-regard hamper an otherwise rewarding programmeMusicians: Goeyvaerts String TrioComposer: Gubaidulina, Paiberdin, Kancheli, Knaifel The Belgian-based Goeyvaerts String Trio was established in 1997 to explore 20th- and 21st-century music, and its pedigree is clear on this ...
-
ReviewTchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D major op.35. Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A well-paced account of a favourite concertoMusicians: Susanna Yoko Henkel (violin) Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra/Jonathan DarlingtonComposer: Tchaikovsky, Vaughan Williams With so many of today’s young firebrands driving through Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto at express speed, it is good to find Susanna ...
-
ReviewBorodin: String Sextet in D minor. Glazunov: String Quintet in A major op.39. Arensky: String Quartet no.2 in A minor op.35
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Superb accounts of three rarities of Russian chamber musicMusicians: Nash EnsembleComposer: Borodin, Glazunov, Arensky Unfortunately we only have the first two movements of Borodin’s D minor String Sextet (plus some sketches for the finale). ‘Unfortunately’ because what we do have is ...
-
ReviewLigeti: String Quartet no.2. Pintscher: Study IV for Treatise on the Veil. Cage: String Quartet in 4 Parts. Xenakis: Tetras
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Intense performances of music by four leading modernistsMusicians: Jack QuartetComposer: Ligeti, Pintscher, Cage, Xenakis Taking on Ligeti, Pintscher, Cage and Xenakis in a single concert programme might seem brave to the point of recklessness, but the New ...
-
ReviewSainsbury: Cello Concerto op.27*. Foulds: Cello Concerto in G major op.17†
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Benchmark performances of two rare concertosMusicians: Raphael Wallfisch (cello) Royal Scottish National Orchestra*, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra† /MartinuYatesComposer: Sainsbury, FouldsRaphael Wallfisch continues his foray into lesser-known British concertos with two impressive recording premieres of works written nearly a century apart. Both concertos, written ...
