All Reviews articles – Page 145
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ReviewGrieg: String Quartet in G minor op.27. Brahms: Clarinet Quintet in B minor op.115
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A novel coupling that attempts to throw new light on two Romantic classicsMusicians: Hagen Quartet, Jörg Widmann (clarinet)Composer: Grieg & BrahmsThis CD carries a subtitle: ‘Introspective/retrospective’. The introspection is credited to Grieg’s Quartet, on the grounds that he wrote it during a ...
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ReviewSchumann: Märchenbilder op.113. Britten: Lachrymae op.48. Shostakovich: Viola Sonata op.147
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Authoritative performances of three viola classicsMusicians: Krzysztof Chorzelski (viola) Katya Apekisheva (piano)Composer: Schumann, Britten, ShostakovichBest known as the viola player of the Belcea Quartet, Krzysztof Chorzelski presents his credentials as a recitalist of the first rank with this CD. In well-honed partnership ...
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ReviewBritten: Cello Suite no.3 op.87. Bach: Cello Suite no.6 BWV1012. Ligeti: Solo Cello Sonata
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Impeccable but slightly safe accounts of three solo cello worksMusicians: Miklós Perényi (cello)Composer: Britten, Bach, LigetiMiklós Perényi delivers stunningly accurate accounts of all three solo works in this clear recording, surmounting numerous technical hurdles – and they come thick and fast – ...
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ReviewBach: Six Suites de danses (Solo Cello Suites BWV1007–11). Rilke: Poetry excerpts
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: An unashamedly Romantic approach to Bach’s solo suitesMusicians: Gérard Caussé (viola) Laurent Terzieff (speaker)Composer: Bach & RilkeIn Rainer Maria Rilke’s novel The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge, the poet enumerates what it takes to write the first line of a poem (namely, ...
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ReviewKorngold: String Sextet in D major op.10*, Piano Quintet in E major op.15†
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Opulent performances of two lush chamber worksMusicians: Doric Quartet, Jennifer Stumm* (viola) Bartholomew LaFollette* (cello) Kathryn Stott† (piano)Composer: KorngoldIn this follow-up to the Doric Quartet’s well-received disc of the three Korngold string quartets (reviewed in The Strad, November 2010), the foursome ...
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ReviewBrahms: Cello Sonatas no.1 in E minor op.38 & no.2 in F major op.99, Violin Sonata op.78 (transc. Klengel)
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A Brahms recital where only a transcription comes off wellMusicians: Antony Cooke (cello) Armin Watkins (piano)Composer: Brahms (transc. Klengel)Veteran California-based duo Antony Cooke and Armin Watkins add some rugged but uneven Brahms to the recorded canon as they celebrate more than 40 ...
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ReviewRota: Cello Concertos nos.1 & 2, Il gattopardo
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Stylish accounts of two concertos by a master of film musicMusicians: Friedrich Kleinhapl (cello) Augsburg Philharmonic Orchestra/Dirk KaftanComposer: Rota As with Korngold, Nino Rota’s reputation has suffered as a result of his considerable success as a composer for films, ...
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ReviewShostakovich: Cello Concerto no.1 in E flat major op.107. Britten: Cello Symphony op.68
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: An apt and successful coupling of two 20th-century cello masterpiecesMusicians: Johannes Moser (cello) WDR Symphony Orchestra Köln/Pietari InkinenComposer: Shostakovich & BrittenShostakovich and Britten, friends and mutual admirers, always make a good pairing, with Rostropovich, the dedicatee of both works on this disc, ...
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ReviewShostakovich: String Quartets nos.7 & 8. Beethoven: String Quartet in F major op.59 no.1 ‘Rasumovsky’
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Probing performances from a young Swiss quartetMusicians: Valentin Berlinsky QuartetComposer: Shostakovich, BeethovenNamed in honour of the Borodin Quartet’s long-serving cellist, the Valentin Berlinsky Quartet was formed in 2010 by four outstanding young Swiss musicians, all principal players in the Zurich Opera and ...
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ReviewDohnányi: String Quartets no.1 in A major op.7 & no.3 in A minor op.33
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Vivid performances of a pair of Hungarian quartetsMusicians: Aviv QuartetComposer: Dohnányi Far too little of Ern? Dohnányi’s music makes it into concert programmes, and as so often it has been left to the record industry to fill the gaps ...
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ReviewEduard Franck: String Quintets no.1 in E minor op.15 & no.2 in C major op.51
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Admirable performances of quintets by the ‘other’ FranckMusicians: Christiane Edinger (violin) Tassilo Kaiser (violin) Rainer Kimstedt (viola) Uwe MartinuHaiberg (viola) Katharina Maechler (cello)Composer: Eduard FranckAudite’s laudable exploration of the chamber music of Eduard Franck (1817–93) – previous releases have focused on his ...
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ReviewFélicien David: String Quartets no.1 in F minor, no.2 in A major & no.4 in E minor (unfinished)
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Welcome advocacy for music by a little-known 19th-century French composerMusicians: Cambini Quartet ParisComposer: Félicien David Félicien David (1810–76), a member of the Saint-Simonian movement and a pioneer in the use of ‘oriental’ material in his music following his ...
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ReviewAchron: Suites for violin and piano nos.1–4, Children’s Suite (arr. Heifetz), salon pieces
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Rewarding exploration of the music of a neglected Russian violinist–composerMusicians: Hagai Shaham (violin) Arnon Erez (piano)Composer: AchronLeaving his native Russia after graduating from the class of the legendary Leopold Auer at the St Petersburg Academy, Joseph Achron (1886–1943) settled in Berlin and ...
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ReviewTurina: Piano Quartet in A minor op.67, Violin Sonata no.2 in G major op.82, Escena andaluza op.7, Piano Trio no.1 op.35, La oración del torero
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Chamber music that successfully combines French and Spanish stylesMusicians: Nash EnsembleComposer: Turina Seville-born Joaquín Turina travelled to Paris in 1905 to study at the Schola Cantorum, where he encountered both the clean Classicism of d’Indy and Franck and the ...
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ReviewBeethoven: Cello Sonatas in G minor op.5 no.2 & in C major op.102 no.1, Horn Sonata in F major op.17
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Raw but vital performances from a Norwegian cellistMusicians: Bjørn Solum (cello) Steinar Granmo Nilsen (natural horn) Kristin Fossheim (fortepiano)Composer: BeethovenBoth the cello and the natural horn had limitations as solo instruments at the turn of the 19th century. Add to that Beethoven’s ...
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ReviewBeethoven: Piano Trios in C minor op.1 no.3 & in B flat major op.97 ‘Archduke’
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Beethoven trio performances marked by skill and ebullienceMusicians: Trio Ex AequoComposer: BeethovenThe members of Trio Ex Aequo have mixed credentials in this genre, but their performances display a striking unanimity and maturity. This results in pleasing and perceptive chamber music ...
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ReviewThe Goat Rodeo Sessions
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Yo-Yo Ma leads a colourful exploration of American roots musicMusicians: Yo-Yo Ma (cello) Stuart Duncan (violin/banjo/mandolin) Edgar Meyer (double bass/piano/gamba) Chris Thile (mandolin/guitar/gamba/vocals) Aoife O’Donovan (vocals)Composer: TradReal-life goat rodeo would be a rough ride indeed, but this is anything but. Instead, it’s ...
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ReviewFeldman: Piano and String Quartet
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Radiant account of a modern masterpieceMusicians: Eclipse Quartet, Vicki Ray (piano)Composer: FeldmanA few held chords, some rippling arpeggios, all appearing in countless subtly different combinations yet never rising above a dynamic of quiet restraint. That’s pretty much all there is to Morton ...
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ReviewDebussy: String Quartet. Ravel: String Quartet
The Strad Issue: January 2012Description: Refreshingly rethought interpretations of a classic quartet couplingMusicians: Eroica QuartetComposer: Debussy, RavelModern attitudes as to how these wonderful pieces should sound have been conditioned by the enhanced smoothness and sweetness of metal-wound strings, a vibrato-at-all-costs approach to creating a seamless cantabile and ...
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ReviewA French Soirée. Music by Lully, F. Couperin, Marais, Rebel, Leclair & Rameau
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2012Description: A Gallic Baroque delight from a well-matched American trioMusicians: Trio SettecentoComposer: Lully, F. Couperin, Marais, Rebel, Leclair & RameauAs the perfect companion to previous Baroque compilations ‘An Italian Sojourn’ and ‘A German Bouquet’ (both also on Cedille), ‘A French Soirée’ ...
