All Reviews articles – Page 156
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ArticleThe Romantic Violinist – A Celebration of Joseph Joachim. Works by Bruch, Joachim, Brahms, Dvorák, C. Schumann & Schubert
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A tribute to the great 19th-century violinist lacks an authentic sense of styleMusicians: Daniel Hope (violin/viola) Sebastian Knauer, Bengt Forsberg (piano) Anne Sofie von Otter (mezzo-soprano) Royal Stockholm Philharmonic/Sakari OramoComposer: Bruch, Joachim, Brahms, Dvorák, C. Schumann & SchubertAs a Joachim scholar myself, ...
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ArticleDiversions. Stravinsky: Suite after Pergolesi, Divertimento, Duo concertant, Chanson russe, Danse russe
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A young Australian violinist finds the charm in StravinskyMusicians: Ray Chen (violin) Timothy Young (piano)Composer: StravinskyRay Chen, winner of the Yehudi Menuhin Competition in 2008 and the Queen Elisabeth Competition a year later, finds a gentle, thoughtful side to Stravinsky in this ...
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ArticleVita. Monteverdi: Madrigals from Book 8 (transcr. Wieder-Atherton). Scelsi: Triphon (excerpts), Dithome, Ygghur (excerpt)
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: An intriguing combination of 17th- and 20th-century Italian music, but ultimately lackingMusicians: Sonia Wieder-Atherton, Sarah Iancu, Matthieu Lejeune (cello)Composer: Monteverdi, ScelsiThere’s a huge amount to admire here. French cellist Sonia Wieder-Atherton’s overall conception for her new disc – to juxtapose transcriptions of ...
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ArticleGeminiani: Cello Sonatas op.5
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Mid-18th-century cello sonatas played with drama and expressionMusicians: Gaetano Nasillo (cello) Tobias Bonz (cello continuo) Jesper Christensen (harpsichord)Composer: GeminianiGaetano Nasillo is fleet of left and right hands, particularly in the final Allegro of Sonata no.1, and he overcomes Geminiani’s challenging string crossings, ...
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ArticleDemus: Sonata sylvestre op.48. Debussy: Violin Sonata in G minor. Franck: Violin Sonata in A major
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: The familiar Debussy and Franck violin sonatas gain a novel companionMusicians: Thomas Albertus Irnberger (violin) Jörg Demus (piano)Composer: Demus, Debussy, FranckAn unusual supporting work for the Debussy/Franck sonata coupling comes as a pleasant change, and it is a bonus to have its ...
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ArticleBrahms: Violin Concerto in D major op.77, String Sextet in G major op.36
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A Brahms concerto and string sextet that ultimately fail to igniteMusicians: Isabelle Faust, Julia-Maria Kretz (violin) Stefan Fehlandt, Pauline Sachse (viola) Christoph Richter, Xenia Jankovic (cello) Mahler Chamber Orchestra/Daniel Harding Composer: BrahmsThere is much to enjoy here, though the Concerto falls between ...
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ArticleHaydn: String Quartets op.33
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A great Russian quartet cements its modern credentials in Haydn’s most carefree setMusicians: Borodin QuartetComposer: HaydnThis hugely enjoyable set confirms my impression that the current line-up of the Borodin Quartet is the best ever. I cannot imagine the previous incarnations ...
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ArticleLux Nordica. Grieg: Cello Sonata in A minor op.36, Intermezzo. Sibelius: Four Pieces op.78, Two Pieces op.77, Malinconia op.20
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Two southern Europeans shine a light on Nordic cello musicMusicians: Mattia Zappa (cello) Massimiliano Mainolfi (piano) Composer: Grieg, SibeliusMattia Zappa and his long-standing recital partner travel far from their own southern European roots for this smoothly recorded disc, their second for ...
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ArticleGlass: Violin Concerto no.2 ‘The American Four Seasons’
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: An intriguing marriage of Baroque and Minimalism from an American iconMusicians: Robert McDuffie (violin) London Philharmonic Orchestra/Marin AlsopComposer: GlassAs a response to a request from Robert McDuffie to write a companion piece to Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, Philip Glass’s Second Violin Concerto, ...
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ArticleWalton: String Quartet (1919–22), String Quartet in A minor
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A welcome coupling of the English composer’s two contrasting quartetsMusicians: Doric QuartetComposer: WaltonIt’s hard to believe that these two string quartets are by the same composer. The earlier work, a remarkably assured undergraduate ‘essay’, matches Walton’s own description of ‘undigested Bartók and ...
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ArticleC.P.E. Bach: Cello Concertos in A major Wq172, in B flat major Wq171 & in A minor Wq170
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Performances of concertos that make their neglect seem all the more inexplicableMusicians: Truls Mørk (cello) Les Violons du Roy/Bernard LabadieComposer: C.P.E. BachThere are elements of performance practice that defy being categorised as ‘modern’ or ‘period’, not least through generating a ...
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ArticleBrahms: String Quintet in G major op.111*, Clarinet Quintet in B minor op.115 (viola version)† , Two Songs op.91
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Maxim Rysanov completes his survey of Brahms’s chamber music with violaMusicians: Alexander Sitkovetsky, Mariana Osipova† , Boris Brovtsyn* (violin) Maxim Rysanov, Julia Deyneka (viola) Kristine Blaumane (cello) Alice Coote (mezzo-soprano) Ashley Wass (piano)Composer: BrahmsIf I did not already love the viola, I ...
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ArticleDvorák: Cello Concertos in A major & B minor op.104, Rondo op.94, Silent Woods op.68 no.5
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Mixed results in a collection of Dvorák’s complete works for cello and orchestraMusicians: Tomáš Jamník (cello) Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra/Tomáš NetopilComposer: DvorákAlthough this warmly recorded double CD set featuring all of Dvo?ák’s works for cello and orchestra seems an attractive proposition, it’s ...
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ArticleBach: Sonatas, Partitas for solo violin BWV1001–6
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A survey of Bach’s solo violin works that can sometimes sound too literalMusicians: Pavlo Beznosiuk (violin)Composer: Bach Pavlo Beznosiuk offers incisive and imaginative readings that convince even if they fail fully to satisfy. Tempos are mostly on the steady side, intonation ...
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ArticleCorp: String Quartets no.1 ‘The Bustard’ & no.2, Country Matters*
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Two quartets with unusual extra-musical inspirations prove irresistibleMusicians: Maggini Quartet, Mark Wilde (tenor)*Composer: CorpRonald Corp’s First String Quartet, ‘The Bustard’, quite possibly provides the great bird with its only musical perch. A mix of friendship and a love of ornithology fed into ...
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ArticleSaint-Saëns: String Quartets no.1 in E minor op.112 & no.2 in G major op.153
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A welcome release of two rarely heard French quartetsMusicians: Fine Arts QuartetComposer: Saint-SaënsSaint-Saëns’s two string quartets came late in his life and have nothing in common with the lightweight and frothy compositions that had made him famous. We find Germanic influences that ...
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ArticleSchumann: Violin Sonata no.1 in A minor op.105 (arr. Nelleke), Fantasiestücke op.73, Adagio and Allegro op.70, Märchenbilder op.113, Three Romances op.94 C. SCHUMANN Three Romances op.22 (arr. Nelleke
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Some inspirational playing of cello music by the Schumanns marred by imperfectionsMusicians: Karine Georgian (cello) Jan Willem Nelleke (piano)Composer: R. Schumann, C. SchumannIf you like your recordings smooth, silky and seamlessly edited, then this one, made in 2005, may not be for ...
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ArticleGórecki: String Quartets no.1 op.62 ‘Already it is dusk’, no.2 op.64 ‘Quasi una fantasia’ & no.3 op.67 ‘…songs are sung’
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: Obsession rules the day in string quartets by a modern Polish master who died last yearMusicians: Royal QuartetComposer: GóreckiHenryk Górecki composed his three string quartets over a period of seven years in the 1980s and 90s, although he held back the last ...
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ArticleGrieg: Violin Sonata no.1 in F major op.8. Bartók: Sonata for Solo Violin. Strauss: Violin Sonata in E flat major op.18
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A winning sonata debut from a young Norwegian violinistMusicians: Vilde Frang (violin) Michail Lifits (piano) Composer: Grieg, Bartók, Strauss The young Norwegian violinist’s first sonata disc is an almost total success and her prize-winning piano partner handles his assignments so well that ...
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ArticleFlight of Fancy
The Strad Issue: January 2011Description: A string quartet with a difference conjoins the worlds of classical and jazzMusicians: Eclectica!: Lizzie Ball (violin/vocals) Bernard Gregor-Smith (cello) Pete Oxley, Nicolas Meier (guitar)Composer: Various Bringing together a cross-genre violinist–vocalist (and leader of Nigel Kennedy’s Orchestra of Life), a ...
