All Reviews articles – Page 168
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ArticleBach: Sonatas and Partitas BWV1004–06
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Isabelle Faust (violin) Composer: BachThere is only one thing wrong with this beautiful CD, which is that half of Bach’s solo Sonatas and Partitas are missing. It is a situation that will surely be soon rectified with a second recording, ...
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ArticleStrewn With Ribbons
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Lauren MacColl (fiddle) Chris Stout (viola) Su-a Lee (cello) Barry Reid (guitar) Mhairi Hall (piano) Composer: VariousInstrumentalist of the year at the 2009 Scots Trad Music Awards, Lauren MacColl has turned out a?remarkably assured second album. The title comes from a prophecy ...
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ArticlePeacocks/Pink Monsters
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Judgement Day: Anton Patzner (violin) Lewis Patzner (cello) John Bush (drums)Composer: Various Don’t be beguiled by the artsy cardboard-picture-book CD case: there’s nothing wholemeal here. This is thrashy, high-voltage ‘string metal’, music feasting on E-numbers and electricity with a result ...
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ArticleBarber: Violin Concerto. Bernstein: Serenade. Bloch: Baal Shem
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Vadim Gluzman (violin) SÁo Paulo Symphony Orchestra/John NeschlingComposer: Barber, Bernstein, BlochBarber’s Violin Concerto is a notoriously difficult work to bring off convincingly. The Walton-like nostalgia of the first two movements is counterbalanced by a?finale whose hurtling forward momentum feels slightly ...
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ArticleStravinsky: Suite d’après des thèmes, fragments et morceaux de Giambattista Pergolesi, Pastorale, Airs du rossignol et Marche chinoise, Prélude et Ronde des princesses, Chanson russe, Divertimento, Da
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Anthony Marwood (violin) ?Thomas? Adès (piano)Composer: StravinskyStravinsky’s ‘complete’ music for violin and piano consists of one original piece, his Duo concertant of 1932, and a set of arrangements taken mostly from his own oeuvre. The title here is slightly misleading, as Stravinsky ...
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ArticleFor David and Wu Han. Jalbert: Cello Sonata. Auerbach: Cello?Sonata. Adolphe: Couple. Tsontakis: Mirror Image
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: David Finckel (cello) Wu Han (piano)Composer: Jalbert, Auerbach, Adolphe, TsontakisFollowing in the tradition of his teacher Rostropovich, David Finckel and his?wife Wu Han have?over the years commissioned a?number of established composers to enrich the repertoire for cello and piano, the ...
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ArticleClimbing the Skies. Vaughan Williams: Phantasy Quintet. Watkins: Sad Steps. Elgar: Piano Quintet in A minor op.84
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Aronowitz EnsembleComposer: Vaughan Williams, Watkins, ElgarFor its debut disc, the enterprising Aronowitz Ensemble brings together three British works inspired by ‘nostalgia and a longing for reinvention’, but the result is neither indulgent nor gloomy. Far from it: Vaughan Williams’s Phantasy Quintet for ...
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ArticleElgar: Violin Concerto in B minor op.61, Prelude to The Kingdom op.51, Prelude? & ?Angel’s Farewell from The?Dream of?Gerontius
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Thomas Zehetmair (violin) Alice Coote (mezzo-soprano) Hallé/Mark ElderComposer: Elgar ‘It’s good! Awfully emotional! Too emotional… but I love it,’ enthused Elgar about his?Violin Concerto. Delius,?not one of Elgar’s greatest admirers at the best of times, dryly commented: ‘I?found it a bit ...
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ArticleCage: Six Melodies for Violin and Keyboard, Two4, Nocturne, Two6
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Andreas Seidel (violin) ?Steffen Schleiermacher (piano)Composer: CageDespite his prolific output, there’s little music by John Cage for violin and piano – perhaps, as pianist Steffen Schleiermacher suggests in his informative booklet notes, the composer was put off by the duo’s associations with ...
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ArticleDohnányi: Violin Sonata in C sharp minor op.21, Ruralia hungarica op.32c, Romanza (arr. Heifetz) Janácek: Violin Sonata, Dumka, Romance, Allegro, Lístek odvanutý (arr. Š tedron)
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Hagai Shaham (violin) Arnon Erez (piano)Composer: Dohnányi, Janácek (arr. Š t?dro?)Hagai Shaham gives a?deliciously rich and eloquent account of Dohnányi’s Violin Sonata, positively old-fashioned in?its generous vibrato and abundance of portamentos. He is adept at combining broad-spanned lyricism with narrative drama, driving ...
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ArticleVirtuoso Double Bass Vol.2. Bottesini: Operatic fantasies & arrangements of arias etc
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Leon Bosch (double bass) Sung-Suk Kang (piano)Composer: Bottesini Leon Bosch demonstrates a natural affinity with?Bottesini’s bravura style. His performances combine sonorous, lyrical,?exquisitely nuanced playing with?a?remarkable command of the instrument’s?bravura potential.Bosch interprets four of Bottesini’s opera fantasias with drama, poetry ...
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ArticleBeethoven: String Quintets in E flat major op.4 & C major op.29, Fugue in D major op.137, Prelude and Fugue Fragment in D minor H40
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Endellion Quartet, David Adams (viola)Composer: BeethovenThese performances have been somewhat closely but?well caught by the engineers, and they demonstrate technical assurance, rhythmic drive and elegant shaping of the phrase alongside exemplary balance and blend. The players often bring orchestral sonorities to the ...
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ArticleJanácek: Violin Sonata. ?Messiaen: Thème et variations. Stravinsky: The Soldier’s Tale Suite. Shostakovich: Violin Sonata op.134
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Victor Danchenko (violin) ?Hugh Sung, Patricia Parr (piano) ?Joaquin Valdepenas (clarinet) Composer: Janácek, ?Messiaen, Stravinsky, ShostakovichThe Peabody Institute’s proofreader was clearly on holiday when this CD was prepared – ‘Sutie’ rather than ‘Suite’ appears on the cover, among other slips, and ...
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ArticleBeethoven: String Quartets in G major op.18 no.2, C major op.59 no.3 (Rasumovsky), C?sharp minor op.131 & A minor op.132
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Artemis QuartetComposer: BeethovenThough dating from 1998?and 2002, these are?‘historical’ recordings, as two members of the ensemble have since departed. Virgin is issuing the whole series taped for West German Radio, no doubt reasoning that it gains a Beethoven cycle on the cheap, ...
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ArticleBeethoven: Triple Concerto in C major for violin, cello and piano op.56. Brahms: Double Concerto in A minor ?for violin and?cello op.102
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Trio Poseidon, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra/Neeme Järvi Composer: Beethoven, BrahmsThis ‘Triple’ Concerto has the immediate benefit of?soloists – violinist Sara Trobäck Hesselink, cellist Claes Gunnarsson and pianist Per Lundberg – who appear on a regular basis as the Trio Poseidon alongside their individual ...
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ArticleDvorák: Piano Quintets no.1 in A major op.5 & no.2 in A major op.81
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Goldner String Quartet, Piers Lane (piano)Composer: DvorákThis coupling of Dvo?ák’s two piano quintets contrasts the composer’s somewhat discursive apprentice work with its?richly acclaimed successor. Australians Piers?Lane and the Goldner Quartet provide musically sensitive and carefully determined readings. They capture the moods and ...
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ArticleFauré: Piano Quartets no.1 in C minor op.15 & no.2 in G minor op.45, Nocturne no.4 in E flat major op.36
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Hermitage String Trio, Kathryn Stott (piano)Composer: FauréGabriel Fauré was an emotionally reserved figure of exquisite taste and eloquence, and always insisted that his music should be played absolutely straight if his immaculately crafted scores were to achieve their maximum effect. This is ...
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ArticleHaydn: Violin Concertos no.1 in C major Hob.XVIIa:1 & no.4 in G major Hob.XVIIa:4 Mendelssohn Octet in E flat major for strings op.20
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Gil Shaham (violin) Sejong SoloistsComposer: Haydn Gil Shaham can do what he likes with his own record label, but a decent?A&R man might have warned him off this unsuccessful coupling. We start with the two most popular Joseph Haydn violin concertos, ...
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ArticleMendelssohn: Trios no.1 in D ?minor op.49 & no.2 in C minor op.66
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Itzhak Perlman (violin) Yo-Yo Ma (cello) Emanuel Ax (piano)Composer: MendelssohnThis grouping of ?three star?names ?offers performances ?with an exuberant ?sweep in playing of glowing warmth and purposeful strength.?There is an abundance of detail?brought about by the immaculate balance between instruments, and the ...
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ArticleReal Vocal String Quartet
The Strad Issue: January 2010Musicians: Real Vocal String QuartetComposer: VariousRVSQ presents originals and arrangements from various world folk traditions, its four members combining string playing and singing in an imaginative and charming way.Right from the opening moments, the articulation of the violin pizzicato and viola tune transport ...
