All Reviews articles – Page 188
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ArticleBridge: Phantasie Piano Quartet, Phantasie Piano Trio, Scherzo for cello, Souvenir for violin, Three Songs with viola, Songs
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: London Bridge Ensemble, Ivan Ludlow (baritone)Composer: Bridge The choice of programme here offers a release that is unique in the fast-growing catalogue of Frank Bridge recordings. The two substantial ‘Phantasie’ pieces, framing the group of shorter works written ...
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ArticleLa Voce Nel Violino. Works by Cima, Uccellini, Fontana, Monteverdi, Rognono, Castello, Gesualdo, Bassano, Frescobaldi, Pandolfi, and Veracini
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: ImaginariumComposer: Cima, Uccellini, Fontana, Monteverdi, Rognono, Castello, Gesualdo, Bassano, Frescobaldi, Pandolfi, and VeraciniThis disc plumbs largely the early 17th-century Italian repertoire for the violin, when the instrument began to gain independence from its former roles in dancing or in doubling vocal parts. ...
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ArticleFrom Jewish Life. Bloch: Schelomo, Prayer (arr. Aasgaard). David Diamond: Kaddish. Gerard Schwarz: In memoriam. Bruch: Kol Nidrei
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Jonathan Aasgaard (cello) Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Gerard Schwarz (conductor)Composer: Bloch, David Diamond, Gerard Schwarz, Bruch What characterises Jewish music? Perhaps the augmented intervals and whispers of melismatic orientalism in the melodies, such as Bloch’s Prayer, or the cantorial incantation ...
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ArticleSchubert: Arpeggione Sonata D821, String Quintet in C major D956
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Nicolas Deletaille (arpeggione/cello) Paul Badura-Skoka (piano) Rosamonde Quartet Composer: SchubertSchubert’s Arpeggione Sonata, beloved by cellists and viola players, is practically never heard on the instrument after which it was named. It took young Belgian cellist Nicolas Deletaille, most ...
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ArticleMozart: String Quartets in B flat major K458 ‘Hunt’ & in C major K465 ‘Dissonance’, Adagio and Fugue in C major K546
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Saravasti Quartet Composer: MozartThe booklet cover proclaims ‘Saravasti interpreta a Mozart’ but in fact, rather than do any interpreting, these players from Madrid attempt nothing more than standard run-throughs of the music – and even in that modest ...
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ArticleMozart: Violin Sonatas vol.5: Sonatas in B flat major K31, in A major K305, in D major K306 & in C major K403
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Rachel Podger (violin) Gary Cooper (fortepiano)Composer: Mozart The fifth volume in Rachel Podger’s traversal of the complete Mozart violin sonatas includes one of the works he composed as a child. These were designated for keyboard with an optional ...
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ArticleHaydn: Keyboard Trios in C major Hob.XV:27, in E major Hob.XV:28 & in E flat major Hob.XV:31
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Queen’s Chamber Trio Composer: HaydnThe thinking behind this CD is that the harpsichord will bring something special to Haydn’s trios. Owing to vagaries of recording that leave me flummoxed, the case is only partly proven. Nowhere in the presentation ...
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ArticleBeethoven: Violin Concerto in D major op.61. Mozart: Violin Concerto no.4 in D major K218. Silver: Creepin’ In (arr. Kennedy)
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Nigel Kennedy (violin/director) Michal Baranski (double bass) Polish Chamber Orchestra Composer: Beethoven, Mozart, SilverAs a pupil of Menuhin and a grand-pupil of Busch, Nigel Kennedy ought to know a thing or two about the Beethoven Concerto. ...
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ArticleMartha Argerich & Friends: Live from the Lugano Festival 2007. Works by Beethoven, Mozart–Busoni, Schumann, Ravel, Glinka, Messiaen, Bartók, Dohnányi & Lutoslawski
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Renaud Capuçon (violin) Alissa Margulis (violin) Lucia Hall (violin) Dora Schwarzberg (violin) Lida Chen (viola) Nora Romanoff-Schwarzberg (viola) Mischa Maisky (cello) Mark Dobrinsky (cello) Jorge Bosso (cello) Enrico Fagone (double bass) Martha Argerich (piano) Lilya Zilberstein (piano) Gabriela Montero (piano) Karin Lechner ...
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ArticleBottesini: Music for Double Bass and Piano vol.2: Gran duetto no.3, Concerto no.2, Adagio melancolico ed appassionato, Duetto for clarinet & double bass, Fantasia on Bellini’s ‘Beatrice di Tenda’, Une
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Joel Quarrington (double bass) Harold Hall Robinson (double bass) Andrew Burashko (piano) James Campbell (clarinet) Monica Whicher (soprano)Composer: BottesiniThis second volume of Joel Quarrington’s Bottesini project comprises a mixed programme of solo and ensemble works by the ‘Paganini of the double bass’. ...
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ArticleBériot: Violin Concertos nos.2, 3 & 5
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Philippe Quint (violin), Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Kirk Trevor (conductor)Composer: Bériot By comparison with the posthumous respect accorded to Wieniawski, Sarasate, Joachim, Viotti, Ernst and Vieuxtemps, Charles-Auguste de Bériot (1802–70) hasn’t fared particularly well in the annals of 19th-century ...
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ArticleBeethoven: Violin Sonatas in C minor op.30 no.2 & in A major op.47 ‘Kreutzer’
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Leland Chen (violin) John Lenehan (piano)Composer: Beethoven Reactions to this unusual but rewarding coupling will depend very much on how ‘clean’ you like your Beethoven. Those who prefer their sforzandos, fortissimos and staccatos to ring out loud and ...
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ArticleFranck: Violin Sonata in A major. Shostakovich: Violin Sonata op.134
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Sergey Khachatryan (violin) Lusine Khachatryan (piano)Composer: Franck, Shostakovich Armenian Sergey Khachatryan won the 8th Sibelius Competition at the age of 15, and five years later carried off first prize in the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels – both top ...
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ArticleMendelssohn: String Quartets in E flat major op.12, in E minor op.44 no.2 & in F minor op.80
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: New Zealand QuartetComposer: Mendelssohn Of this group, only violist Gillian Ansell was born in New Zealand. The others, two Americans and a Canadian, have taken the country’s citizenship and the ensemble has been in its present form since ...
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ArticleVivaldi: The Four Seasons. Bach: Concerto in D minor for two violins BWV1043
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Pavel Š porcl (violin) Prague PhilharmoniaComposer: Vivaldi, Bach Pavel Šporcl offers the converse to the self-styled ‘period’ performances of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons with an approach that employs a wide dynamic range and tempos that are tantalisingly fluid. He ...
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ArticleBrahms: Piano Trios in B major op.8 (revised version) & in C minor op.101, ‘FAE’ Scherzo in C minor
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Guarneri Trio PragueComposer: BrahmsNot many recordings of the Brahms trios have caused a stir in the Potter household over the years. This new disc of the first and last trios comes near to upsetting the status quo, but on reflection ...
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ArticleBach: Solo Cello Suites BWV1007–12
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Anne Gastinel (cello)Composer: Bach I have rarely been as aware of the impact of the recording level as with this release, where I felt the interpretative tenor was shaped by the ensuing acoustic. Generating the ambiance ...
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ArticleRight Through the Bone. Röntgen: Piano Quintet in A minor op.100, Viola Sonata in C minor, Sextet in G major, Trio in E flat major for clarinet, viola & piano
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: ARC Ensemble (Artists of the Royal Conservatory, Canada)Composer: Röntgen Julius Röntgen (1855–1932), younger brother of Wilhelm who discovered X-rays and won a Nobel Prize in 1901, was a composer out of his time. All four works on this ...
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ArticleVivaldi: 12 Trio Sonatas op.1
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Enrico Gatti (violin) Rossella Croce (violin) Judith-Maria Becker (cello) Monica Pustilnik (archlute) Guido Morini (harpsichord/organ)Composer: Vivaldi This double disc is pure delight from start to finish, and surely a collector’s edition. Twelve sonatas from Vivaldi’s op.1 might sound ...
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ArticleMedtner: Complete Works for Violin and Piano vol.2: Violin Sonatas no.1 in B minor op.21 & no.2 in G major op.44, 2 Canzonas with Dances op.43
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Laurence Kayaleh (violin) Paul Stewart (piano)Composer: Medtner One of the greatest admirers of Nikolai Medtner (1880–1951) was Rachmaninoff, who recognised his colleague’s formal tautness, deep Russian sensibility and exile’s nostalgia, something they shared when living abroad after the ...
