All Reviews articles – Page 189
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ArticleDebussy: Violin Sonata, Cello Sonata, Piano Trio, Rêverie, Clair de lune
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Trio PorticiComposer: Debussy Five works centred round the resources of a piano trio make a highly desirable Debussy programme that is unique in the catalogue. It is played by an exceptionally well-integrated and highly talented Belgian-based ...
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ArticleMartin: Cello Concerto, Ballade for cello, Eight Preludes for piano
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Christian Poltéra (cello) Kathryn Stott (Piano) Malmö Symphony Orchestra, Tuomas Ollila-Hannikainen (conductor)Composer: Martinu Frank Martinursquo;s cocktail of melodic atonality is one that is reluctant to reveal its charms straight away. However, repeated hearings of the 1966 Cello Concerto, composed for ...
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ArticleMartinu: Concerto de camera, Concerto for violin, piano and orchestra, Czech Rhapsody (arr. Teml)
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Bohuslav Matoušek (violin), Karel Košárek (piano) Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Christopher Hogwood (conductor) Composer: MartinuBohuslav Matoušek will be no stranger to those who have collected Supraphon’s invaluable series of Martinu’s music for violin and piano. For many years he was the leader of the ...
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ArticleMusic for Strings. Works by Kriwaczek, Cohen, Cuéllar, Musorgsky–Cohen, Arnold–Steptoe & A. & R. Panufnik
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Isis Ensemble, Jacques Cohen (conductor)Composer: Kriwaczek, Cohen, Cuéllar, Musorgsky–Cohen, Arnold–Steptoe & A. & R. Panufnik It is customary to put the encore at the end. On this CD it comes at the beginning, with Rohan Kriwaczek’s Bee Sting Dance in Rohan’s Kitchen, ...
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ArticleLight. Works by Alakotila, Byron, Childs, Dufallo, Lawson, Rowell, Tristano, Pamela Z & Zarvos
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: EthelComposer: Alakotila, Byron, Childs, Dufallo, Lawson, Rowell, Tristano, Pamela Z & Zarvos Light is New York string quartet Ethel’s keenly awaited second album. If that sounds like a gambit from the pop journalism archive, that’s because Ethel embodies the attitude ...
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ArticleSchubert: String Quartet in G major D887, String Trios in B flat major D581 & in B flat major D471
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Pražák Quartet, Beethoven TrioComposer: Schubert Composed in the white heat of creativity in just ten days, the 15th and last of Schubert’s quartets opens with an Allegro that is symphonic in its proportions, and the Pražák Quartet’s trenchant response ...
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ArticleBrahms: Concerto in A minor for violin & cello. Schumann: Symphony no.4 in D minor
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Guy Braunstein (violin) Alban Gerhardt (cello) Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Marek Janowski (conductor)Composer: Brahms, SchumannBoldly depicted from the outset, this interpretation of the Brahms ‘Double’ Concerto has a gravitas and rhythmic incisiveness that adds currency to the already charged and ...
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ArticleSchubert: Piano Trios in B flat major D898 & in E flat major D929, Nocturne in E flat major D897, Sonatensatz in B flat major D28
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Trio WandererComposer: Schubert Despite the great scale of these works, there is an intimacy in these performances by the Trio Wanderer. This owes something to the close-up sound, but much more to the constant attention to small detail. ...
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ArticleGodard: Violin Concerto no.2 op.131, Concerto romantique op.35, Scènes poétiques op.46
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Chloë Hanslip (violin) Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra, Košice, Kirk Trevor (conductor)Composer: GodardThis disc proves what Naxos does pre-eminently well: introducing unfamiliar repertoire by less well-known composers on both sides of the Atlantic, often revealing neglected treasures.Benjamin Godard’s Second Violin Concerto is a ...
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ArticleSchumann: Violin Sonata in D minor op.121 (arr. Lindemann). Schubert: Arpeggione Sonata (arr. Lindemann–Ragossnig). A. Benjamin: Viola Sonata. Paganini: Caprice no.9 (arr. Shimmin–Shore). Hubay: Der Z
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Hartmut Lindemann (viola) Megumi Hashiba (piano) Roman Viazovsky (guitar)Composer: Schumann, Schubert, A. Benjamin, Paganini, HubayLearning that a record label named ‘Tacet’ (he/she/it is silent) should by now have published five volumes of viola recordings (The Lindemann Series), one could be forgiven for ...
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ArticleBach: Solo Violin Sonata no.2 in A minor BWV1003, Solo Violin Partita no.2 in D minor BWV1004. Guy: Aglais
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Maya Homburger (violin)Composer: Bach, GuyThis is the second issue of a three-disc project that couples a Bach solo sonata and partita with one of Barry Guy’s triptych of unaccompanied violin pieces named after butterflies. Maya Homburger demonstrates her versatility and musicianship in ...
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ArticleErnst: Othello Fantasy op.11, Six Polyphonic Studies, Elegy op.10, Erlkönig op.26
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Ilya Gringolts (violin) Ashley Wass (piano) Composer: ErnstIlya Gringolts meets Ernst’s formidable technical challenges with apparent ease, and his playing here is virtually flawless even in the most taxing flights of virtuosity. His dexterity and control are especially mesmerising ...
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ArticleCatoire: Violin Sonatas no.1 op.15 & no.2 op. 20 ‘Poème’, Elegy op.26. Ravel: Pièce en forme de habanera, Tzigane
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Herwig Zack (violin) Bernd Zack (piano)Composer: Catoire, Ravel This delightful recording would be worth having just for the enchanting playing of Tzigane, written for Jelly d’Aranyi, and the Habanera, originally designed for cello but beautifully transcribed for violin ...
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ArticleReger: Cello Sonatas nos.1–4, Cello Suites nos.1–3
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Alban Gerhardt (cello) Markus Becker (piano)Composer: Reger German duo Alban Gerhardt and Markus Becker have been steeping themselves in the music of their often sidelined countryman Max Reger. Their mission? To release the seemingly impenetrable scores, overladen with ...
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ArticleMahler: Piano Quartet. Schnittke: Piano Quartet. Brahms: Piano Quartet no.1 in G minor op.25
Musicians: Avery EnsembleComposer: Mahler, Schnittke, BrahmsThe Avery Ensemble, based in Connecticut, plays a wide repertoire for strings and piano in various combinations. Its debut CD features the group in a cornerstone of the piano quartet literature as well as Mahler’s only surviving chamber music piece, logically paired with ...
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ArticleBach: Solo Violin Sonata no.2 in A minor BWV1003. Bartók: Violin Sonata no.1
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Midori (violin) Robert McDonald (piano)Composer: Bach, Bartók Midori’s Bach comes without those politically correct qualities that are a primary part of today’s period-instrument specialists. Her sound for the A minor Sonata is warmed by vibrato, every ...
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ArticlePintscher: en sourdine*, tenebrae† , Reflections on Narcissus‡
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Frank Peter Zimmermann (violin)* Christoph Desjardins (viola)† Truls Mørk (cello)‡ Ensemble Intercontemporain† , NDR Symphony Orchestra*‡, Matthias Pintscher (conductor)Composer: Pintscher ‘Muted’; ‘Shadows’; ‘Reflections’: if you were buying paint, they would be shades of grey, and as I remarked ...
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ArticleSilvestrov: Post-Scriptum, Epitaph (L.B.), Drama
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Cornelius Dufallo (violin) Yves Dharamraj (cello) Jenny Lin (piano)Composer: SilvestrovWhere else would a postscript and an epitaph precede a drama? So strongly individual and oddly touching is the music of Valentin Silvestrov (b.1937) that the reversal works. A Ukrainian, he is another ...
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ArticleOpera Fantasies for Violin. Works by Hubay, Raff, Stravinsky/Dushkin, Golijov, Weill/Frenkel, Prutsman, Paganini, Bizet/Loeb & Lalo/Szigeti
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Livia Sohn (violin) Geoff Nuttall (violin/viola) Benjamin Loeb (piano)Composer: Hubay, Raff, Stravinsky/Dushkin, Golijov, Weill/Frenkel, Prutsman, Paganini, Bizet/Loeb & Lalo/SzigetiLivia Sohn, a former graduate of the Juilliard School and pupil of the legendary Felix Galimir, possesses a remarkably lithe and transparent tone of ...
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ArticleBéton Armé. Xenakis: Euryali, Mikka, Mikka S, Keren, Ikhoor, Dikthas
The Strad Issue: January 2008Musicians: Bas Wiegers (violin) Gus Kramers (viola) Saartje van Camp (cello) Nora Mulder (piano) Koen Kaptijn (trombone) Composer: XenakisThis short disc of Xenakis promises more than it delivers. Go to the listed website for the promised ‘detailed programme notes’ ...
