All Reviews articles – Page 199
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ArticleBloch: Baal Shem Suite, Suite hébraïque, Suites nos.1 & 2 for solo violin. Ben-Haim: Violin Sonata in G minor, Berceuse sfradite, Improvisation and Dance
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Hagai Shaham (violin) Arnon Erez (piano)Composer: Bloch, Ben-Haim Bloch’s music invariably builds out of extreme contrasts: one minute quietly meditative, the next devotedly impassioned. He is not a composer particularly given to light touches or major-key frivolity ...
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Article
Enescu: Complete works for violin and piano vol.1: Violin Sonata in A minor ‘Torso’, Violin Sonata no. 2 in F minor, Impressions d’enfance op.28
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Remus Azoitei (violin) Eduard Stan (piano) Composer: EnescuEnescu’s three sonatas are high-water marks of turn-of-the-20th-century violin literature, not least because Enescu, friend to Ysaÿe and teacher of Menuhin, was one of the finest virtuosos of his day, acclaimed in Vienna and ...
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ArticleHandel: Recorder Sonatas op.1 nos.2, 4, 7, 9 & 11, Sonata in B flat major HWV377 (transcr. Gibley)
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Tatty Theo (cello) Carolyn Gibley (harpsichord) Composer: HandelTaking as her precedent the arrangements made by Baroque composers to maximise income from their compositions, Carolyn Gibley has transcribed six of Handel’s sonatas for recorder and continuo to form cello ...
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ArticleKarlowicz: Violin Concerto in A major op.8. Szymanowski: Violin Concerto no.1
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Piotr Plawner (violin) Zielona Góra Philharmonic Orchestra, Czeslaw Grabowski (conductor)Composer: Karlowicz, SzymanowskiWhile many musicians were making the pilgrimage to Paris in the early 1900s, Szymanowski studied the folk music of his native Polish Tatra mountains, enthusing that ‘each man must go to ...
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ArticleBrahms: String Quartet no.2 in A minor op.51 no.2. Janácek: String Quartet no.2 ‘Intimate Letters’
THE STRAD RECOMMENDSThe Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Heine QuartetComposer: Brahms, Janácek This unusual pairing of quartets is partly explained in the accompanying notes by their common communication to friends: Brahms to Joachim and Jana?c ?ek to his adored Kamila Sto?sslova?. It is an effective ...
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ArticleSchop: Hamburger Ratsmusicus
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Simone Eckert (treble viol/director), Hamburger RatsmusikComposer: SchopFrom the 16th century until almost 1800, the music-loving Hanseatic city of Hamburg kept a virtuoso string ensemble of about eight members to perform at religious services and official ceremonies, the Ratsmusik (council musicians). Johann Schop led ...
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ArticleGaluppi: Concerti a quattro
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Ensemble Il FalconeComposer: GaluppiCharles Burney praised Baldassare Galuppi’s skills as a contrapuntist and as ‘a friend to poetry’. These seven ‘Concerti a quattro’ largely endorse Burney’s approbation, incorporating much contrapuntal expertise and expressive lyricism.Ensemble Il Falcone’s interpretations are thoughtfully prepared, even if ...
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ArticleChopin: Cello Sonata, Introduction and Polonaise brillante. Grieg: Cello Sonata
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Michal Kanka (cello) Jaromír Klepác (piano)Composer: Chopin, GriegFrom Beethoven onwards the piano has held a pivotal role in shaping the performance in the cello sonata, and neither the Grieg nor the Chopin sonatas are exceptions. In consequence the piano very much drives ...
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ArticleBax: Viola Sonata, Legend, Trio in One Movement, Concert Piece
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Laurence Jackson (violin) MartinuOutram (viola) Julian Rolton (piano)Composer: Bax With the Bax violin sonatas already safely under his belt for Naxos (with pianist Ashley Wass), Laurence Jackson returns to the fold alongside MartinuOutram (violist with the Maggini Quartet) ...
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ArticleReflection. Bartók: Sonata for solo violin. Debussy: Violin Sonata in G minor. Ravel: Violin Sonata
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: David Grimal (violin) Georges Pludermacher (piano)Composer: Bartók, Debussy, RavelIt’s encouraging to see performers embracing the opportunities provided by new technologies. Only a couple of months ago I welcomed Ruth Palmer’s engrossing documentary on Shostakovich which accompanied her Quartz coupling of the First ...
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ArticleShostakovich: Cello Sonata*, Violin Sonata† , Romance and Nocturne from ‘The Gadfly’ (arr. Yablonsky)‡
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Dmitry Yablonsky (cello/conductor) Maxim Fedotov (violin) Ekaterina Saranceva (piano)* Galina Petrova (piano)† Russian Philharmonic Orchestra‡Composer: ShostakovichDmitry Yablonsky offers a wonderfully warm and sensitive performance of Shostakovich’s Cello Sonata, first heard in 1934, around the time of the composer’s near-fatal brush with ...
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ArticleDvorák: Piano Trio op.90 ‘Dumky’. Beethoven: Piano Trio op.97 ‘Archduke’
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Guarneri Trio PragueComposer: Dvorák, Beethoven In autumn 2006 the Guarneri Trio celebrated its 20th anniversary: these vital performances handsomely illustrate the trio’s technical excellence, seasoned maturity and colourful musical personalities.The purity and refinement of the Guarneri’s playing can ...
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ArticleHaydn: String Quartets op.76
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Budapest QuartetComposer: Haydn To have a great chamber ensemble playing six great works is not to be sneezed at. So I have to explain why I would rather be listening to a reissue of a different set of Haydn’s ...
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ArticleBeethoven: Cello Sonata in A major op.69. Chopin: Cello Sonata op.65. Glazunov: Chant du ménestrel. Rubinstein: Mélodie in F (arr. Popper). Offenbach: Les larmes de Jacqueline (arr. Thomas-Mifune). Po
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Richard Harwood (cello) Christoph Berner (piano)Composer: Beethoven, Chopin, Glazunov, Rubinstein, Offenbach, PopperBritish cellist Richard Harwood, winner of the Pierre Fournier award in 2004, made his BBC Radio 3 debut aged 13 playing Elgar’s Concerto, and has studied for four years with Heinrich ...
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ArticleMozart: Piano Trios in E major K542, in C major K548 & in G major K564
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: The Queen’s Chamber TrioComposer: Mozart The Queen’s Chamber Trio’s ‘decidedly revolutionary’ approach to these works, as claimed in the booklet, involves using a harpsichord rather than a fortepiano. While this has some historical credibility, the instrumentarium employed here is ...
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ArticleBrahms: Piano Quintet in F minor op.34, String Sextet in G major op.36
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Christian Tetzlaff (violin) Isabelle Faust (violin) Veronika Eberle (violin) Hanna Weinmeister (viola) Stefan Fehlandt (viola) Julian Steckel (cello) Gustav Rivinius (cello) Lars Vogt (piano)Composer: Brahms These splendid, well-rehearsed performances from the Heimbach Festival are of more than ...
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ArticleMozart: Violin Sonatas in E minor K304, in A major K305, in E flat major K380 & in B flat major K454
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Dmitry Sitkovetsky (violin) Antonio Pappano (piano)Composer: MozartAs this disc is labelled ‘Vol.1’, I hope the recording team will reconsider its engineering policy before the next volume – especially since there is nothing wrong with the venue, Potton Hall in Suffolk, a proven ...
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ArticleChausson: Piano Trio in G minor op.3. Ravel: Piano Trio in A minor
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Ernest Chausson TrioComposer: Chausson, Ravel On the Wagner wing of late 19th-century French composers, Chausson was on the verge of a stylistic breakthrough, fanning his super-heated music with gentle Fauréan and Ravellian breezes, when he was tragically killed in a freak cycling ...
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ArticleShostakovich: String Quartets nos.3, 14 & 15, Piano Quintet in G minor op.57
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Juilliard String Quartet, Yefim Bronfman (piano) Composer: ShostakovichThe Juilliard Quartet was on a very different continent when the Beethoven Quartet was making its legendary recordings of the Shostakovich quartets, and is now able to stand back from the ...
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ArticleKoechlin: Vingt chansons bretonnes op.115, Cello Sonata op.66. Debussy: Cello Sonata
The Strad Issue: January 2007Musicians: Peter Bruns (cello) Roglit Ishay (piano)Composer: Koechlin, Debussy The Debussy Sonata was the highlight of this disc for me. The German-Israeli partnership of Bruns and Ishay manage to get everything just right, faithfully observing its myriad directions on ...
