MALCOLM ARNOLD
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Arnold: Serenade / Sinfoniettas / Concerto for Two Violins San Diego Chamber Orchestra, Donald Barra, with Igor & Vesna Gruppman (violins) [ Koch International Classics / CD - released 5/Jun/1992 ] "This 90s release is fine example of the late, lamented Koch International and Malcolm Arnold. For someone not familiar with Arnold's music, this long out-of-print CD is a fine introduction (especially the Serenade for Small Orchestra)" Thomas Martin |
BERIO / DENISOV
Violin duos Alexandr Bulov and Ilya Gringolts (violins) [ BIS / CD - released 24/Feb/2001 ] Two contemporary works for violin duo |
J. S. BACH
Bach: Piano Concertos BWV 1052, 1054, 1056, 1058 & 1065 Alexandre Tharaud (piano) / Les Violins du Roy, Bernard Labadie [ Virgin Classics / CD - released 1/Feb/2012 ] "..played with stylish, spontaneous-sounding elaboration of lines and sparing use of the sustaining pedal...Yet it all works remarkably well...this is a thoroughly enjoyable 'piano' version of these glorious Concertos." (BBC Music) |
W. A. MOZART
Style Galant: Concertone Amandine Beyer & David Plantier (violins) / Ensemble 415, Chiara Banchini (violin & direction) [ Zig-Zag Territories / CD - released 10/Apr/2010 ] Ensemble 415, Chiara Banchini (violin & direction) |
BARTOK
44 Duos for two violins Andras Kiss, Ferenc Balogh (violins) [ Hyperion Helios / CD - released 25/Apr/2007 ] 'Molto del merito della riuscita del CD va ai bravissimi Andras Kiss e Ferenc Balogh' (Musica) |
BARTOK
44 Duos for Two Violins (with music by Ligeti and Kurtag) Andras Keller, Janos Pilz (violins) [ ECM Records / CD - released 26/May/2002 ] "These performances are exemplary, hitting exactly the right tome of folk-like melancholy or exuberance (and sometimes both)." ***** Five Stars (BBC Music Magazine) June 2002 |
BELA BARTOK
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bartok: 44 Violin Duos Angela & Jennifer Chun (violins) [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 1/Jan/2010 ] "The Chuns' caring, committed, and stylistically perceptive Bartók playing deserves serious consideration." (9 / 9 ClassicsToday) |
MARTINU / SHOSTAKOVICH / MILHAUD / YUN
Fantasy Angela & Jennifer Chun (violins) [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 1/Mar/2012 ] "Gifted violinists with elegant style, their unique approach to Bach double concerto was memorable." (Washington Post) |
BELA BARTOK
Bartok: Solo Violin Sonata Duos Gyorgy Pauk, Kazuki Sawa (violins) [ Naxos / CD - released 10/Aug/2009 ] Pauk and Sawa make for an admirable partnership and Naxos's recordings are entirely satisfactory... I've often said that when it comes to recommending a CD on musical grounds, price is irrelevant. That claim still stands, although I'm happy to... |
J. S. BACH
Violin Concertos Catharine Mackintosh, Elizabeth Wallfisch (violins) / Paul Goodwin (oboe) / The Kings Consort / Robert King [ Hyperion Helios / CD - released 1/Sep/2009 ] 'Inspired performances combining a satisfying historical approach with interpretations that explore the music's emotional depth' (American Record Guide) |
J.S. BACH / BRAHMS / TCHAIKOVSKY / etc
Bach/Brahms/Tchaikovsky: Violin Concertos David Oistrakh, Igor Oistrakh (violins) / Wiener Symphoniker / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Staatskapelle Dresden [ Deutsche Grammophon Originals / 2 CD - released 1/Dec/2006 ] "strong, warm performances which bring out both the sweetness and purity of Oistrakh's playing" (Gramophone) |
David Owen Norris, square pianos, with Sonnerie: Monica Huggett, Emilia Benjamin - violins; Joseph Crouch, cello
The World's First Piano Concertos (Bach, Abel. Hayes, Hook, etc) [ Avie / CD - released 1/May/2003 ] Performed on the tiny square piano that dominated the European keyboard market for about 15 years in the late 18th century. |
GIOACCHINO ROSSINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Rossini: Six String Sonatas Elizabeth Wallfisch, Marshall Marcus (violins) Richard Tunnicliffe (cello) Chi-Chi Nwanoku (double bass) [ Hyperion Helios / CD - released 17/Sep/2005 ] 'These wonderful works are best heard in their original quartet version' (Gramophone) |
NICOLAI PAGANINI
Paganini: Music for Violin & Strings Gabriele Pieranunzi (solo violin), with Salvatore Lombardo, Loana Stratulat (violins), Luca Improta (viola) & chamber ensemble [ Brilliant Classics / CD - released 6/Oct/2023 ] Paganini was the first great 'star' of instrumental music, the precursor of the rock stars of today, able to induce collective hysteria as well as to dictate fashion and to influence the behaviour of entire generations. He did this by transforming... |
ROMANTIC VIOLIN
Romantic Violin (violin pieces by Dvorak, Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Bruch, etc) Gil Sharon, Bohuslav Matousek, Emmy Verhey, Ilya Grubert (violins) [ Brilliant Classics / 2 CD - released 20/May/2008 ] Gil Sharon lives in the Netherlands, where he is concertmaster of the Limburg Symphony Orchestra. In 1971 he won first prize in the "Internatyional Emily Anderson Violin Competition" in London. As a result of this he was invited for solistic... |
ANTONIO VIVALDI
Vivaldi: Concertos for Two Violins Giuliano Carmignola, Viktoria Mullova (violins) / Venice Baroque Orchestra / Andrea Marcon [ DG Archiv / CD - released 10/Dec/2008 ] "Mullova and Carmignola provide one of the most consummate displays of period instrument playing that I have heard. True masters of their instruments." (MusicWeb Feb 2009) |
NICCOLO PAGANINI
The Best of Paganini (Incls Violin Concerto No.1 in D, Op.6 & Moto perpetuo, Op.11) Henryk Szeryng, Ivry Gitlis, Arthur Grumiaux (violins) / Orchestre National de l'Opara de Monte-Carlo / Warsaw National Philharmonic / etc [ Philips Duo / 2 CD - released 11/Jun/2006 ] Classic recordings from the Philips catalogue |
SIBELIUS
Piano Quintets and Melodramas Jaakko Kuusisto, Laura Vikman (violins) Anna Kreetta Gribajcevic (viola) Joel Laakso (cello) Folke Grasbeck (piano) Monica Groop (mezzo-soprano ) [ BIS / CD - released 1/Mar/2007 ] Apart from Voces intimae, his final string quartet, the chamber music of Jean Sibelius has been rather over-shadowed by the orchestral masterpieces. |
LOUIS SPOHR
Spohr: Violin Duets 2 Jameson Cooper, James Dickenson (violins) [ Naxos / CD - released 13/Dec/2019 ] Louis Spohr's reputation as one of Germany's leading violinists was at its height when he composed his 'Duets for Two Violins, Op. 39', and while it appears his intention was to finance an Italian concert tour with marketable duets, the publishers... |
LOUIS SPOHR
Spohr: Violin Duets Vol 1 Jameson Cooper, James Dickenson (violins) [ Naxos / CD - released 17/Jul/2018 ] "Jameson Cooper and James Dickenson combine on a new recording on the Naxos label, their playing dexterous, witty and nicely judged, the two instruments frequently required to swap roles in a delightfully playful interchange." The Observer |