Volume 31 Issue 2 - November & December 2025

Walentin a collection of

Walentin a collection of 11 of his jazz arrangements, and they arepresented here with the violin solos remaining as true to the writtenform as possible.And just look at some of the 11 track titles: Don’t Get Around MuchAnymore, Someone to Watch Over Me, Basin Street Blues, All theThings You Are (a Bach-flavoured violin solo), Embraceable You,Fascinating Rhythm, Sophisticated Lady, The Nearness of You – it’sall absolute magic, with gorgeous arrangements superbly played.It’s apparently only available as a download or a vinyl LP andnot on CD.The almond tree duos is the worldpremiere recording of a work from 2019-2021 by violist and composer Melia Watrascomprising 18 brief pieces for violin andviola. The violin duties are shared bybaroque violinist Tekla Cunningham andviolinists Rachel Lee Priday and MichaelJinsoo Lim (Planet M Records PMR-007planetmrecords.bandcamp.com/album/melia-watras-the-almond-tree-duos).The work can be performed in several ways, from stand-alone piecesthrough various combinations to a complete set; if the latter, the ordershould be as recorded here.Watras encourages experimenting with combinations of modernviolin and viola with baroque violin and viola. The end result here is afascinating soundscape, the three violinists providing a variety oftechniques, tonal colours and nuances to supplement Watras’ playing.There’s another set of the Ludwig vanBeethoven Complete Violin Sonatas, thistime a 3CD box with the German duo ofviolinist Lena Neudauer and pianist PaulRivinius (cpo 555 550-2 naxosdirect.co.uk/items/ludwig-van-beethoven-completeviolin-sonatas-1281535).While originally titled Sonatas for Pianoand Violin the 10 works, written in Viennabetween 1797 and 1812, permanently establishedan equal and balanced partnership between the two instruments.In that respect Rivinius is every bit Neudauer’s equal in abeautifully-judged progression from the three early Op.12 sonatasthrough a delightful “Spring” Sonata Op.24 to an imposing andpowerful “Kreutzer” Sonata Op.47.There’s not a false note or moment throughout an outstanding setthat will stand comparison with any in the catalogue.Pianist Paul Rivinius appears again, thistime with violist Christian Euler, on Brahms| Schumann Works for Viola and Piano, aCD featuring works from relatively late ineach composer’s career (MusikproduktionDabringhaus und Grimm MDG 9032353-6 euler-viola.com/en/tontraeger/new-release-2025-brahms-schumann).The central work on the disc isSchumann’s Märchenbilder Op.113 or FairyTale Pictures from 1851, a work that has no individual titles that mightsuggest the content of the four movements.In 1890 Brahms decided to retire from composing, but the followingyear he met the clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld and was inspired towrite four works for him: the Clarinet Trio Op.114, the ClarinetQuintet Op.115 and the two Clarinet Sonatas in F Minor Op.120 No.1and E-flat Major Op.120 No.2. The latter are here in the composer’sown arrangements, which he apparently felt were “clumsy andunpleasant.” Changes to accommodate the viola were mostly octavetranspositions, but here Euler has “decided to play the original clarinetversion consistently and to fully exploit its large range.” It’s an interestingchoice.On Brahms Three Sonatas the Armenianduo of cellist Suren Bagratuni and pianistHrant Bagrazyan perform the two cellosonatas as well as the composer’s own transcriptionof his first violin sonata (BlueGriffin records GBR677 bluegriffin.com/cd-catalog/p/brahms-three-sonatas-forcello-and-piano-suren-bagratuni-andhrant-bagrazyan?rq=bagratuni).The Sonatas for Cello and Piano in E Minor, Op.38 and in F Major,Op.99 are given expansive readings, with both players displaying arich, warm tone. It’s simply lovely Brahms.The central work on the CD is Brahms’ transcription, transposedfrom G major to D major, of the Violin Sonata No.1, Op.78. I sometimeshave issues with cello transcriptions of violin sonatas, partlybecause of the alterations to the melodic line – there are several octavedrops in the first movement in particular here – but also because theyusually bring the instrumental part down into the piano mid-range,altering the nature of the tonal colour. Here, though, that extrawarmth is a positive addition, and there’s no denying the sheer beautyof the playing.French cellist Juliette Herlin and Canadianpianist Kevin Ahfat are the duo on Herlin’sdebut CD Dialogue: Debussy & Schumann,a recital of music by two composerswhose artistic kinship is often overlooked,and whose music has long beena part of the cellist’s life (Orchid ClassicsORC100382 orchidclassics.com/releases/orc100382-dialogue).The more substantial tracks are Schumann’s Fantasiestücke Op.73,Adagio & Allegro in A-flat Major Op.70 and Drei Romanzen Op.94,and Debussy’s 1915 Cello Sonata in D Minor. Herlin arranged thetwo Schumann Liederkreis and Debussy’s L’âme évaporée andBeau soir, with the latter’s Nuit d’étoiles, Intermezzo and Rêveriecompleting the disc.Herlin has a warm, sweet tone well-suited to the music, and is givenfine support from Ahfat on a charming CD that rarely reallycatches fire.On the 2CD set From Eastern Europethe husband and wife team of cellistMarie-Elisabeth Hecker and pianistMartin Helmchen present six works by20th-century Russian composers (AlphaClassics ALPHA827 outhere-music.com/en/albums/eastern-europe).CD1 has the Shostakovich Cello Sonatain D Minor, Op.40, Schnittke’s remarkableCello Sonata No.1 and Stravinsky’s SuiteItalienne, K034B, drawn from his neoclassical ballet Pulcinella.CD2 features Weinberg’s Cello Sonata No.2, Op.63 and Prokofiev’sCello Sonata in C Major, Op.119, the recital closing with a fine readingof the Rachmaninov Cello Sonata in G Minor, Op.19, surely one of themost glorious works ever written for cello and piano.Hecker won the First Prize and two Special Prizes at the 2005Rostropovich Competition and is clearly in her element here, beautifullysupported by Helmchen.The Music of George Frederick McKaysees the Formosa Quartet present the firstcommercial release of the string quartetsof the mid-century American composerGeorge Frederick McKay (1899-1970)(Orchid Classics ORC100381 orchidclassics.com/releases/orc100381-formosa-quartet).McKay founded the Music Departmentat the University of Washington, wherehe was the Professor of Music for 41 years42 | November & December 2025 thewholenote.com

until 1968. The string quartets occupy a prominent place in his largeoutput, and are described here as reflecting his distinctive musicallanguage, shaped by influences ranging from Civil War era folk songsand Native American melodies to avant-garde satire from the WestCoast urban scene.The String Quartets No.1 “American Sketches” and No.2 “appassionato”are from 1935 and 1937 respectively, while the StringQuartets No.3 “Poem of Life and Death” and No.4 “Mister Del Balboa”are both from 1950. They’re strongly tonal, immediately accessible andfinely crafted works, given strong performances on thiswelcome release.Welsh Music for Strings is a CD ofworld premiere recordings with theRoyal Philharmonic Orchestra underOwain Arwel Hughes (Rubicon ClassicsRCD1198 rubiconclassics.com/release/welsh-music-for-strings).The simply beautiful Elegy by GraceWilliams (1906-77) was written in 1935 forthe newly-formed BBC Welsh Orchestra.Described as “a prayer without words” thestunning O Sacred Heart, by leading contemporary composer PaulMealor (b.1975), was written especially for this album.The short but upbeat Romance by Morfydd Owen (1891-1918) is anearly work from a woman composer who died tragically young. Theheartfelt Aberfan, by Christopher Wood (b.1945) was written for the50th anniversary of the 1966 Welsh disaster.There are two works by Arwel Hughes (1909-88), the father ofthe conductor: Gweddi (A Prayer) for soprano, chorus and strings,featuring Jessica Robinson and the Côr Llundain, and the lushDivertimento, recently discovered by his son.The three-movement 1961 Music for Strings by William Mathias(1934-92) completes a really lovely disc.String music by the Czech composer ViktorKalabis (1923-2006) is presented on thenew CD from violinist Gidon Kremer, whois joined by cellist Magdalene Ceple and theKremerata Baltica under Fuad Ibrahimovin a recital of works by a lesser-knowncomposer whose career was impacted byboth the Nazi occupation of his countryand the Communist regime that followedit (Hyperion CDA68474 hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA68474).The earliest work here is the three-movement Chamber Music forStrings, Op.21 from 1963. The two-movement Diptych for Strings,Op.66 and the four-movement Duettina for Violin and Cello, Op.67What we're listening to this month:are both from 1987. Kalabis described the Diptych as “chaste ofexpression – a study of new sonic possibilities of string ensemble,” butthere are some hauntingly beautiful moments here – especially in theOp.21 – in music that seems to reveal more the more you listen to it.Performances, as you would expect from Kremer and his friends,are exemplary.Compositions inspired by artworks arefeatured on Airat Ichmouratov, a CD ofmusic by the Russian-born Canadiancomposer, with cellist Stéphane Tétreault,violist Elvira Misbakhova and Les Violonsdu Roy under the direction of the composer(ATMA Classique ACD2 2896 atmaclassique.com/en/product/ichmouratov-the-ninthwave-viola-concerto-no-2-cello-concerto-no-1).The 2018 Tone Poem for Strings: The Ninth Wave Op.61 is a responseto the painting of that name by the Russian marine artist IvanAivazovsky, Ichmouratov saying that he used impressionist techniquesto capture the restless spirit of a turbulent ocean.For his 2015 Concerto for Viola No.2, Op.41 Ichmouratov imagineda scene from the childhood of J. S. Bach, the three movements beingwritten in a neo-Baroque style while also embracing Ichmouratov’sown neo-Romantic voice.Three paintings – Intrigues, Repentance and Moto perpetuo – by theMontreal-based artist Natasha Turovsky inspired the 2008 ConcertoNo.1 for Cello and Strings with Percussion, Op.18 and provided thetitles for the individual movements. Commissioned and premiered byLes Violons du Roy, it has a striking middle movement mourning thevictims of the mid-century Soviet era.The outstanding Hamilton guitarist EmmaRush is back with the Life & Times ofCatharina Pratten, a delightful and fascinatingCD featuring the music of the19th-century guitarist and composerMadame Sidney Pratten and her associates(Independent emma-rush.com/the-life-and-times-of-catharina-pratten).A child prodigy, Pratten was bornin Germany in 1824, her family moving to England in 1829. Sheperformed, composed and taught virtually up to her death in 1895,her three guitar methods and her book Learning the Guitar Simplifiedoffering valuable insight into 19th-century guitar performance. Thereare seven of her pieces here, along with short works by her fatherFerdinand Pelzer, her husband Robert Sidney Pratten, the Swiss childprodigy Giulio Regondi, the German guitarist and composer LeonardSchultz, Francisco Tarregá (who visited Pratten in London), thethewholenote.com/listeningJohannes Brahms Sonatas op. 120,Robert Schumann Märchenbilder op. 113Christian Euler, viola & Paul Rivinius, pianoTwo Brahmsian masterpiecesforeshadowing the fin de siècle, andSchumann's fairytale-like Märchenbilder -transporting the listener into an enchantingworld of magic, poetry and longing.Watching the SkyMatt SellickSuite for flamenco guitar andorchestra, featuring the ThunderBay Symphony Orchestra.Available on all major platforms.CDs available on Bandcamp.Map of YouDaniel Janke, Rachel FenlonListen to the music of composerDaniel Janke, performed by RachelFenlonThe Well-"Tampered" Clavier,Book 1, arr. PostSam Post and Ralitza Patcheva"I have been jumping up and downwith delight about the “Well-Tampered” Bach...a spice thatbrings to mind Jacques Loussier‘jazzy’ interpretations of Bach."Michael Barone, Pipedreamsthewholenote.com November & December 2025 | 43