MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2024
60,000 reviews
... and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             


Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

Acte Prealable Polish recordings

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

TROUBADISC
Troubadisc Weinberg- TROCD01450

All Troubadisc reviews


FOGHORN Classics

Alexandra-Quartet
Brahms String Quartets

All Foghorn Reviews


All HDTT reviews


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews



all tudor reviews


Follow us on Twitter


Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Editor in Chief
John Quinn
Contributing Editor
Ralph Moore
Webmaster
   David Barker
Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger

REVIEW


Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Chandos recordings
All Chandos reviews

Hyperion recordings
All Hyperion reviews

Foghorn recordings
All Foghorn reviews

Troubadisc recordings
All Troubadisc reviews



all Bridge reviews


all cpo reviews

Divine Art recordings
Click to see New Releases
Get 10% off using code musicweb10
All Divine Art reviews


All Eloquence reviews

Lyrita recordings
All Lyrita Reviews

 

Wyastone New Releases
Obtain 10% discount

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing

 

 

alternatively
CD: MDT AmazonUK AmazonUS

Rebecca CLARKE (1886-1979)
Viola Sonata (1919) [21:54]
Henri VIEUXTEMPS (1820-1881)
Viola Sonata in B flat major Op.36 (1863) [22:29]
Johannes BRAHMS (1833-1897)
Viola Sonata in E flat major Op.120/2 (1891) [20:42]
Tabea Zimmermann (viola)
Kirill Gerstein (piano)
rec. March-April 2010, Deutschlandfunk Kammermusiksaal
MYRIOS CLASSICS MYR004 [65:39]

Experience Classicsonline


The programming of this disc reminds me of Barbara Westphal and Jeffrey Swann’s Bridge disc [9109] which included both the Rebecca Clarke and Vieuxtemps but also included some Enescu, whereas the Zimmermann-Gerstein duo offers Brahms’s sonata in E flat major Op.120/2.

Clarke’s sonata is now deservedly quite popular and there are a number of recordings from which to choose with a variety of couplings. Zimmerman and Gerstein don’t catch the opening folkloric inflexions with quite as much immediacy as some duos but they do move from moments of agitated intensity to ruminative reflection with commendable surety. Zimmermann’s tone is finely equalized as ever, maintaining body at both ends of the range, and the ensemble is well nigh rock tight. The witty badinage of the central movement works well at this chosen tempo, with the duo avoiding the motoric speed that impelled Paul Coletti and Leslie Howard, who are lightning fast here [Hyperion CDH55085]. In the finale they’re a touch brisker than some duos, but that’s possibly because they prefer not to make too big an adjustment between the introductory Adagio section and the ensuing Allegro. Zimmerman’s tone is richer than Westphal’s, who also plays extremely well. Except for the finale where they’re quicker, the proportions of this new performance remind one of the Garfield Jackson/Martin Roscoe traversal on ASV CDDCA 932, coupled with Clarke’s Trio, and Amy Beach’s Piano Quintet. Helen Callus and Robert McDonald have also recorded it for ASV [1130] in a mixed recital and they’re slower than Zimmermann and Gerstein but not as slow as Philip Dukes and Sophia Rahman, whose first movement unfortunately rules them out of contention [Naxos 8.557934].

As noted, Zimmermann and Westphal both turn to the Vieuxtemps sonata and its expansive and expressive profile. Both offer highly laudable performances though the former has a wider range of tone colours and a greater sense of panache. That said Westphal, a no-nonsense player, ensures that the central Barcarolle laps that bit more incisively and insistently, whilst Zimmermann prefers a warmer tone but a slower, gentler tempo. The Brahms sonata is so much a staple that comparisons are numerous. I will note however that whilst she’s slower in the outer movements she’s even quicker than the young William Primrose (with Gerald Moore) in the central Allegro appassionato; quite some feat and very exciting. In fact this is a highly communicative and agile performance played with great commitment and authority.

The recording is very well judged, the notes good but printed in an unhelpful colour scheme (the track listing is unreadable unless you’re standing under a 100 watt bulb).

Jonathan Woolf

 

 

 

 

 


 


EXPLORE MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL

Making a Donation to MusicWeb

Writing CD reviews for MWI

About MWI
Who we are, where we have come from and how we do it.

Site Map

How to find a review

How to find articles on MusicWeb
Listed in date order

Review Indexes
   By Label
      Select a label and all reviews are listed in Catalogue order
   By Masterwork
            Links from composer names (eg Sibelius) are to resource pages with links to the review indexes for the individual works as well as other resources.

Themed Review pages

Jazz reviews

 

Discographies
   Composer
      Composer surveys
   National
      Unique to MusicWeb -
a comprehensive listing of all LP and CD recordings of given works
.
Prepared by Michael Herman

The Collector’s Guide to Gramophone Company Record Labels 1898 - 1925
Howard Friedman

Book Reviews

Complete Books
We have a number of out of print complete books on-line

Interviews
With Composers, Conductors, Singers, Instumentalists and others
Includes those on the Seen and Heard site

Nostalgia

Nostalgia CD reviews

Records Of The Year
Each reviewer is given the opportunity to select the best of the releases

Monthly Best Buys
Recordings of the Month and Bargains of the Month

Comment
Arthur Butterworth Writes

An occasional column

Phil Scowcroft's Garlands
British Light Music articles

Classical blogs
A listing of Classical Music Blogs external to MusicWeb International

Reviewers Logs
What they have been listening to for pleasure

Announcements

 

Community
Bulletin Board

Give your opinions or seek answers

Reviewers
Past and present

Helpers invited!

Resources
How Did I Miss That?

Currently suspended but there are a lot there with sound clips


Composer Resources

British Composers

British Light Music Composers

Other composers

Film Music (Archive)
Film Music on the Web (Closed in December 2006)

Programme Notes
For concert organizers

External sites
British Music Society
The BBC Proms
Orchestra Sites
Recording Companies & Retailers
Online Music
Agents & Marketing
Publishers
Other links
Newsgroups
Web News sites etc

PotPourri
A pot-pourri of articles

MW Listening Room
MW Office

Advice to Windows Vista users  
Questionnaire    
Site History  
What they say about us
What we say about us!
Where to get help on the Internet
CD orders By Special Request
Graphics archive
Currency Converter
Dictionary
Magazines
Newsfeed  
Web Ring
Translation Service

Rules for potential reviewers :-)
Do Not Go Here!
April Fools






Untitled Document


Reviews from previous months
Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the discs reviewed. details
We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin Board
Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to which you refer.