RECORDING OF THE MONTH RECORDING OF THE MONTH BARGAIN OF THE MONTH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS A London Symphony Oboe Concerto £11 post free World-wide RACHMANINOV Elegy, Preludes, Piano concerto 3 £12 post free World-wide CHAUSSON, DEBUSSY RACHMANINOV TRios 2CDs £16 post free World-wide

BUY NOW  AmazonUS

Delectable Pieces: The Volkert-Walther String Trio Robert SCHUMANN (1810-1956): Trio (after the Sonata for Piano Op. 118, No. 3) Peter TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893): Three Pieces, String Quartet No.3 Bohemian Dance Op.39 No.14 Humoresque Op.10 No.2 Edward MACDOWELL (1861-1908): Woodland Sketches Op. 51, To a Wild Rose By Fireside By a Meadow Brook At an Old Place From Uncle Remus Fritz KREISLER (1875-1962): Rondino on a theme of Beethoven, Toy Soldiers March, Victor HERBERT (1859-1924) Four Selections for String Trio, Always do as People say You should ("The Fortune Teller") Italian Street Song ("Naughty Marietta") Kiss Me Again ("Mlle. Modiste") Czardas ("The Fortune Teller") Mark Volkert violin, Geraldine Walther viola, Jan Volkert cello Arrangements by Mark Volkert Recorded at Hallcraft Studios, Pleasant Hill, CA, USA, 2003 CON BRIO CBR233 [49:15]

Chamber music CDs rarely contain such a diversity of composers as are collected here. Such a disc must have some additional appeal to make its release worthwhile and here it is the arrangements that provide that attraction. Mark Volkert is the driving force behind this recording yet he modestly does not refer to information about his arrangements in his CD notes. We have to turn to the case inlay to read this credit. Volkert's arrangements are attractive and are played with good pace that gives a fresh appeal to the pieces. The playing is excellent, which is just as well since the fairly closely-miked sound stage would have amplified any errors. There is optimum balance between players, but on occasions I would have liked to have more variation introduced with regard to dynamics. To a Wild Rose is a delicate piece where a more pianissimo accompaniment by viola and cello could have been used to advantage, for example. The studio acoustic adds an attractive bloom in resonance for the lower register of the cello and this gives an enhanced richness to the recording. The potted notes in English give a brief comment on the composers and their pieces as well as biographies of the soloists. Raymond Walker   Advertising Rates Visitor stats MusicWeb International has over 40,000 Classical CD reviews on offer Discs received Having a problem Donating? Gerard Hoffnung Concerts & The Bricklayer Story MusicWeb can now offer you discs from the following catalogues: Prices include postage There will be NO VAT Rises [Acte Préalable £13.50] [Arcodiva £12.00] [Avie from £6.25] [British Music Society £12.00] [CDACCORD from £13.50 ] [ClassicO £12.50] [Hallé from £11] [Heritage £10] [Hortus £14.99 ] [Lyrita ONLY £11.75 ] [Nimbus Special prices] [Northern Flowers £13.50] [REDCLIFFE £11 ] [Sheva £11] [Tactus £11.50 ] [Talent from £12.00 ] [Toccata Classics £10.50 ] Musicweb Special Offers Monthly Best Buys   New Releases New Releases   MusicWeb sells the Polish catalogue CDAccord £10.50 post free W-W MusicWeb sells the Arcodiva catalogue £12.00 post free W-W £11.75 post-free world- wide     Google Ads - for information about privacy matters, click here.  Amazon Musicweb International is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com

Return to Index

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.