PPI's Recordings Roundup for April
It's always astounding seeing a solo pianist at work, a journey of agony and ecstasy in which the artist seeks to become one with the instrument. But watching two pianists at work — whether performing on two pianos or sharing one keyboard — offers a different experience altogether, one rooted in friendship and the joys of collaborative music-making.
Join us this month as we dive into a trio of new recordings that explore the fascinating colors and symphonic scope of music for two pianos:
Sergei Babayan and Daniil Trifonov's passionately rhapsodic readings of Rachmaninoff
A delightful collection of Ravel and Debussy favorites from Alessio Bax and Lucille Chung
Katia and Marielle Labèque's hypnotic performances of Philip Glass
SERGEI BABAYAN AND DANIIL TRIFONOV
RACHMANINOFF FOR TWO
With Inon Barnatan's "Rachmaninoff Reflections" recital coming up, it should be unsurprising that we have the Russian composer on our minds! In this album, two of today's finest Rachmaninoff interpreters, Sergei Babayan and Daniil Trifonov, bring seismic power and innate poetry to three of the composer's most romantic, nostalgic works: the First Suite for Two Pianos and Rachmaninoff's own arrangements of his Symphonic Dances and Second Symphony.
ALESSIO BAX AND LUCILLE CHUNG
DEBUSSY AND RAVEL FOR TWO
Few composers have captured the shimmering, ethereal beauty of the piano's voice quite like Debussy and Ravel, whose works receive elegant performances here from Alessio Bax and Lucille Chung. From a mesmerizing arrangement of Debussy's Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun to Ravel's charming Mother Goose Suite and the dazzling dances of La Valse, this is perfect music for sun-soaked springtime listening sessions.
KATIA AND MARIELLE LABÈQUE PRESENT:
PHILIP GLASS: COCTEAU TRILOGY
When sisters Katia and Marielle Labèque released their own two-piano arrangement of music from Philip Glass's opera Les enfants terribles — based on the surrealist film by Jean Cocteau — the album was so successful that the Labèques approached Glass to draft new arrangements for the remaining operas in his "Cocteau Trilogy," Orphée and La Belle et la Bête. Now available together on Deutsche Grammophon, these works receive astounding readings thanks to the razor-sharp precision and sensitive artistry Katia and Marielle have honed over their 50-year career.