Fiona Maddocks 

Works for Two Pianos CD review – Stravinsky cast in new colours

John-Patrick Millow, Bernard Job, Vitya Vronsky, Victor Babin, Alfons and Aloys Kontarsky(Praga Digitalis)
  
  

Igor Stravinsky in 1966
‘Full of riches’: Igor Stravinsky in 1966. Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo

These works by Stravinsky for two pianos are performed by three foremost duos of the past, French, Russian and German, dating from 1961 to 1991. The centrepiece is The Rite of Spring, brilliantly arranged and played (on a Bösendorfer) by French duo John-Patrick Millow (1953-1996) with Bernard Job. Stravinsky’s shrill, rhythmic energies are cast in new colours, with piano as glittering percussion instrument. The Russian husband-and-wife duo, Vitya Vronsky and Victor Babin, performs the Concerto for Two Pianos (on a Steinway). The German brothers, Alfons and Aloys Kontarsky, play the Tango (arr. Babin) and the Sonata for two Pianos. This is a fascinating disc, full of riches. The sound is clear and vivid.

 

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