PianoDuo Takahashi & Lehmann - Transcriptions and Beyond (2015) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

01. Concerto per due pianoforti-soli: I. Con moto
02. Concerto per due pianoforti-soli: II. Notturno
03. Concerto per due pianoforti-soli: III. Quattro variazoni (Variation I)
04. Concerto per due pianoforti-soli: III. Quattro variazoni (Variation II)
05. Concerto per due pianoforti-soli: III. Quattro variazoni (Variation III)
06. Concerto per due pianoforti-soli: III. Quattro variazoni (Variation IV)
07. Concerto per due pianoforti-soli: IV. Preludio
08. Concerto per due pianoforti-soli: IV. Fuga á 4 voci
09. Sonatina: I. —
10. Sonatina: II. —
11. Sonatina: III. —
12. Hausmusik: I. Unschärfe
13. Hausmusik: II. Leichtes Schwanken
14. Hausmusik: III. Schnelles Ende
15. Le Sacre Du Printemps, Pt. I, Adoration of the Earth: Introduction
16. Le Sacre Du Printemps, Pt. I, Adoration of the Earth: Augurs of Spring
17. Le Sacre Du Printemps, Pt. I, Adoration of the Earth: Ritual of Abduction
18. Le Sacre Du Printemps, Pt. I, Adoration of the Earth: Spring Rounds
19. Le Sacre Du Printemps, Pt. I, Adoration of the Earth: Ritual of the Rival Tribes
20. Le Sacre Du Printemps, Pt. I, Adoration of the Earth: Procession of the Sage
21. Le Sacre Du Printemps, Pt. I, Adoration of the Earth: The Sage
22. Le Sacre Du Printemps, Pt. I, Adoration of the Earth: Dance of the Earth
23. Le Sacre Du Printemps, Pt. II, the Sacrifice: Introduction
24. Le Sacre Du Printemps, Pt. II, the Sacrifice: Mystic Circles of the Young Girls
25. Le Sacre Du Printemps, Pt. II, the Sacrifice: Glorification of the Chosen One
26. Le Sacre Du Printemps, Pt. II, the Sacrifice: Evocation of the Ancestors
27. Le Sacre Du Printemps, Pt. II, the Sacrifice: Ritual Action of the Ancestors
28. Le Sacre Du Printemps, Pt. II, the Sacrifice: Sacrificial Dance


The PianoDuo Takahashi|Lehmann once again manage to combine passionate expressivity, intellectual programme conception and virtuoso piano technique. In the works presented in this second volume, the lines between original and arrangement are blurred: art prevails over genre boundaries.

In the suspense between faithfulness to the original and interest in arrangements, Norie Taka­hashi and Björn Lehmann take their own position. The pianists perform original works or arrangements made or sanctioned by the composers themselves. Igor Stravinsky adapted the score of his Le Sacre du Printemps for piano duet so that it could be played in rehearsals - creating a work with its very own sound character. His Concerto for Two Pianos, on the other hand, is an original composition, referring, however, to a long history of arrangements that adapted works for solo instruments and orchestra for keyboard instruments.

Conlon Nancarrow became famous for his works for player pianos. His Sonatina, in the version presented here, is a re-arrangement: originally conceived for piano (two hands), the composer - dissatisfied with the performance results - arranged it for player piano. Yvar Mikashoff adapted this version for piano duet - with brilliant results and much to the delight of the original composer. In his Hausmusik, Arnulf Herrmann turns the relationship between original and arrangement upside down. The colourful and rhythmically vivacious cycle opens with an adaptation of an ensemble piece, and closes with a composition which he later reworked into an ensemble piece.

Norie Takahashi, piano
Björn Lehmann, piano

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