Frank-Immo Zichner, Frank Gutschmidt, Dominic Oelze, Torsten Schönfeld - Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring - Bartok: Sonata for 2 Pianos and Percussion (2012)

Tracklist

01. Le sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), Pt. I, Adoration of the Earth: Introduction - [Version for Piano 4 Hands]
02. Le sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), Pt. I, The Augurs of Spring: Dances of the Young Girls - [Version for Piano 4 Hands]
03. Le sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), Pt. I, Adoration of the Earth: Ritual of Abduction - [Version for Piano 4 Hands]
04. Le sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), Pt. I, Adoration of the Earth: Spring Rounds - [Version for Piano 4 Hands]
05. Le sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), Pt. I, Adoration of the Earth: Ritual of the River Tribes - [Version for Piano 4 Hands]
06. Le sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), Pt. I, Adoration of the Earth: Procession of the Sage - [Version for Piano 4 Hands]
07. Le sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), Pt. I, Adoration of the Earth: The Sage - [Version for Piano 4 Hands]
08. Le sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), Pt. I, Adoration of the Earth: Dance of the Earth [Version for Piano 4 Hands]
09. Le sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), Pt. II, The Sacrifice: Introduction - [Version for Piano 4 Hands]
10. Le sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), Pt. II, The Sacrifice: Mystic Circles of the Young Girls - [Version for Piano 4 Hands]
11. Le sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), Pt. II, The Sacrifice: Glorification of the Chosen One - [Version for Piano 4 Hands]
12. Le sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), Pt. II, The Sacrifice: Evocation of the Ancestors - [Version for Piano 4 Hands]
13. Le sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), Pt. II, The Sacrifice: Ritual Action of the Ancestors - [Version for Piano 4 Hands]
14. Le sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), Pt. II, Part II: The Sacrifice: Sacrificial Dance [Version for Piano 4 Hands]
15. Sonata for 2 Pianos and Percussion, BB 115: I. Assai lento - Allegro molto
16. Sonata for 2 Pianos and Percussion, BB 115: II. Lento, ma non troppo
17. Sonata for 2 Pianos and Percussion, BB 115: III. Allegro non troppo



As the two-piano version of Igor Stravinsky's Le Sacre du printemps increases in popularity, finding a suitable companion piece for a program has become a necessity, especially for CD releases. Pianists Frank-Immo Zichner and Frank Gutschmidt have hit on the practical idea of recording Le Sacre with Béla Bartók's Sonata for two pianos and percussion, a work that provides convenient instrumentation as well as serving as a suitable stylistic foil. While both of these modernist masterpieces share many similarities in their reliance on folk materials, angular melodies, dissonant harmonies, and rhythmic complexity, they are distinguishable because of their striking differences of approach and style. Because this version of Le Sacre is essentially a transcription of the original ballet, there are pianistic effects that mimic the orchestral score's features, such as string tremolos and bass drum rolls, whereas Bartók composed with the pianos in mind, and treated them as percussive instruments in league with the percussion battery, played here by Dominic Oelze and Torsten Schönfeld. This is a viable pairing that shows off the players' virtuosic skills and raises interesting considerations about Stravinsky's and Bartók's handling of surprisingly similar material in strikingly different ways. The playing throughout is vigorous and compelling, and NCA's transparent reproduction captures every note.

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