Search - Copland, Peggy Abbot, Patrice Williams :: Music for Two Pianos Vol. 1: Copland, Infante, Bartok, Rachmaninov and Bennett

A sometimes rollicking, always graceful rendition of two-piano works by Copland, Infante, Bartok, Rachmaninov and Bennett., this remarkable CD is a veritable United Nations in music. What more could be wished for? We are swept from Aaron Copland's unabashed lover affair with themes he called "recognizably American," to Manuel Infante's graceful piano pieces on Spanish themes. Hungarian composer Bela Bartok then intervenes with his great knowledge and love of folk songs. Bartok wrote 153 progressive piano pieces as teaching exercises for his son, Peter, and later published them in six books called Mikrokosmos. His llife long devotiono to the collecting of folk music is reflected in Bulgarian Rhythm and his New Hungarian Folk Song. Perpetuum Mobile exploits 2nds, 3rds, and 4ths, as well as small silences (rests) which-together with driving speed-give this piece its shape and force. Bartok was a master of counterpoint. And still, the international smorgasbord continues, from Russia to Spain to Hungary to Russia, where we find Sergei Rachmaninov's unforgettable compositions entitled Waltz and the Romance, in the 2nd and 3rd movements of his Suite No. 2. The Suite, in Rachmaninov's romantic, pre-Revolutionary style, has been a staple of the two-piano repertoire since its publication. Our musical continent hopping ends in England with Richard Rodney Bennett, one of the most famous of English composers and pianists. Bennett studied with Pierre Boulez in Paris, and, after returning to Europe, wrote and produced operas, and music for voice, orchestra, and chamber ensembles. He has written many movie scores, among them Far From the Madding Crowd and Alexandra. His Dance Suite has a very contemporary sound and is, appropriately, dedicated to Andre Previn.