Stravinsky: Music for Two Pianos (Music For Four Hands)

Igor Stravinsky (Composer), Benjamin Frith (Performer), Peter Hill (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Benjamin Frith, Peter Hill
• Composer: Igor Stravinsky
• Audio CD (June 18, 1996)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Naxos
• ASIN: B00000147U
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #206,618 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Assured Readings of Unjustly Neglected Music, September 27, 2001

By 

Karl Henning "Composer & Clarinetist" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Stravinsky: Music for Two Pianos (Music For Four Hands) (Audio CD)

I picked this one up for the Concerto alone, and it would be worth it for the Concerto alone (which is said to be Stravinsky's favorite among his purely instrumental chamber works), but the whole disc is terrific. It is the best recording I have heard to date of the (admittedly under-recorded) Concerto for two pianos, which is MY favorite of all middle-period Stravinsky, and the best piano performance I have heard of "Le sacre," whose textures are so orchestral in conception, that even four hands can barely manage the score.

At the risk of being tedious, this reading of the Sonata is the best I have heard. It is an affable, gracious work, which can too often be over-prettified. The music itself IS often pretty, but for that very reason, it does not need layers of rouge.

Mark Swinton mentions "Stravinsky's own arrangement for two pianos" of "Agon" and "Le sacre"; since these were both ballets, and therefore intended for stage production, the four-hands piano arrangements were a purely practical matter, in order to rehearse the dancers. So it is no particular surprise that Stravinsky prepared the four-hands arrangement of "Le sacre" to be done at one piano. ("Agon" on the other hand, is so all over the place, and rhythmically diverse, that it probably needs two pianos just so the two players can remain on speaking terms afterwards ....)

This in no way diminishes the delight in hearing "Le sacre" at the piano; there are some aspects of the score which are sonically clearer in the homogeneous (and hammer-driven) piano timbre, which meld together in Stravinsky's enormous orchestration ... which included eight horns ... as far as I can tell, so that the famous polychord (E-flat dominant seventh over F-flat major) in the "danses des adolescentes" could be punctuated in its entirety by the horn timbre.

The music is brilliantly played, as Mark says; but that is NOT all. It is marvelous music, some of the finest in the considerable catalogue of one of the twentieth century's musical giants; music which deserves to be heard, deserves to be played well.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Virtuosity of the highest calibre, February 26, 2000

By 

Mark Swinton - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stravinsky: Music for Two Pianos (Music For Four Hands) (Audio CD)

I had the pleasure of meeting Benjamin Frith and Peter Hill last month when they visited York University as guest artists in the university concert series. I got to turn pages for them in the performance, which included Stravinsky's own arrangement for two pianos of his ballets "Agon" and "Rite of Spring," the latter of which they played at just ONE piano. I will carry the experience with me to my grave- on this recording you will be able to share, albeit partly, in that experience.

Stravinsky in fact made this transcription for use in rehearsals of the ballet, and whilst the vivid orchestral colours of the full score are lost, the reduced scoring nonetheless makes for a fascinating sound. The performance throughout these works is faultless and speaks of a great understanding of the music, but it is in their interpretation of the "Rite" that these men reveal their extreme virtuosity at its fullest.

This recording is a rare and powerful listening experience, whether or not you know or care for Stravinsky. I recommend it wholeheartedly- if nothing else, for the sheer brilliance of the playing.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Fine Performances of Neglected Masterworks, November 21, 2006

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Stravinsky: Music for Two Pianos (Music For Four Hands) (Audio CD)

Naxos label has managed to fill some gaping holes in the recorded repertoire and this delightful recording from 1996 is certainly a welcome addition to the library. While many famous pianists have recorded the solo piano versions of Rite of Spring, this is one of the few versions of the two-piano version. Benjamin Frith and Peter Hill may not be major names in the public eye, but their commitment to this work is first class.

But for this listener the works that bear repeated listenings are the rarely heard 'Sonata for 2 pianos' and the 'Concerto for 2 solo pianos', both works being favorites of Stravinsky himself and of concert goers fortunate enough to have heard then in the hall. The readings of both of these works are superb with just the right balance between the pianos to make it sound like one huge keyboard! The pianists play with nimble dexterity, rhythmic accuracy and a driving propulsion that yields to melodic lingering when indicated.

Recordings such as this are too rare and are like a breath of fresh air when they appear. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, November 06