Sergei Rachmaninov - Complete Works for Piano Duo (Genova & Dimitrov Piano Duo)

Information

Composer: Sergei Rachmaninov

CD1:

• Prélude in C sharp minor, Op. 3 No. 2 (Version for Piano Duo)
• Russian Rhapsody in E minor
• Suite No. 1 in G minor, Op. 5 "Fantaisie-tableaux"
• The Rock, Op. 7 (Version for Piano Duo)
• Suite No. 2 in C major, Op. 17
• Romance for Piano 4-Hands in G major
• Polka italienne

CD2:

• 6 Morceaux, Op. 11
• Capriccio on Gypsy Themes, Op. 12 (Version for Piano Duo)
• Symphonic Dances, Op. 45 (Version for Piano Duo)

Genova & Dimitrov Piano Duo

    Aglika Genova

    Liuben Dimitrov

Date: 2020

Label: CPO

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Review

This is a useful release from a discographical standpoint in that it accounts for every Rachmaninov two-piano and one-piano-four-hands composition or arrangement. The Genova & Dimitrov Piano Duo plays the Suite No. 1’s opening Barcarolle with less rubato leeway compared to Trifonov/Babayan and Ashkenazy/Previn. Although comparable strictness prevents the second movement from spilling all over the place, the players still allow the busy decorative background writing plenty of breathing space. The final two movements are excellently balanced, and it’s nice to hear the finale’s persistent “bell” ostinato roll out in long lined fashion, rather than hammered away.

The duo’s superb ensemble and careful balances make Rachmaninov’s early tone poem The Rock sound especially plausible and idiomatic in the composer’s “de-orchestrated” four-hand arrangement, although his Capriccio on Gypsy Themes loses some spice in translation, so to speak; it would have helped had Rachmaninov retained some of his original percussion parts! However, the ubiquitous C-sharp minor Prelude frankly gains little via its two-piano expansion.

I prefer the Genova/Dimitrov duo’s broader and lyrically inflected rendition of the not-so-interesting Russian Rhapsody to the heavier, emphatic Previn/Ashkenazy, while their expressive restraint in the Six Morceaux for Piano Duet contrasts to the Owen/Apekisheva duo’s slightly fussier approach. The Symphonic Dances stand out for Genova/Dimitrov’s wonderfully lithe and impetuously phrased finale.

Unfortunately the popular Suite No. 2 for Two Pianos proves this collection’s one real weak link. The Introduction transpires heavy-handedly, while the Waltz falls into predictable square-cut patterns and Tarantella lacks sufficient dynamic contrast. You’ll find far more flexibility and character in any of Martha Argerich’s various Second Suite recordings (my favorites are the studio version with Nelson Freire and the live Gabriela Montero collaboration). Eckhardt van den Hoogen provides informative yet eccentric and stylistically convoluted booklet notes. Recommended on the whole, but make sure you’ve got an Argerich Second Suite handy.

-- Jed Distler

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Sergei Rachmaninov (1 April [O.S. 20 March] 1873 – 28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. He is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music. His music was influenced by Tchaikovsky, Arensky and Taneyev. Rachmaninov wrote five works for piano and orchestra: four concertos and the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. He also composed a number of works for orchestra alone, including three symphonies, the Symphonic Dances Op. 45, and four symphonic poems.

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Genova & Dimitrov is a Bulgarian piano duo which consists of Aglika Genova (born 29 June 1971) and Liuben Dimitrov (born 12 October 1969). Both artists were born in Bulgaria, and studied solo piano at the Music Academy in Sofia and the Hannover Music Academy. Formed in the city of Hannover in 1995, the duo's international concert career began with winning all the major piano duo competitions, including the 1996 ARD Music Competition in Munich. Since then Genova & Dimitrov has performed at the major concert halls of Europe, North and South America, Asia and Africa, in recital as well as with orchestras.

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