Released shortly after the composer's 60th birthday, this album from The Zoo Duet presents works that deserve to be better known. Taking a line for a second walk is vintage Nyman, conceived originally as an orchestral work for Houston Ballet in 1966 and transcribed for two amplified pianos without any loss of its hypnotic intensity. Water Dances began life as music for Peter Greenaway's film Making A Splash and receives its premiere recording in its five-movement form on this disc. (Music Week)
Any time two greats who admire each other and are musically compatible team together, the results are usually mutually beneficial. That was true for Bill Monroe and Doc Watson, whose spirited union on this 17-song disc is a sampler of American musical styles. They ripped through bluegrass, folk, blues, spirituals, mountain tunes, work songs, reels and breakdowns. Monroe's mandolin and Watson's guitar playing were masterful, wondrous and performed without any trace of self-indulgence. Their vocals were also delivered with ease, fluidity and conviction, the product of two performers completely at ease with themselves and only interested in spotlighting the material.
The music of Steve Reich has been heard in various venues, including electronic music dance clubs, but the full symphony orchestra treatment has been rare. That is changing, however, with the tenure of Kristjan Järvi as chief conductor of the Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the result in that musically conservative, German city is this major-label double album of Reich's music, in many respects a first. Järvi's enthusiasm for the project is palpable here, most obviously in the live performance of the early Reich standard Clapping Music, which he and the composer perform together to the approval of the crowd.
Vibraphonist Gary Burton and pianist Chick Corea had first recorded together in 1972 for Crystal Silence (released under Corea's name). Six years later, they teamed up for renditions of two Steve Swallow tunes, plus Corea's lengthy "Duet Suite," four of his sketchy "Children's Songs," "Song to Gayle" and his classic "La Fiesta." This subtle set finds Burton and Corea consistently inspiring each other through melodic and very spontaneous improvising. Well worth a close listen.
The two Labèque sisters are Basque in origin, having been born on the southwest coast of France near the Spanish border. Katia and Marielle are a sharply contrasted, yet highly communicative piano team. While their joint reputation was won initially through the performance of unusual repertoire, they have not neglected traditional works for two pianos.
A superb recording of the Bach's Orchestral Suites transcribed for a piano duet. It makes a great change to hear these excellent pieces of Bach played as a piano duet to the standard orchestral version. I am absolutely delighted with it and it is great that I now have both the original orchestral version (complete) and this complete version too. For anyone who enjoys piano transcriptions of orchestral works, this recording is highly recommended.