Ravel Piano Duo

Though indeed of Italian background, violinist Zino Francescatti was a Frenchman, born in Marseilles in 1902. His real name was René-Charles Francescatti. Both his parents played the violin, and his father René had been a student of Paganini.

The keyboard aficionados from all over the world know that Katia and Marielle Labeque are the most famous pianistic duo on the international concert stage now. They have reigned supreme in the territory of the two keyboards repertoire for some three decades and still seem inexhaustible in musical resources when conveying its marvels…

It is no wonder that Lorin Maazel's recording of L'Enfant et les Sortileges won the Grand Prix International du Disque prize in 1961. It well deserves it. Every detail is taken into perfection. This is art for art. The same goes with the other works presented in this two disc set. This set is vital for the fans of Ravel's opera music, and a great way for beginners in classical music to get to know these works by the great French composer.

The two-piano arrangement of orchestral music remained a commercially viable form until the advent of recordings, and even beyond. This recording by the veteran French team of Pascal and Ami Rogé includes several works originally written for two pianos: Ravel's Rhapsodie espagnole and Ma mère l'oye (Mother Goose Suite), the latter better known in its orchestral version, and Saint-Saëns' underrated Scherzo, Op. 87, whose use of whole-tone scales shows that Debussy was not alone in breathing that wind from the east.

The David Oistrakh Edition: Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon, Decca, Philips & Westminster (2016) [22 CD, APE]
EAC Rip | APE (Image+.cue, log) | Covers included | 4,87 Gb
Genre: Classical / Label: Deutsche Grammophon

To celebrate the legendary David Oistrakh, for many, one of the greatest violinists ever, Deutsche Grammophon presents a 22-CD box set which brings together for the first time all his recordings for DG, Decca, Philips & Westminster/Melodiya.