This old Erato disc features one of Alfred Schnittke's most popular works in excellent performance along with, as far as I know, the only recording of a late work. Gennady Rozhdestvensky leads the London Sinfonietta, with Viktoria Postnikova as piano soloist, and the composer's widom Irina Schnittke appearing on the piano four-hand work. Note that this disc has been reissued in Warner's budget line Apex, so that's a better place to hear this music.
The two concertos are distinguished by their classical musical language rich in ideas and their colourful instrumentation. Eberl's music radiates with a lightness similar to that of Mozart, which is why the later confusion about the authorship of their works comes as no surprise. The piano part has a glistening and brilliant sound, while the orchestra forms a richly instrumented accompaniment. The melodic invention and harmonic structure are of timeless beauty.'
Antonín Dvořák’s Slavonic Dances are some of the greatest treasures ever composed for piano four hands. Prior to their publication, Dvořák’s fame had been limited to Prague, where he was based. On publication, however, the dances were a resounding success, propelling the composer almost overnight onto the international music scene. This success was the result of a series of strange and happy coincidences. In 1874, Dvořák, who was no longer a young man, applied for and was granted the State Scholarship for Artists by the Ministry of Education in Vienna.
Jan Ladislav Dussek was an important composer of music for the modern piano, bridging the Classical and Romantic eras, yet most of his music is hard to find, both in performance and in print. This disc by Adrienne Soós and Ivo Haag is the first recording of four of his works for piano, four hands, and it demonstrates Dussek's thorough understanding of the piano. In the three sonatas and set of three fugues, one can hear just why his writing is often compared to that of later composers Beethoven and Schubert. In general, Dussek's writing is richer in texture and feeling than most Classical keyboard music, and it sounds completely idiomatic to the instrument. He was one of the first composers to use pedal markings, and he carefully used modulation, relating specific keys to moods. All of this is here. These sonatas have melodies that are almost Schubertian and developments that are Beethoven-like.
Fresh from their recent triumphs at the London Proms, sisters Labeque (Katia et Marielle Labèque) present their first recording of the music of Erik Satie. The disc starts with the two pianists taking turns interpreting his ever-popular Gymnopedie. The other solo works are divided between Katia and Marielle in consideration of their respective temperaments. The pair are finally reunited in duets from the first and last collections of Satie's pieces for four hands ("Pour piano à deux et à quatre mains").