Bizjak Piano Duo: Martinu, Poulenc, Shostakovich, Stravinsky – Stuttgarter Philharmoniker Radoslaw Szulc | Album review

Bizjak Piano Duo Martinu, Poulenc, Shostakovich, Stravinsky
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Artist: Bizjak Piano Duo, Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, Radoslaw Szulc, Bohuslav Martinu, Francis Poulenc, Dmitri Shostakovich, Igor Stravinsky
Genre: Classical
Label: Onyx

Fizz, froth and high jinks characterise this album of music for two pianos. The Concerto for two pianos written by the Czech composer Bohuslav Martinu in 1943, early in his US exile, is breezy and busy. Francis Poulenc described his 1932 Concerto as "gay and direct", and its many borrowed flavours include an imitation of a Balinese gamelan. The concertos frame pieces for two unaccompanied pianos. Stravinsky's Sonata, also written in 1943, grew from a solo piece into a work for four hands. In 1953, Shostakovich wrote his Concertino for his teenage son Maxim, making it sound more difficult than it is. Serbian sisters Lidija and Sanja Bizjak and the Stuttgart orchestra play this cheery selection with brio. onyxclassics.com

Michael Dervan

Michael Dervan

Michael Dervan is a music critic and Irish Times contributor