Over the past few years Alexandre Tharaud invited 22 of his pianist friends and colleagues to record a piano duet with him, either in brief stand-alone works or short movements from larger compositions. Scheduling these recording sessions must have been a logistical challenge, yet the result is a delightfully varied, well-contrasted, and smartly curated program that deserves to be a best seller.
It begins and ends exuberantly, starting with a heel-kicking Brahms Hungarian Dance No. 5 with Bruce Liu, and concluding with Martin James Bartlett in Le Bal from Bizet’s Jeux d’enfants. Classic four-hand favorites like the Allegro molto from Mozart’s D major sonata K. 381 (with Arielle Beck), the Prélude from Poulenc’s Sonata (with Emmanuel Strosser), Schubert’s D major March Militaire (with Michel Dalberto) and the Berceuse from Fauré’s Dolly suite (with the late Nicholas Angelich) receive wonderfully vibrant readings. So do arrangements of the Rondo all’Ongarese from Haydn’s G major Trio (with Mono Kodama), Piazzolla’s Libertango (with Beatrice Rana), Lavignac’s Galop-Marche (with Frank Braley), and Schumann’s Canonic Etude in A-flat (with Eric Le Sage in the Bizet transcription).
Philip Glass’ Stokes from 3 Pieces for Four Hands warrants special mention; here the carefully voiced rhythmic interplay and clairvoyant ensemble unanimity between Tharaud and Vanessa Wagner generates dramatic tension and excitement. I can go on and on about each and every selection, but you get the gist of this unique piano party, which must have been as much fun for the pianists as it will be for listeners. By the way, one of the 22 musicians is identified only as “Mr. Nobody”. Who is this mystery guest?
