Composer: Richard Arnell, Lennox Berkeley, Stephen Dodgson, Constant Lambert
Performer: Emma Abbate, Julian Perkins
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: BIS
Catalogue: BIS2578
Release: 2022
Size: 975 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Berkeley: Palm Court Waltz, Op. 81 No. 2a
Berkeley: Sonatina for Piano 4-Hands in E-Flat Major, Op. 39
02. I. Allegro moderato
03. II. Andante
04. III. Allegro
05. Berkeley: Theme & Variations for Piano 4-Hands, Op. 73
Arnell: Sonatina for Piano 4-Hands, Op. 61
06. I. Andante e maestoso
07. II. Allegro
08. III. Andante
09. IV. Poco presto
Dodgson: Tournament for Twenty Fingers, Pt. 1
10. No. 1, Gavotte
11. No. 2, Romance
12. No. 3, Fantasia in C Minor
13 .No. 4, Cradle Song
14. No. 5, Hill-Billy
Dodgson: Tournament for Twenty Fingers, Pt. 2
15. No. 1, Allegretto in F Major
16. No. 2, Cradle Song (Extended Version)
17. No. 3, A Bohemian Entertainment
18. Dodgson: Sonata for 2 Pianos
Lambert: 3 Pièces nègres pour les touches blanches
19. No. 1, Aubade
20. No. 2, Siesta
21. No. 3, Nocturne
Initially enjoying popularity first in Germany-speaking lands and then in France, the genre of the piano duet (four hands, one piano) went on to blossom in England during the 20th century. On this album Emma Abbate and Julian Perkins present the complete works for piano duet by each of the composers selected. Palm Court Waltz, the Sonatina and Theme and Variations from Lennox Berkeley display Gallic traits, the consequence no doubt of his studies in France and his keen interest in the music of Satie, Ravel and Poulenc. While showing an evolution in the composer’s approach to tonality, every hint of seriousness is constantly balanced by elegant playfulness and diaphanous textures.
Less well-known than Berkeley, Richard Arnell and Stephen Dodgson nevertheless contribute to the general atmosphere with their unabashedly tonal music that shows the neoclassical influence of Hindemith, Prokofiev and Stravinsky. Dodgson’s suite Tournament for Twenty Fingers, which gives its title to this album, is especially full of fun while ending with a homage to the Czech composers Dvořák and Janáček. An outstanding talent, Constant Lambert held jazz in high esteem and his Trois Pièces – written to be played entirely on the piano’s white keys – form a high-spirited and heartfelt tribute to its rhythmical vitality and inventiveness.