Festival du Comminges, 17/08/2018
Poulenc : Sonata for Two Pianos
Poulenc : L'embarquement pour Cythère
Poulenc : Élégie
Poulenc : Capriccio
Debussy : Nocturnes
Ravel : La Valse
Lidija & Sanja Bizjak, pianos
Poulenc's Sonata for Two Pianos is a relatively late work, a commission from two American pianists, and in its four movements, it encompasses much of everything that represents Poulenc, from hyper-energetic gallops to dreamy nocturnes, passing through suggestions of popular tunes, of sober chorales, of eighteenth-century pastiche and Stravinsky-inspired discord. You know if the pianists are going to get it right from the minute they strike the first, jangling chord, and the Bizjak sisters rang the bells very clearly, crisp and sharp at one end of the scale, tenderly melancholic at the other.
They followed the Sonata with three independent pieces, but set up almost like another sonata, two fast movements bracketing a slow one. L'embarquement pour Cythère is probably the best known, a music-hall romp, bright and cheeky, with a throwaway ending. It was followed by the exquisite Elegy for Marie-Blanche de Polignac, one of his loveliest melodies floating over gently pulsing alternating chords. This was beautifully played, leaving the audience in rapt silence, unable to react before the sisters began the last piece of this group. This Capriccio was something I had not heard before, but I knew the music; it's a sort of condensed version of Poulenc's cantata Le bal masqué, for low voice and chamber orchestra. I find Le bal masqué a rather sinister piece, with a real edge to it that was lacking in the Capriccio, but otherwise the performance was sharp enough.
The second part began with a fascinating rarity; a transcription for two pianos of Debussy's orchestral suite Nocturnes. The programme notes say the transcription was by Debussy himself, and for two thirds of the piece, the work is remarkable, sounding completely convincing confined to the two keyboards. Sirènes was a tougher nut to crack, the music is shifting, unstable and unsettling, all about water and light on water, and it didn't, to my mind, transpose quite successfully to two pianos. It felt like watching a picture come in and out of focus constantly, never settling. However, both Nuages and Fêtes were excellent, completely valid as compositions in their own right. The Bizjaks captured the advance and retreat of the procession in Fêtes particularly successfully.
Ravel made arrangements for both one and two pianos of La Valse, but the two-piano one is the earlier, and even pre-dates the completed orchestral score. It's this version that Diaghilev heard, and called "the portrait of a ballet". The solo piano version is a virtuoso showpiece, but I don't think the two-piano version is very far behind, though it's probably easier to convey the orchestral effects in this form. The playing was superb, but I didn't quite get the sense of catastrophe from the piece that I expect to hear. However, it was still a thrilling conclusion to a most enjoyable evening of a genre not often heard in recital.
[Next : 25th September]
Poulenc : L'embarquement pour Cythère
Poulenc : Élégie
Poulenc : Capriccio
Debussy : Nocturnes
Ravel : La Valse
Lidija & Sanja Bizjak, pianos
Poulenc's Sonata for Two Pianos is a relatively late work, a commission from two American pianists, and in its four movements, it encompasses much of everything that represents Poulenc, from hyper-energetic gallops to dreamy nocturnes, passing through suggestions of popular tunes, of sober chorales, of eighteenth-century pastiche and Stravinsky-inspired discord. You know if the pianists are going to get it right from the minute they strike the first, jangling chord, and the Bizjak sisters rang the bells very clearly, crisp and sharp at one end of the scale, tenderly melancholic at the other.
They followed the Sonata with three independent pieces, but set up almost like another sonata, two fast movements bracketing a slow one. L'embarquement pour Cythère is probably the best known, a music-hall romp, bright and cheeky, with a throwaway ending. It was followed by the exquisite Elegy for Marie-Blanche de Polignac, one of his loveliest melodies floating over gently pulsing alternating chords. This was beautifully played, leaving the audience in rapt silence, unable to react before the sisters began the last piece of this group. This Capriccio was something I had not heard before, but I knew the music; it's a sort of condensed version of Poulenc's cantata Le bal masqué, for low voice and chamber orchestra. I find Le bal masqué a rather sinister piece, with a real edge to it that was lacking in the Capriccio, but otherwise the performance was sharp enough.
The second part began with a fascinating rarity; a transcription for two pianos of Debussy's orchestral suite Nocturnes. The programme notes say the transcription was by Debussy himself, and for two thirds of the piece, the work is remarkable, sounding completely convincing confined to the two keyboards. Sirènes was a tougher nut to crack, the music is shifting, unstable and unsettling, all about water and light on water, and it didn't, to my mind, transpose quite successfully to two pianos. It felt like watching a picture come in and out of focus constantly, never settling. However, both Nuages and Fêtes were excellent, completely valid as compositions in their own right. The Bizjaks captured the advance and retreat of the procession in Fêtes particularly successfully.
Ravel made arrangements for both one and two pianos of La Valse, but the two-piano one is the earlier, and even pre-dates the completed orchestral score. It's this version that Diaghilev heard, and called "the portrait of a ballet". The solo piano version is a virtuoso showpiece, but I don't think the two-piano version is very far behind, though it's probably easier to convey the orchestral effects in this form. The playing was superb, but I didn't quite get the sense of catastrophe from the piece that I expect to hear. However, it was still a thrilling conclusion to a most enjoyable evening of a genre not often heard in recital.
[Next : 25th September]