{"id":2704,"date":"2020-12-07T14:19:04","date_gmt":"2020-12-07T14:19:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.duoschiavomarchegiani.it\/avada_faq\/brahms-for-two-positive-feedback-9-maggio-2020\/"},"modified":"2020-12-07T14:19:04","modified_gmt":"2020-12-07T14:19:04","slug":"brahms-for-two-positive-feedback-9-maggio-2020","status":"publish","type":"avada_faq","link":"https:\/\/www.duoschiavomarchegiani.it\/en\/faq-items\/brahms-for-two-positive-feedback-9-maggio-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"“Brahms for Two?”\u00a0– Positive Feedback – 9 maggio 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Brahms for Two?”\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

BRAHMS: Hungarian Dances, WoO 1; Waltzes, Op. 39. Marco Schiavo and Sergio Marchegiani, pianists. Decca 481 7812<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

The short review: gleaming, limpid performances of delightful, well-wrought music, in excellent sound. Get it.<\/p>\n

Some of you may want to know more than that, so here we go. I’d previously heard Schiavo and Marchegiani’s earlier Decca disc, Schubert for Two; in fact, I reviewed it here. The duo’s playing was exceptional; but Schubert, mostly represented in larger forms, never lets us forget that Music Is Serious Business. Brahms, ordinarily a Very Serious Composer himself, relaxed in these brief pieces: the Hungarian Dance No. 5 used to turn up on the “Pops” circuit; generations of piano students have addressed the gracious A major Waltz.<\/p>\n

I’d never previously heard the twenty-one Hungarian Dances in their original, piano four-hands version; inevitably, I compared them to the familiar orchestrations fashioned by various hands, including Dvor\u030c\u00e1k and the composer himself. It’s no surprise that two pianists can be more flexible, and sometimes faster than a full orchestra. The A minor suggests a rushing current, but without actually rushing. Bustling, bounding activity propels the D minor (No. 12), and its “B” section sounds fuller than the more placid orchestral version. The F minor (No. 16) sings formally and sadly, and the “B” section is sprightly – rather like one of Dvor\u030c\u00e1k’s Slavonic Dances, though this isn’t one of the numbers he orchestrated!<\/p>\n

But the duettists aren’t all about speed. Number 9, in E minor, is hearty, with a gentle, glowing “B” section. The light textures and teasing manner of the D major (No. 13) are fetching, as are the B minor’s pointed delicacy and sparkling trills. In number 17 – in F-sharp minor, though the booklet misidentifies this and number 5 as in “F-flat minor”! – Schiavo and Marchegiani infect the semitones to evoke a searching, vaguely “advanced” atmosphere. On the down side, the duo’s rubatos<\/i> in the D-at major and E major dances are distracting, and the tremolos in the D minor (No. 14), tactfully executed, still sound hokey.<\/p>\n

Sensibly, Schiavo and Marchegiani play the thirteen brief Waltzes – the shortest runs less than thirty seconds – in three groups, attacca<\/i>. This avoids short-windedness and provides a sense. or illusion, of arching structure. (The final waltz “plays” as a minor-key complement to the famous A major, immediately preceding.) The duo begin the series assertively, becoming gentler and more reflective as needed, without ever sacrificing tonal fullness. They bring out the irregular scansions of the E major (No. 5) with bright, pingy tone; project simple, spare textures in the B-at and an elegant simplicity in the G major; and bring a lovely uplift to their full-bodied chords in the A minor.<\/p>\n

As for the reproduction, I didn’t notice it – the highest compliment I can pay. Bravi tutti<\/i>. Now, get it.<\/p>\n

Stephen Francis Vasta su Positive Feedback<\/b> – 09 maggio 2020<\/p>\n<\/div>

<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":11,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"faq_category":[44],"class_list":["post-2704","avada_faq","type-avada_faq","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","faq_category-abroad"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.duoschiavomarchegiani.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/avada_faq\/2704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.duoschiavomarchegiani.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/avada_faq"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.duoschiavomarchegiani.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/avada_faq"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.duoschiavomarchegiani.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.duoschiavomarchegiani.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2704"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.duoschiavomarchegiani.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/avada_faq\/2704\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2705,"href":"https:\/\/www.duoschiavomarchegiani.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/avada_faq\/2704\/revisions\/2705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.duoschiavomarchegiani.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"faq_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.duoschiavomarchegiani.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faq_category?post=2704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}