Rachmaninoff, York Bowen, Medtner: Works for 2 Pianos

Album review

The three works on this release by duo pianists Joseph Moog (apparently unrelated to Robert of synthesizer fame) and Kai Adomeit are among the last published works of their composers. All three composers were fearsomely virtuosic players, and the program hangs together well. York Bowen was known as the English Rachmaninov, and his Theme and Variations for two pianos, Op. 139, is a distinctly underexposed piece. The arrangement of the Symphonic Dances, Op. 45, of Rachmaninov, is by the composer himself, and there is a certain well-oiled quality to the piano writing that is a pleasure to hear in the performances of all three works. Although they are of different generations, Moog and Adomeit create an admirable fusion of sound, and the listener unfamiliar with these scores will be hard-pressed to tell who is playing in any given passage. The three pieces are linked by a certain nostalgic quality; the Medtner Two Pieces for two pianos, Op. 58, are narrative works in the old Russian way, and Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances are filled with a slightly uneasy kind of self-quotation. This quality doesn't always come through in the performances here, but it is great to hear a duo piano act that explores little-known repertory. There is room for more than the star duos that have lately dominated this genre. Onyx's sound, from a Southwest German Radio studio in Kaiserslautern, is another plus.

© James Manheim /TiVo