Debussy, Stravinsky & Bartók: Transcriptions for 2 Pianists Jean-Efflam Bavouzet & François-Frédéric Guy

• Béla Bartók (1881 - 1945): 2 Kép, Op. 10, Sz. 46, BB 59 (2 Pictures) [Arr. Z. Kocsis for 2 Pianos]:
• 12 Kép, Op. 10, Sz. 46, BB 59 (2 Pictures) [Arr. Z. Kocsis for 2 Pianos]: No. 1, Viragzas [In Full Flower]07:02
• 22 Kép, Op. 10, Sz. 46, BB 59 (2 Pictures) [Arr. Z. Kocsis for 2 Pianos]: No. 2, A falu tanca [Village Dance]07:50
• Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918): Jeux, L. 126 (Arr. J.-E. Bavouzet for 2 Pianos):
• 3Jeux, L. 126 (Arr. J.-E. Bavouzet for 2 Pianos): Prélude -02:11
• 4Jeux, L. 126 (Arr. J.-E. Bavouzet for 2 Pianos): Du fond, à gauche, apparaissent deux jeunes filles craintives et curieuses -01:03
• 5Jeux, L. 126 (Arr. J.-E. Bavouzet for 2 Pianos): Une des deux jeunes filles danse seule -01:09
• 6Jeux, L. 126 (Arr. J.-E. Bavouzet for 2 Pianos): On aperçoit le jeune homme au fond, à gauche, qui semble se cacher01:16
• 7Jeux, L. 126 (Arr. J.-E. Bavouzet for 2 Pianos): Ils dansent ensemble -02:07
• 8Jeux, L. 126 (Arr. J.-E. Bavouzet for 2 Pianos): Le jeune homme a suivi cette dernière danse par curiosité d'abord -02:05
• 9Jeux, L. 126 (Arr. J.-E. Bavouzet for 2 Pianos): Dans l'emportement de leur danse -01:34
• 10Jeux, L. 126 (Arr. J.-E. Bavouzet for 2 Pianos): Pourtant, le jeune homme intervient en écartant leurs têtes doucement -01:31
• 11Jeux, L. 126 (Arr. J.-E. Bavouzet for 2 Pianos): Ils dansent désormais tous les trois -02:51
• 12Jeux, L. 126 (Arr. J.-E. Bavouzet for 2 Pianos): Une balle de tennis tombe à leurs pieds00:46
• Igor Stravinsky (1882 - 1971): Le sacre du printemps, Pt. 1 "Adoration of the Earth" (Version for Piano 4 Hands):
• 13Le sacre du printemps, Pt. 1 "Adoration of the Earth" (Version for Piano 4 Hands): Introduction -03:13
• 14Le sacre du printemps, Pt. 1 "Adoration of the Earth" (Version for Piano 4 Hands): The Augurs of Spring - Dances of the Young Girls -03:08
• 15Le sacre du printemps, Pt. 1 "Adoration of the Earth" (Version for Piano 4 Hands): Ritual of Abduction -01:14
• 16Le sacre du printemps, Pt. 1 "Adoration of the Earth" (Version for Piano 4 Hands): Spring Rounds -03:23
• 17Le sacre du printemps, Pt. 1 "Adoration of the Earth" (Version for Piano 4 Hands): Ritual of the River Tribes -01:40
• 18Le sacre du printemps, Pt. 1 "Adoration of the Earth" (Version for Piano 4 Hands): Procession of the Sage -00:42
• 19Le sacre du printemps, Pt. 1 "Adoration of the Earth" (Version for Piano 4 Hands): The Sage -00:24
• 20Le sacre du printemps, Pt. 1 "Adoration of the Earth" (Version for Piano 4 Hands): Dance of the Earth01:10
• 21Le sacre du printemps, Pt. 2 "The Sacrifice" (Version for Piano 4 Hands): Introduction -04:15
• 22Le sacre du printemps, Pt. 2 "The Sacrifice" (Version for Piano 4 Hands): Mystic Circles of the Young Girls -02:50
• 23Le sacre du printemps, Pt. 2 "The Sacrifice" (Version for Piano 4 Hands): Glorification of the Chosen One -01:26
• 24Le sacre du printemps, Pt. 2 "The Sacrifice" (Version for Piano 4 Hands): Evocation of the Ancestors -00:40
• 25Le sacre du printemps, Pt. 2 "The Sacrifice" (Version for Piano 4 Hands): Ritual Action of the Ancestors -03:39
• 26Le sacre du printemps, Pt. 2 "The Sacrifice" (Version for Piano 4 Hands): Sacrificial Dance04:23
• Total Runtime01:03:32

Info for Debussy, Stravinsky & Bartók: Transcriptions for 2 Pianists

These two-piano transcriptions played by Jean-Efflam Bavouzet and François-Frédéric Guy renew our experience of three great orchestral works, each of which was premiered in 1913.

Bavouzet’s version of Jeux is, like any fine transcription, far more than a memento of the original. Not only the trills and tremolandos needed on the piano to maintain sustained notes and chords, but also the interplay between the pianists, lines and motifs bouncing between them, become active participants in an intimate music of undulant ambiguity, dream, and darkness.

‘In Full Flower’, the first of the Two Pictures by Bartók, is often taken as his most Debussian composition thanks to his exploration of new scales and harmonic worlds. However, in bringing out its luxuriant and blossoming Hungarian aspects, Zoltán Kocsis emphasises rather its fully Bartókian character, which Bavouzet has conveyed to wide critical praise. The two ‘pictures’ here provide a route from Debussy’s world of erotic reverie to Stravinsky’s of ancient ritual. The thundering and the bells of the two pianos in full and accurate fury make this version of Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du printemps hardly less forceful in the hands of these two dazzling and virtuosic pianists.

"Fabulous playing from a pair of completely on-form pianists, which lends The Rite of Spring’s rhythmic themes a quite thrilling intensity." (Gramophone Magazine)

"The programme works brilliantly, allowing us to hear the music as the composers did when they worked on these masterpieces and, in the case of the Rite, in the form in which it was most often played in the years after the premiere. Any losses in orchestral palette are compensated for by the clarity and wide range of colours at the pianists’ disposal." (Sunday Times)

"Bavouzet and his well-matched partner, François-Fréderic Guy, play with nimble grace, capturing the works wit and mystery. This gripping album is dedicated to Pierre Boulez, guru and enabler, for his 90th birthday." (The Observer)

Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, piano
François-Frédéric Guy, piano

Jean-Efflam Bavouzet

French pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet combines a rare elegance and clarity in his playing with deep and thoughtful musicality, for which he continues to win the highest acclaim from both critics and audiences.

Recent engagements for Bavouzet have included appearances with the London Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland and Philharmonia orchestras, and the New Japan Philharmonic. He also premiered Bruno Mantovani’s Piano Concerto with Orchestre National de Lille.

Highlights of his 2010/11 season include performances with Philharmonia and BBC Symphony orchestras and make debut appearances with the London Philharmonic and City of Birmingham Symphony orchestras, and the Sydney Symphony with Vladimir Ashkenazy. In spring 2011 he will tour the US with the Orchestre National de France and Daniele Gatti.

An exclusive Chandos recording artist, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet’s discography includes a cycle of Debussy’s complete works for piano, which has been recognised by many international awards, not least of which a Gramophone and a BBC Music Magazine awards in 2009. His most recently released recording of Bartók’s Piano Concertos with the BBC Philharmonic has already received great acclaim.

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