- Audio CD (9 Aug 1991)
- SPARS Code: DDD
- Number of Discs: 1
- Label: Philips
- ASIN: B00000412M
- Other Editions: MP3 Download
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 91,780 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Here is yet another stunning CD from the Labeque sisters. Their playing is, as always, full of life and lyricism, captivating the listener throughout. They seem to bounce effortlessly through these works, ending the CD with the delightful Milhaud Scaramouche. Such a joy!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3 reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Great Disc
8 April 2004
Format:Audio CD
I had the pleasure of being able to watch the Labeque sisters perform the Poulenc live in a recent subscription concert with the New York Philharmonic. Needless to say, the two of them gave a brilliant interpretation of the concerto that left the audience blown away.
As for the piece of music, it was written during the height of Poulenc's career, and is a great showcase of the composers' style. While not without it's mellower moments, the concerto is a charming work, full of nostalgic melodies and ravishing colors, from heavy dampered lyrical lines in the piano to proud jumping staccatos in the trombones and tuba.
A worthwile disc. Definately look into it.
Excellent Labeque sisters CD of Poulenc and Milhaud
9 May 2012
Format:Audio CD
Quebecoises Katia and Marielle Labeque deliver strong performances of mid-20th-century French music from Francis Poulenc and concluding with a suite by Darius Milhaud. The release is consistently good, from the music to the performance to the sound engineering, and is highly recommended.
The first part of the disc has Seiji Ozawa and the Boston Symphony joining the Labeque sisters for Poulenc's 1932 Concerto for two pianos. This work is attractive, very entertaining and... visionary. Poulenc grasped the inherent polystylistic dimension of his neoclassical style, and wrote music that ranges from the opening mock-Bach into early 19th-century Romanticism to faux Mozart and ends the opening allegro with a just stunning foray into Steve Reich-like gamelan music. I know that Stravinsky is usually held up as the leading light of neoclassicism, but for me, this Poulenc Concerto is the most forward-looking single work to arise from the entire movement. And it is highly entertaining and beautiful, to boot. It is the modernist work for today's post-modern culture.
The rest of the disc features the two Labeques playing two-piano music without Ozawa and the BSO. While it isn't at the level of the Concerto, the music is mostly attractive and usually interesting. Works include three of Poulenc's post-WW2 compositions, the short three-movement Sonata for two pianos, the Elegie and, less satisfactorily, a piece of film music, titled "The embarkation for Cythere" as well as an arrangement from his vocal entertainment from the 1930s, "The Masked Ball." The disc concludes with Darius Milhaud's 1937 Scaramouche Suite, another attractive short multi-movement work.
The performance throughout is very good. The two Labeque sisters actually play with very different personal tone colors, but that's a description not a criticism. The Concerto is done very well, with sparkle and life. I prefer this version strongly to the recording by Poulenc's only piano student, Gabriel Tacchino, and conductor Georges Pretre on EMI. In short, this is a very good release that I think you will enjoy.
The first part of the disc has Seiji Ozawa and the Boston Symphony joining the Labeque sisters for Poulenc's 1932 Concerto for two pianos. This work is attractive, very entertaining and... visionary. Poulenc grasped the inherent polystylistic dimension of his neoclassical style, and wrote music that ranges from the opening mock-Bach into early 19th-century Romanticism to faux Mozart and ends the opening allegro with a just stunning foray into Steve Reich-like gamelan music. I know that Stravinsky is usually held up as the leading light of neoclassicism, but for me, this Poulenc Concerto is the most forward-looking single work to arise from the entire movement. And it is highly entertaining and beautiful, to boot. It is the modernist work for today's post-modern culture.
The rest of the disc features the two Labeques playing two-piano music without Ozawa and the BSO. While it isn't at the level of the Concerto, the music is mostly attractive and usually interesting. Works include three of Poulenc's post-WW2 compositions, the short three-movement Sonata for two pianos, the Elegie and, less satisfactorily, a piece of film music, titled "The embarkation for Cythere" as well as an arrangement from his vocal entertainment from the 1930s, "The Masked Ball." The disc concludes with Darius Milhaud's 1937 Scaramouche Suite, another attractive short multi-movement work.
The performance throughout is very good. The two Labeque sisters actually play with very different personal tone colors, but that's a description not a criticism. The Concerto is done very well, with sparkle and life. I prefer this version strongly to the recording by Poulenc's only piano student, Gabriel Tacchino, and conductor Georges Pretre on EMI. In short, this is a very good release that I think you will enjoy.
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Better than 5 stars, one of the best recordings ever!
13 Jun 1999
Format:Audio CD
This is just a beautiful and amazing CD. Just mavelous. It plays some music is a great way. The concerto is with out a doubt the best part of the pianists, but also the sonata by Poulenc is great.
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