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Liszt - 2 Sonatas for 2 pianos
Melodiya, 2016
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Liszt - 2 Sonatas for 2 pianos
Saint-Saëns : Danse Macabre
Liszt : Sonata in B Minor (tr. Saint-Saëns)
Liszt : Dante Sonata (tr. Ancelle)
Saint-Saëns : Danse Macabre (tr. Liszt, Horowitz, Ancelle)

Ludmila Berlinskaya & Arthur Ancelle, pianos

Recorded at the Grand Hall of Moscow Conservatory
Sound engineer : Maria Soboleva

The anecdote : Franz Liszt had expressed the intention to transcribe his own B minor Sonata for 2 pianos, but never did it. After Liszt's death, Saint-Saëns tried the challenge but the score wasn't published until 2004.

MUSICWEB-INTERNATIONAL - MARCH 2017

Jonathan Welsh

« The two pianists are so well synchronised as to give the impression of only one player. There is also devilment in the playing (...) I must say that I was completely bowled over by this recording (...) Overall this is an absolutely splendid and fascinating disc – the recording is very clear and bright and the music is superb. (…) This is my favourite Liszt disc of the year so far, and I award full marks to all concerned! »

GRAMOPHONE (UK) - FEBRUARY 2017

Jeremy Nicholas

« I can only say I was bowled over by the playing of this Franco-Russian husband-and-wife duo, astonished to the extent that any initial scepticism, any notion of this being a mere curiosity, is utterly confounded. Their performance of this music is everything and more that I had hoped for… For the repertoire, performances and recording, this will be among my discs of the year. »

CONCERTONET.COM - JANUARY 2017

Christian Lorandin

« Given here as a world premiere, this interpretation of Liszt’ B minor and « Dante » Sonatas, respectively transcribed by Camille Saint-Saëns and Arthur Ancelle, already sounds like a historical version. (…) this version astounds us by the permanence of its tension and trajectory. A « superman » version, one could say… it’s constantly marvelous. (…) Arthur Ancelle, as admirable as a pianist and transcriber, carves a sumptuous score, of extreme fulness, adorned with the same qualities, in total harmony - technical and spiritual - with his musical partner, that leads us to believe, once again, that we are not hearing a two-pianos transcription, but some version of an extraterrestrial interpreter. »
  • 5 Diapasons
  • Pianiste Maestro
  • Editors' Choice Gramophone
  • Clic Classiquenews.com
  • MUST Concertonet.com
  • 10/10 Classics Today