All the Press

Swiss Italian-language radio examines the European influence on the works featured in American Dream

" The exquisite performance by the Ancelle-Berlinskaïa duo at the Musée d'Orsay.
(...) The middle voices that form the backbone of much of Fauré's music are sung with a delicacy and accuracy that only long familiarity with the work can bring. (...) The four-handed version of “Aragon,” from Albeniz's Spanish Suite, is rendered with the elegance, sweep, and density of sound that we expected."
★★★★

« If you’re searching for a nifty new work for two pianos, try this. The playing is sensational. (…) Both concertos are snappily accompanied by the Orchestre Victor Hugo, Jean-François Verdier and Lauren Comte sharing conducting duties, and the disc, recorded in Besançon in Eastern France, is ripely engineered. A winner. »

"None of the three [works] deserves its present obscurity and the advocacy of Berlinskaya and Ancelle makes the very best case for them and, by some distance, outclasses their previous iterations. (...) Vronsky and Babin, the famous husband-and-wife piano duo. As are Berlinskaya and Ancelle. They respond with insouciance and superb definition to the writing (...) A terrific crowd-pleaser and a fine release from Alpha all round – performances, balance, acoustic and presentation. Repertoire junkies need not hesitate."

"Ludmila Berlinskaya and Arthur Ancelle are, as the booklet states, an inseparable piano duo. This is already audible in the high energy level of their recording. The two virtually toss the notes back and forth to each other, letting them sparkle like a waterfall: The soloists on this album and the orchestra pass on the fantasy, momentum, and colorfulness of the composing women to the listeners. This also benefits the third work on the recording, the Concerto for 2 Pianos and Orchestra by Victor Babin. (...) American Dreams is an album of American dreams come true in music. The Berlinskaya–Ancelle Duo and the Orchestre Victor Hugo make one eager to experience them in reality, to hear them live in concert one day"

American Dream is featured on “Sunday Classical,” the new releases program on the renowned radio station WRTI.

" The music, fervent, original, and unaffected, unfolds with a certain panache (...) The two pianists, Ludmila Berlinskaïa and Arthur Ancelle, the festival's artistic directors, are fully committed.

(...) In the second part, Olga Viktorova presents her work in the form of a friendly exchange with Arthur Ancelle, explaining that the title refers to a pair of shoes belonging to her, and that she sought to paint a portrait of two pianists who are “gentle, joyful and funny.” Humor runs through all three movements—even extending to the use of plastic hammers in the finale—without excluding more introspective passages, such as a fugue in the middle movement highlighting the bassoon, cello, and viola, before the strings take over in a more lyrical episode. If this concerto had to be summed up in one word, it would be: joy. And to close the evening, the Berlinskaïa-Ancelle duo maintained the joyful tone of the program to the very end, offering Madeleine Dring's Danza Gaya as an encore."

"After Beethoven's Quartet Op. 18 No. 1 (...) performed by the Danel Quartet, we are treated to Dmitri Shostakovich's sublime Piano Trio No. 2. The commitment of the musicians (Mikhail Kopelman, Boris Andrianov, and Ludmila Berlinskaya), the balance between the three instruments, and the beauty of the score make this Trio's performance a great moment of music."

“Ludmila Berlinskaya, daughter of Valentin Berlinsky, plays the piano part. In the opening of the Andante, she offers a moment of pianistic levitation: a marvel of legato and charm, one of those moments of pure relaxation that one wishes could last forever.”

American Dream is featured among the new releases on Chicago's renowned WFMT radio station.

"Arthur Ancelle & Ludmila Berlinskaya shine American piano dreams!"
American Dream is "Album of the Week" for Belgian radio VRT

American Dream is featured on the program “Concerto” on Swiss radio station SRF.

" At the center: Ludmila Berlinskaya and Arthur Ancelle. Two pianists who play as if they have nothing to lose. Sometimes, listening to them, one gets the impression that the two are sitting opposite each other at the piano and have forgotten that the microphones are running. They listen, laugh, flirt, argue – all via the keys. A duo like this is a stroke of luck. The Orchestre Victor Hugo? Solid and colorful. (...) The pianists throw themselves into it as if their lives depended on it. (...)  And what remains after listening? Above all, amazement. This music—by Suesse, Beach, and Babin—deserves to be played more often. Berlinskaya and Ancelle are more than just performers; they seem to be true believers. They play with brilliance, yes, but also with soul. (...) So this CD is not just a recording, it is a reference. (...)  And best of all, this CD doesn't sound like “required listening for specialists,” but like music that is simply a pleasure to hear. Lively, surprising, sometimes a little unwieldy, but always gripping. In short: a real discovery."

"Ludmila Berlinskaya and Arthur Ancelle revel in this brilliant writing, which ultimately makes the work as unclassifiable as it is endearing (...) The demands are commensurate with the virtuosity of their creators. Today, Ludmila Berlinskaya and Arthur Ancelle playfully avoid pitfalls, infusing everything with poetry and a touch that is by turns light and profound."

"Ludmila Berlinskaya : la musique en héritage" - Portrait of Ludmila Berlinskaya in French Magazine Cadences

"Dana Suesse's concerto also opens Ludmila Berlinskaya and Arthur Ancelle's new CD, which is bursting with energy and inspiration."
"Two festivals and a record: pianist Ludmila Berlinskaya's busy fall season" - Portrait of Ludmila by French newspaper La Croix

Interview of the duo about American Dream

"American Dream: colorful, diverse, and brilliantly played" : Felix Kriewald shares his enthusiasm on our album American Dream on the German radio.

Anna Sigalevitch praises American Dream in her radio show Classic & Co

[5 Diapasons]
“Ludmila Berlinskaya and Arthur Ancelle command attention with their presence and brilliance. (...) Lively and sharp (...) Berlinskaya and Ancelle impress with their energy and precision.”