All the Press

"Nikolai Lugansky, Ludmila Berlinskaya, Arthur Ancelle, Pavel Kolesnikov and Samson Tsoy gave two performances that will undoubtedly rank among the highlights of this year's festival.
Two evenings, five outstanding pianists, and an audience completely captivated. On 29 and 30 July, the International Piano Festival of La Roque d'Anthéron was graced by two exceptional concerts celebrating the great Russian piano tradition, bringing together some of the most distinguished keyboard artists of our time. (...) The two pianists, who also serve as Artistic Directors of the Rungis Piano-Piano Festival, once again demonstrated their remarkable musical partnership in Victor Babin's Three Fantasies on Ancient Themes and Shostakovich's Concertino for Two Pianos, Op. 94. Their constant musical dialogue, flawless precision, and richly coloured playing lent an ever-growing intensity to the evening."

"One of those rare moments of musical alchemy that has seen the Franco-Russian duo establish itself over the years as one of the finest partnerships of its kind (...) Their wonderfully imaginative reading of Victor Babin's Three Fantasies on Ancient Themes, striking the perfect balance between lyrical warmth and old-world elegance (an impression charmingly reinforced by the duo's candy-pink gown and bow tie), proved irresistible from beginning to end. (...) As for Tsfasman's Jazz Suite, its dazzling virtuosity, unmistakable kinship with Gershwin—Tsfasman gave the first Russian performance of Rhapsody in Blue—and its sparkling exuberance quite simply left the audience speechless... The work sealed the enthusiastic response of a captivated audience, who needed little encouragement to embrace the boldness and originality of such an adventurous programme."

"The program showcased the remarkable creative richness of Russian and Soviet music, spanning from the late nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth. The vibrant rhythms and songful character of the works—particularly those by Tsfasman—sparked the audience's curiosity, and the duo's sparkling performance was met with an enthusiastic reception. Their playing combined unfailing elegance of nuance with astonishing ensemble precision, creating the impression of a single instrument. Two additional pieces by Tsfasman and one by Rachmaninoff, offered as encores, were greeted with equal enthusiasm. (...) It was an especially inspiring evening, shaped by the striking contrasts between musical styles and the diversity of the repertoire championed by two of today's finest piano duos."

"The vivacity of the work is brought vividly to life by the extraordinary artistry of Arthur Ancelle and Ludmila Berlinskaya. One is captivated by the intelligence and sensitivity of these two remarkable musicians. (...) Finally, defying the conventions of the genre, the duo delivered an irresistible performance of Alexander Tsfasman's Jazz Suite. (...) Igor Tsygankov's transcription of the Jazz Suite became, in the hands of Arthur Ancelle and Ludmila Berlinskaya, a true jewel of inventiveness and deeply moving grace."

“An ideal rapport (...) a truly unified sound (...) the fusion of these two artistic temperaments achieves remarkable cohesion and harmony. (...) A dazzling performance (...) uninhibited expressiveness and flawless command (...) the twenty-finger magic of the Berlinskaya–Ancelle Duo.”

Live performance on "Générations France Musique" (Babin, Rachmaninoff - starting aroung 43')

"Berlinskaya and Ancelle do some terrific work on all three pieces. They play with tremendous verve and rhythmic drive and they are completely at home with the jazzy gestures. The Orchestre Victor Hugo sounds fine, particularly in the Suesse work, which contains a number of solo turns for the orchestral players. Great sound, good notes. Highly recommended."

★★★★★
"Countless CDs have already been released under the title “American Dream,” but here it truly fits, because the works on this album, composed between 1920 and 1960, genuinely open up boundless possibilities. The second concerto for two pianos and orchestra, which Victor Babin wrote for himself and his duo partner Viktoria Vronskaya to play with virtuosic flair, exudes the scent of Rachmaninoff and Hollywood. Amy Beach plays with folk tunes from Ireland in her Suite op. 104 – here the French duo Ludmila Berlinskaya and Arthur Ancelle can demonstrate their ability to blend seamlessly. The most surprising, and probably also the least known, piece, however, was composed by Dana Suesse in 1940: Her concerto for two pianos and orchestra spices up a mix of jazz, Romanticism, popular music, and film music with a dash of Impressionism. Even though some structural and instrumental ideas may invite criticism for being unacademic due to their unconventionality, the esprit of this wild music is captivating, demanding the utmost from its performers, especially in the highly virtuosic scherzo."

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. »

★★★★
"Concertos for two pianos - by Nadine Dana Suesse and Victor Babin - frame a characterful two-piano suite by Amy Beach in this enjoyable trio of midzoth century works. From her lively, accessible style, it's not hard to see why Suesse was nicknamed 'Gershwin Girl', while the Moscow-born Babin's concerto reminds one instantly of Prokofiev."

"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