Paris Joyeux & Triste
Piano Duets by Satie & Stravinsky
Alexei Lubimov (piano) & Slava Poprugin (piano)
Alexei Lubimov does not do run of the mill. Whatever the repertoire, he always manages to provide a fresh perspective founded not on gimmicks, but thoughtful integrity allied to insightful playing...
Paris Joyeux & Triste
Piano Duets by Satie & Stravinsky
Alexei Lubimov (piano) & Slava Poprugin (piano)
Purchase product
Alexei Lubimov does not do run of the mill. Whatever the repertoire, he always manages to provide a fresh perspective founded not on gimmicks, but thoughtful integrity allied to insightful playing...
About
In Paris joyeux & triste, Alexei Lubimov and Viacheslav Poprugin alternate pieces by Igor Stravinsky and Erik Satie, two composers who became friends in the early years of the twentieth century despite their very different musical personalities. Stravinsky made his own two-piano arrangement of the ‘Dumbarton Oaks’ Concerto, while Satie’s Socrate and Cinéma are heard here in arrangements by John Cage and Darius Milhaud respectively. Pieces for two pianos, for piano four hands and for prepared piano combine on this disc which mingles music and theatre – for it is the theatrical element that unites the two composers. As Diaghilev said to Cocteau: ‘Astonish me!’ With this programme, these instruments and his extremely diverse musical experiences, Lubimov continues to make that his credo today.
Contents and tracklist
- Slava Poprugin, Alexei Lubimov
- Recorded: 16-18 June 2015
- Recording Venue: Doppsgezind Lerk, Haarlem
- Slava Poprugin, Alexei Lubimov
- Recorded: 16-18 June 2015
- Recording Venue: Doppsgezind Kerk, Haarlem
- Slava Poprugin, Alexei Lubimov
- Recorded: 16-18 June 2015
- Recording Venue: Doppsgezind Kerk, Haarlem
- Slava Poprugin, Alexei Lubimov
- Recorded: 16-18 June 2015
- Recording Venue: Doppsgezind Kerk, Haarlem
Spotlight on this release
-
An error occurred.
Try watching this video on www.youtube.com, or enable JavaScript if it is disabled in your browser.
Awards and reviews
May 2016
Alexei Lubimov does not do run of the mill. Whatever the repertoire, he always manages to provide a fresh perspective founded not on gimmicks, but thoughtful integrity allied to insightful playing [and] this new exploration of Satie and Stravinsky is no exception
CD Review 20/02/2016
Terrific fun throughout
March 2016
Lubimov and Poprugin deliver a top-notch version of Stravinsky's Concerto for two pianos…but the best comes last. Darius Milhaud's four-hand transcription of Satie's 'Cinema' from Relache (1924) is sexed up by being played on a prepared piano and the chugging, Keystone Kops chase atmosphere duly invoked matches the source material unerringly. Motoric rhythms bulldoze and collide, with quickfire repeated notes ricocheting like a rapper's cadence
January 2016
Lubimov and Poprugin colour this rather remorselessly energised music very artfully, but it is the two works by Satie that really shine. John Cage’s austere transcription of Socrate is beautifully sculpted, its final moments ebbing away touchingly, and Cinéma [is played]…with tremendous wit and energy.
Classical Music August 2016
Every piece delights both mind and ear, while fine recorded sound completes an unmissable package.
