For those listeners who haven’t yet warmed up to Igor Stravinsky’s sharp dissonances and dynamic rhythms, this CD provides a concise introduction to his expressive compositional style. It’s as if the composer crafted this four-handed piano arrangement to illustrate his methods. Kolesnikov and Tsoy enthusiastically dive into the rhythmic aspects, which take center stage. There’s little metrical regularity or periodization to be found, with accents popping up unpredictably throughout the space. The piano, acting as both a percussion instrument and a mini-orchestra, perfectly captures Stravinsky’s “building block technique,” where individual elements are placed together without being developed further. Long pedal tones and continuous ostinati allow these elements to be seamlessly interchanged. The two pianists clearly enjoyed themselves in the studio, so much so that the absence of the brass and high bassoon parts from the orchestral version isn’t felt. Choosing Maurice Ravel’s Ma Mère l’Oye as the CD’s finale might seem like a commercial decision after Stravinsky’s intense rhythms, but both composers shared a distaste for the Romantic era’s excesses and favored a playful approach. Ravel worked with the meticulousness of a watchmaker, while Stravinsky had the spatial insight of an architect—as long as it remained playful.
STRAVINSKY, RAVEL
Le Sacre du printemps, Ma Mère l’Oye
Pavel Kolesnikov, Samson Tsoy (piano)
Harmonia Mundi HMM 902752 0h49′
An earlier version appeared in Pianist Magazine 2025-2 – for more reviews, see http://www.pianistmagazine.nl/