infotext:
Orchestral music for piano four hands, interpreted with pinpoint accuracy and no frills: Franz Schubert's "Grand Duo" from 1824 in juxtaposition with Dmitri Shostakovich's 5th Symphony from 1937 (in an arrangement authorized by the composer). Here the reduction of a real orchestral sound – there a romantic desire for expression that pushes the limits of the instrument, maybe even wants to go beyond them. Here a festivity that turns into the uncanny - there the ambiguity of lyrical passages between harsh blocks of sound. Historical distance is not veiled, but emphasized; With this in mind, the distant thundering in the “Grand Duo” corresponds quite irritatingly with the shrill closing tones of the symphony.
program:
grand duet
Schubert-Shostakovich
Franz Schubert (1797-1824)
Sonata in C major, D 812 “Grand Duo” (1824) 37: 15
for piano four hands
[01] Allegro moderato 12:34
[02] Andante 10:13
[03] Scherzo and Trio (Allegro vivace) 05:11
[04] Finale (Allegro vivace) 09:17
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975)
Symphony No. 5 in D minor, op. 47 (1937) 42: 35
Version for piano four hands
[05] Moderator 14:59
[06] Allegro 05:17
[07] Largo 11:36
[08] Allegro non troppo 10:43
total time: 39:55
Press:
01/2010
25.11.2009
On a safe foundation
The piano duo Andreas Grau and Götz Schumacher have been playing together for over 25 years - for some time under the combined brand name 'GrauSchumacher' - and can claim a leading position within their guild. They really only differ from the collegial framework because, unlike the well-known duos Labèque, Pekinel, Kontarsky or Paratore, they are not a pair of siblings. In co-production with SWR, GrauSchumacher have now recorded works by Schubert and Shostakovich for the Neos label.
Schubert's C major Sonata D 812, nicknamed 'Grand Duo', belongs to the quite common four-hand literature. As is so often the case, she did not receive the latter from the composer, but in this case only after his death from the publisher for reasons of sales tactics. Robert Schumann had already noticed its tonal prolixity, who discussed it in an article and emphasized its symphonic character. The diverse thematic layers of the first movement already make it clear that blind understanding prevails between the two piano partners. Accents of chords and agogic impulses are set with sure diction, the voices interpenetrate and the layers of sound overlap each other with sure balance. The 'Andante' progresses musically pointedly, the scherzo rages off with vital vigour, and in the 'Allegro vivace' supple virtuosity merges with a compelling musical flow.
The second work on the CD has been chosen in the strongest possible programmatic contrast to this. With the version for two pianos of Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony, GrauSchumacher ventures into far less trodden territory. The editing is not, as one might think, by someone else's hand. Shostakovich prepared the version himself and, as one of the two piano partners, also performed it himself. In the introductory movement, both unfold a tapestry of sound whose fibers are reliably and evenly knotted. The necessary force and energy, which is gradually but unstoppably discharged, are also released in it.
The foundation of the symphonic architecture also supports the movements that follow and never runs the risk of falling apart. At the beginning of the 'Largo', both should hold their musical breath a little more, but the middle section, which is surrounded by a touch of tremolo, is atmospherically breathtakingly dense. In the 'Allegro non troppo' one or the other descant peak could perhaps have been set even sharper and more provocatively, but the overall result underlines why GrauSchumacher play at the forefront of the renowned piano duos.
Interpretation: 
Sound quality:
repertoire value:
Booklets:
Thomas Gehrig
Information package for press and sales »
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