FRENCH MUSIC FOR PIANO DUO - Baron & Navarro Piano Duo

Buy CD from Amazon
FRENCH MUSIC FOR PIANO DUO - Various Composers - Baron & Navarro Piano Duo - 681585173220 - Released: May 2022 - MSR Classics MS1732

Camille Saint-Saëns: - Variations on a Theme of Beethoven, Op. 35 (for two pianos)
- Danse Macabre, Op. 40 (arr. for two pianos by the composer)
Claude Debussy: Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (arr. for two pianos by the composer)
Francis Poulenc: Concerto in D minor for two pianos (arr. for two pianos by the composer)
Maurice Ravel: Ma mère l'oye - 5 pièces enfantines (for piano four-hands)

You know how when a party turns dull all it takes to revive it is for someone to sit at the piano and start playing a popular tune. Well imagine if Michael Baron and Priscila Navarro were at your party. Double the fun!

It requires special skills to be part of a Piano Duo. Not only do you need to be in perfect sync with your partner without falling into automatonism, but since most pieces arranged for two-pianos or four-hands are orchestral works, you also need to project the various subtle colors and textures of an orchestra, as well as its power and kinetic energy, in order for the performance to stand out. And the Baron & Navarro Piano Duo certainly capture the power and excitement of a full orchestra during the final two minutes of the Danse Macabre, as well as convey the exotic atmosphere of a mysterious, hazy summer afternoon in the Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune. Francis Poulenc's quirky eccentricities also come across well here, even without the help of an orchestra. They also bring to life the vivid imagery of pagodas and fairy tales within the Ma mère l'oye suite by Ravel.

Perhaps you should have two pianos inside your home just in case Michael and Priscila should unexpectedly drop in.

Jean-Yves Duperron - May 2022