GD 240 GENOVA & DIMITROV - Piano Duo, PROKOFIEV, SCRIABIN, INFANTE, RAVEL, GERSHWIN, COPLAND
Works by Prokofiev, Scriabin, Infante, Ravel, Gershwin, Copland
DDD 56'41''
Issued: 2002
Style: Classical Music
Company: Gega New, GD240
The International Piano Duo Federation New York – Tokyo, acknowledged Aglika Genova & Liuben Dimitrov as “the most successful young piano duo in the world” as a result of its complex worldwide statistics. For the five years since its foundation at the end of 1995 the Duo won all the major prestigious international piano-duo contests:
- Murray Dranoff Two-Piano Competition (Miami, USA)
- ARD Music Competition (Munich, Germany)
- Two-Piano Competition Tokyo (Japan)
- Bellini Music Competition (Caltanissetta, Italy)
- Premio V.Bucchi Music Competition (Rome, Italy)
Aglika Genova and Liuben Dimitrov were born in Bulgaria. Both graduated in piano from the Pancho Vladigerov State Academy of Music in Sofia (Bulgaria). They had post-graduate master classes with the great Russian pianist Prof. Vladimir Krainev in Hanover (Germany), following his personal invitation. It was there that the idea of establishing the duo was born. Currently they live in Germany and they give concerts on four-handed piano and two grand pianos all over the world. The Genova & Dimitrov Piano Duo has performed to public and critical acclaim at such renowned international events as the festivals in Ludwigsburg, Schwetzingen, Schleswig-Holstein, Rheingau, "Heidelberg Spring" (Germany), in Athens (Greece), in Miami and Southampton (USA), etc. They have also made a number of radio- and TV recordings in the USA, Japan, Australia, Germany, and Bulgaria.
The present release on the Gega New label includes works of composers from the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. Cinderella Suite-Fantasie by Sergei Prokofiev was based on the music material from the Ballet Cinderella. Actually the author composed three piano suites based on this ballet (1942, 1943, 1944). The present piece was transcribed for two pianos by Adolph Gottlieb. Alexander Scriabin composed his Fantasy in A Minor when he was eighteen. The original was written for piano and orchestra and the transcription for two pianos was made by the author himself. Manuel Infante created Three Andalusian Dances in 1921 and they are among his most well-known works. The author composed a number of variants of this work, one of them being for two pianos and four hands. In 1924 George Gershwin wrote a cycle of five preludes. Two of these were revised for violin and piano and the composer called them “short stories”. The other three preludes, originally written for piano, were published a little later. The transcription for two pianos is by Gregory Stone. The original version of Rhapsodie espagnole was written for two pianos. Since it contained many difficult to perform passages, Maurice Ravel decided to orchestrate the rhapsody and it became among his most famous works. Aaron Copland is one of the most celebrated American composers of the 20th century. The premiere performance of Danzon Cubano was in New York in the year it was composed (1942). It was performed by Copland himself and Leonard Bernstein.
The selection on this CD is indicative of the wide range of the duoÂ’s repertoire, as well as of their ambition to present to the listener not only popular but also some rarely performed works.
Contents:
Sergei Prokofiev
• Cinderella
Alexander Scriabin
• Fantasy in A minor
Manuel Infante
Three Andalusian Dances
• Ritmo
• Sentimento
• Gracia (El Vito)
Maurice Ravel
Rapsodie espagnole
• Prelude a la nuit
• Malaguena
• Habanera
• Feria
George Gershwin
Three Preludes
• First (Allegro ben ritmato e deciso)
• Second (Andante con moto e poco rubato)
• Third (Allegro ben ritmato e deciso)
Aaron Copland
• Danzon Cubano
view full size
