Piano-duet
versions of Petrushka and The Rite of Spring exist
from Stravinsky's own pen. No such version of The Firebird survives
and Philip Moore has prepared a transcription for this recording.
In a note contributed to the CD booklet, Moore describes
the process as "essentially about translating orchestral
drama into pianistic drama whilst preserving the logic and clarity
of the part writing - my guiding principle, if there was one at
all, was that as far as possible the musical texture should be
split into its constituent parts and these then divided between
the pianists, so that each player is following complete musical
lines, thereby engendering a free, impulsive performance in the
true spirit of chamber music".
Those
final phrases very well describe the music-making on this
disc. There is a very real sense in which piano-duet versions,
if they are well made and if they are well performed, don't
so much "preserve the logic and clarity of the part writing"
of orchestral works as actually enhance them, or at any rate make
them easier to discern, even if there are also inevitable losses
in the movement from full orchestra to four hands at the piano.
One of the pleasures of a disc such as this is that it sends one
back to the orchestral works as a better listener, a listener with
ears and mind more fully alert to those structures which can
sometimes be partially lost behind the mass of orchestral detail.
That is my experience, at least - especially where the works in question are these
three great ballets by Stravinsky, so full of attractive
orchestral colour and detail.
But
I don't want to give the impression that this CD is of
interest merely as a means to a different end, as it were. It
deserves - and rewards - attention on its own terms. It is with Philip Moore's
transcription of The Firebird that we begin and one's
confidence in proceedings is immediately gained. Maybe there's
more passion than darkness in 'The Infernal Dance of King
Kashchei' but the music certainly dances, with an energy
I haven't always encountered in performances of the orchestral
original. The central 'Lullaby' rocks gently and persuasively,
the writing for the piano and the playing alike delightful
and rhythmically subtle, while the 'Finale' has great majesty
without ever being over-inflated. The 'Russian Dance' which
opens Petrushka is vivacious and engaging, the sound-picture
of Petrushka's room has some exquisite moments and some abrupt
changes of mood. The 'Shrovetide Fair' which closes this
trio of pieces has all the frenzy one might expect, passages
of pursuit and violence played with exciting precision and
evocative insight. The incisive rhythms of the original and
its sheer momentum are captured with a fresh intimacy in
this 'small-scale' version. The interplay between Moore and
Crawford-Phillips is absolute, so that one readily forgets
that there are two performers, so complete is the integration
of their contributions.
In
their performance of the Rite there is plenty of drive
and momentum, but never at the cost of accuracy. Moore and
Crawford-Phillips capture so much of the spirit of the work,
so much of its archetypal, mythical quality, so much of its
sense of sacred renewal, that an innocent hearer would surely
not suspect that it was a mere 'version' of a work more famous
in another musical medium. They do full justice to the Rite's
sub-title, 'Pictures of Pagan Russia'. In an earlier review,
Dominy Clements spoke of how Moore and Crawford-Phillips
"catch the Russianness in the work and avoid the shadow of
Debussy" -
and that puts it very well. Moore and Crawford-Phillips are
never underpowered, never less than fully responsive to the
emotional range of this ceaselessly astonishing piece.
These
young English pianists are a team to reckon with and they
are well served by a vivid recorded sound. This CD offers
listeners the chance both to enjoy a fresh perspective on
three orchestral masterpieces and to hear an outstanding
piano duet at work.
Glyn Pursglove
see also review by Dominy Clements
Philip Moore
and Simon Crawford-Phillips (piano duet) 
for
details
