Camille SAINT-SAENS (1835-1821)
Duettino in G, Op.11 (1855) [7:49]
Variations on a Theme of Beethoven, Op.35 (1874) [20:08]
Danse Macabre, Op.40, arr. Ernest Giraud (1874) [7:43]
König Harald Harfagar, Op.59 (1880) [5:40]
Feuillet d ’Album, Op.81 (1887) [3:18]
Pas Redoublé, Op.86 (1887) [4:43]
Berceuse, Op.105 (1896) [3:07]
Marche Interalliée, Op.155 (1918) [5:26]
Le Cygne, from Carnival of the Animals, arr. Jacques Durand (1886) [3:10]
Marco Sollini, Salvatore Barbatano (piano duet)
rec. 12-15 August 2021, St Maria’s Church, Ponzano di Fermo, Italy
DA VINCI C00492 [61:25]
This disc includes almost all of the music Saint-Saëns wrote for piano four hands, the exception being an arrangement he made of a march for military band called Sur les bords du Nil. In addition there are transcriptions by two of his contemporaries of Danse Macabre and The Swan, as well as an arrangement of the Variations on a Theme of Beethoven which was originally scored for two pianos. The music spans a period of some six decades and is presented chronologically. In the normal course of events, one might expect this approach to reveal some kind of stylistic development as the composer matures from a young 20-year-old organist in a Parisian church (St. Merri) to one of the most respected and revered composers and piano virtuosi of the age. But it does not. In fact, stylistically there is very little to suggest either that the Duettino and Marche Interalliée are separated by 63 years or even which was written first. Indeed, while König Harald Harfagar sounds as if it was composed by Liszt on a good day, and the Beethoven Variations could almost stand as a pastiche of Beethoven’s own works in variation form, there is little here which bears the obvious hallmarks of Saint-Saëns’ style, other than the fact that it is all elegantly written, beautifully crafted, utterly idiomatic, and unfailingly charming.
The piano duet medium, as opposed to the two-piano medium, is an intimate one and, as Chiara Bertoglio writes in the booklet notes, one which lends itself as much to amateurs as professional virtuosi. That may be true, but she goes on to suggest that these works include music for both types of players; and that is more contentious. For while she cites the Duettino as being a piece which “unmistakably belongs in the ranks of amateur music”, it is difficult to imagine any but the most highly proficient duettists tackling the robust and virtuoso second half, even if the first is more in the nature of a something better suited to, as Bertoglio suggests, “the bourgeois salon”. To be fair to her, she may well have been misled by the insouciant fluency and graceful pianism of Marco Sollini and Salvatore Barbatano, who impress throughout this programme with their musicianship, their sense of oneness and their impeccably elegant playing. They are admirably supported by a really outstanding recording which is as much a joy to listen to as is the music they play.
The music on the disc does encompass an array of moods. If the Duettino and the Berceuse belong to the genteel salon, the Variations on a Theme of Beethoven and the Feuillet d ’Album belong much more to the concert arena, while there is high drama in König Harald Harfagar and humour in the Pas Redoublé and Marche Interalliée. If we needed to find some Saint-Saëns hallmarks in this music, we find it in this easy mix of seriousness, elegance and wit, and these qualities are perfectly brought out by these excellent duettists.
The two transcriptions should need no introduction to anyone even vaguely interested in music. Ernest Giraud’s arrangement of the classic Danse Macabre is in itself a masterpiece, with all the drama and wit of the original fabulously condensed on to a single keyboard. Saint-Saëns did make his own two piano arrangement, but we are told Giraud based his arrangement on the orchestral version rather than the two piano one. The piano duet arrangement of Le Cygne made by the famous Parisian publisher Jacques Durand is rather less successful, the inability of the piano to produce the kind of effortlessly flowing melodic line which makes this piece such a memorable cello solo is highlighted by a feeling of the music chugging along somewhat heavily, no matter how lyrical and gentle Sollini and Barbatano approach the piece.
Marc Rochester
