Dedicate the wonderful spring with two pianos

Leif Ove Andsnes and Marc-André Hamelin played pieces of Adams, Schumann and Debussy at the Konzerthaus – and delighted Stravinsky’s Sacre du printemps.

Stravinsky not only wrote an orchestral version of “Le sacre du printemps” but also wrote a piano version, which poses enormous challenges, both technically and musically, and also requires pianists to play together in a sleepy manner. The recordings of this astonishing authorship also show how difficult this can be. Probably the most memorable recordings are from the legendary duo Bracha Eden and Alexander Tamir as well as from Vladimir Ashkenazi and Andrei Gavrilo.

But also a Canadian, internationally acclaimed as a translator of talented cutting-edge literature, and a sensitively detailed Norwegian who knows the secrets of this piece, its ancient melody and exciting rhythm, and is able to masterfully execute it. We are talking about Marc-André Hamelin and Leif Ove Andsnes, two pianists with very different backgrounds, training and repertoire. They presented “The Secret” with sovereignty, vitality, inner emotion and above all an interpretive agreement. It would be a pity if they did not decide to record their less dramatic but equally persuasive reading compared to Ashkenazy / Gavrilov.