Worlds Apart
'Worlds Apart' features works for piano duet, two and three pianos from both ends of the globe. Includes the first Australian recording of the Bruch 'Concerto for two pianos and orchestra'.
This new CD, by The Team of Pianists, features a wonderful selection of music for piano duet, two and three pianos from both ends of the globe. French works for four hands are heard beside works for two pianos by Australian composers, including Sutherland, Hyde, Grainger and Broadstock, and a Bach organ fugue arranged specially for the team by Australian, Terrence Hays.
But the most significant work on the CD is the premiere Australian recording of Max Bruch's magnificent 'Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra'. Performed by Darryl Coote and Robert Chamberlain, ably supported by the New Monash Orchestra, conducted by André de Quadros.
But for a strange twist of fate, this concerto for two pianos and orchestra by Max Bruch may have been lost to posterity. Conceived in 1904 as a Suite for orchestra and organ, Bruch made several modifications over the following years, resulting in the final version in 1915, which he presented to two former students of his, Rose and Ottlie Sutro. The Sutro sisters gave the premiere in Philadelphia in December 1916, and almost immediately began to rewrite the work, accommodating it to their apparently modest technical skills. In 1970 Ottlie Sutro died aged 98 and her effects were auctioned. The manuscript of the double concerto was found in a trunk, purchased for $11 by Nathan Twining. He, together with the pianist Martin Berkofsky succeeded in repurchasing the orchestral parts from the other buyers at the sale and restored the doctored version of the Sutros back to Bruch's original (1915) form. The work was nearly lost again when Twining and Berkofsky had a disagreement over the ownership of copyright.
Artists
New Monash Orchestra
The New Monash Orchestra draws its members from students of the Bachelor of Music and talented students from other faculties of Monash University, as well as professional musicians and students from other institutions.
André de Quadros
A Senior Lecturer in the Department of Music at Monash University, Andre de Quadros has responsibility for coordinating the Performance program, and is the musical director of the New Monash Orchestra, the Monash Sinfonia, the Monash Women's Choir and VIVA VOCE.
Team of Pianists
Acclaimed both for its high standards of artistry and professionalism, the Melbourne-based Team of Pianists has captivated audiences in Australia and overseas for nearly twenty years.
Press quotes
“Debussy's well-known 'Petite Suite' recieves a very natural, unforced performance from Robert Chamberlain and Darryl Coote... Chamberlain and Coote just play it (Ravel would have liked these guys) and the music speaks for itself. A similarly plain-speaking quality works well in Grainger's 'Molly on the Shore'”
— 24 Hours, September 1998
“imposing and grandiose”
— The Age
Track Listing
Sonata (Poulenc)
Fantasia on Waltzing Matilda (Hyde)
Petite Suite (Debussy)
En Bateau (Debussy)
Cortège (Debussy)
Menuet (Debussy)
Ballet (Debussy)
Pavan (Sutherland)
Canonical Piece (Sutherland)
Molly on the Shore (Grainger)
Fugue in D major for three pianos (Bach arr. Hays)
Boolee (Broadstock)
Concerto for two pianos and orchestra Op. 88a (Bruch)
Composers
Brenton Broadstock
Brenton Broadstock is now one of Australia's most well established, respected and successful mid-generation composers.
Margaret Sutherland
Margaret Sutherland (1897 – 1984) was an Australian composer, probably the best-known female composer her country has produced.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity.
Claude Debussy
Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions.
Percy Grainger
Percy Aldridge Grainger (1882-1961) is one of Australia's best known composers. A brilliant arranger of folk music but also a pioneer in percussion and electronic music, Grainger's Warriors was recently heard in the opening ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
Miriam Hyde
Miriam Hyde's style is lyrical and post-romantic. Her considerable output represents many genres and she is very well known for her piano music, particularly the numerous pieces written for students.
Availability
Worlds Apart can be purchased online through Buywell Just Classical or the Australian Music Centre who both offer secure online ordering.
This title is also available in (or can be ordered through) many fine music retailers across Australia, including Thomas’, Discurio and Readings.
