Bon Voyage!

Igor and Olga Piano Duo's debut album charts a piano-four-hands itinerary from Bernstein's America through Brahms, Rachmaninov, Gavrilin, Ravel and Moszkowski to Grainger's Faeroese dance.

Igor and Olga Piano Duo ensemble
Igor Machlak piano
Olga Kharitonova piano

Leonard Bernstein composer
Johannes Brahms composer
Valery Gavrilin composer
Percy Grainger composer
Moritz Moszkowski composer
Sergei Rachmaninoff composer
Maurice Ravel composer

Itinerary

The programme opens in America with Bernstein's America, then moves to Germany for the intimate delights of Brahms' Walzer. Russia follows with Rachmaninov's Three Duets and four pieces from Gavrilin's Sketches for Piano Duet. Spain is next, through Ravel's Rhapsodie Espagnole and Moszkowski's Dances Espagnoles, before the journey ends in Australia with Grainger's Let's Dance Gay in Green Meadow.

This husband and wife duo are as exhilarating to watch as they are to hear. After successful solo careers in Russia and Europe, Igor and Olga formed the piano duo in Moscow shortly after marrying. Playing together let them create music as partners and explore the piano-duo repertoire, with its rich textures and wide dynamic and expressive range.

As a duo they have taken first prizes in several international piano-duo competitions. Since emigrating to Melbourne in 1995 they have performed at Melba Hall, the National Gallery of Victoria, the Castlemaine Festival and on the ABC's Sunday Live.

The life of a contemporary concert musician is inseparably tied up with travelling. Unfamiliar landscapes passing by in the window of a train or a bus, endless waiting in airports, meetings with new people, never-ending preparations and packing — these are the daily fare of a wandering artist.

I believe the collection of music on this CD is a confirmation of this idea.

The first piece we perform is a version of the famous America from West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein transcribed for piano duet. This fragment from a musical has long had a life of its own and has become a symbol of America, which in turn has become a symbol of any trip or journey.

The set of sixteen waltzes by Johannes Brahms that comes next is in a completely different spirit. These waltzes were not conceived for public accolades; their mood is intimate and delicate. Brahms modestly called these waltzes “small ländler in the style of Schubert” and dedicated them to Eduard Hanslick.

Of necessity there must be some Russian music. Firstly, because now we live in Australia, playing Russian music is a sort of a return journey for us. Sergei Rachmaninov composed his opus 11 while on holidays in Ivanovka. We have chosen three pieces from Op. 11, his only composition for piano duet.

The new post-revolutionary Russia of this century is represented by Valery Gavrilin's Sketches for piano duet. From the 24 pieces we chose Troika, March, The Little Clock and Tarantella.

The journey continues from Russia to Spain. Maurice Ravel, whose Rhapsodie Espagnole we perform, could not be considered an outsider to Spain: he was born near the Spanish border and his mother was Spanish. Although it was the first published orchestral work, this version for piano duet transcribed by the author himself seems to me quite convincing because of the pianistic nature of Ravel's music.

Another excursion into Spanish music was made by Moritz Moszkowski. His Spanish Dances (1878) are full of Spanish rhythms, melodies and a Spanish sense of excitement, yet intended for the salon.

To complete the circle we play the work of the Australian composer Percy Grainger. In Let's Dance Gay in Green Meadow, Grainger used a real Faeroe tune, but created his own weird reality in his inimitable style. When we played this music for the first time we were amazed by its strange beauty.

I hope you enjoy your journey. Bon voyage!

— Igor Machlak

Reviews

this is an attractive program from a talented piano duo.

— Andrew Scott, The Sunday Age

Artists

Moritz Moszkowski

Moritz Moszkowski (1854–1925) was a German-Polish composer, pianist and teacher. His brilliant piano writing made him one of the most popular musicians of the late nineteenth century.

Valery Gavrilin

Leonard Bernstein

Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990) was an American composer, conductor and pianist whose Broadway scores, concert works and tireless advocacy reshaped how wide audiences meet classical music.

Johannes Brahms

Johannes Brahms (1833–1897) was a German composer and pianist of the Romantic period. His music for piano, chamber ensemble, orchestra, and voice remains central to the concert repertoire.

Sergei Rachmaninoff

Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff (1873–1943) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music.

Percy Grainger

Percy Aldridge Grainger (1882–1961) was an Australian-born composer, arranger and pianist. A brilliant folk-song collector and arranger, he was also a restless experimenter whose work ranged from tuneful percussion to Free Music machines that foreshadowed electronic synthesis.

Maurice Ravel

Many consider Maurice Ravel a major composer for the piano as well as a genius of orchestration. It remains a surprise how few works make up his total output for the instrument: all his piano compositions can be performed in under two and a half hours.

Igor and Olga Piano Duo

Since moving to Australia in 1995, the Igor and Olga Piano Duo has given a series of recitals and has drawn the immediate attention of both professional musicians and musical critics.