Four Hands

1. BRAHMS - Hungarian Dance in F sharp minor WoO 1 No.5 in F-Sharp Minor
2. J.S. BACH - Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit BWV 106 'Actus Tragicus' - No. 2, Chöre, Arioso und Aria. 'Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit.
3. PIAZZOLLA - Libertango
4. FAURÉ - Dolly Suite Op.56, Berceuse
5. TCHAIKOVSKY - The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66, Act 1 'The Spell' - No. 6, Waltz
6. RAVEL - Ma Mère l'Oye, M. 60 - V. Le jardin féérique
7. SATIE - Parade - Prestidigitateur chinois
8. FRANÇAIX - 15 Portraits d'enfants d'Auguste Renoir - No. 7, Fillette au chapeau bleu
9. SCHUBERT - 3 Marches militaires, D. 733, Op. 51 - No. 1 in D Major
10. GRIEG - 4 Norwegian Dances, Op. 35 - No. 2 in A Major, Allegretto tranquillo e grazioso
11. HAYDN - Piano Trio in G Major, Hob. XV 25 - III. Rondò all'ungherese. Presto
12. DVORAK - Slavonic Dances, Op. 72, B. 145 - No. 2 in E Minor
13. LAVIGNAC - Galop-marche à huit mains
14. HENRY - 3+3 : No.3 “The Just Average”
15. W.A. MOZART - Sonata for Piano 4-Hands in D Major, K. 381 - III. Allegro molto
16. POULENC - Sonata for Piano 4-Hands, FP 8 - I. Prelude
17. DEBUSSY - Petite suite, CD 71, L. 65 - I. En bateau
18. GLASS - Pieces for Four Hands - No. 2, Stokes
19. RACHMANINOFF - 6 Morceaux for Piano 4-Hands, Op. 11 - No. 1, Barcarolle
20. SCHUMANN - 6 Studien in kanonischer Form, Op. 56 - No. 4, Innig
21. PIERNÉ - Barcarolle, Op.26
22. BIZET - Jeux d'enfants, Op. 22, WD 56 - No. 12, Le bal

“This was something I’d had in mind for a long time …” says pianist Alexandre Tharaud, “to put together an album for the sheer pleasure of it, in collaboration with dear friends and paying tribute to the wonders of the piano duet repertoire.” The aptly named 4 Hands offers 22 tracks, each just a few minutes in length, each featuring Tharaud sharing a piano keyboard with a different partner.

The repertoire ranges wide – from Bach to Glass by way of such composers as Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Fauré, Satie, Debussy, Ravel, Rachmaninov, Ravel and Piazzolla. As Tharaud explains, each piece of music was chosen to match the character and skills of the guest joining him at the keyboard.

18 of his fellow performers are celebrated pianists – in alphabetical order, the late Nicholas Angelich, Martin James Bartlett, Mariam Batsashvili, Arielle Beck, Frank Braley, Bertrand Chamayou, Michel Dalberto, David Fray, Momo Kodama, Eric Le Sage, Bruce Liu, Aleksandar Madzar, Alexander Melnikov, Víkingur Ólafsson, Beatrice Rana, Emmanuel Strosser, Frédéric Vaysse-Knitter and Vanessa Wagner. The other three, all stars in their musical fields, have an opportunity to show themselves in a new, pianistic light: cellist Gautier Capuçon, countertenor Philippe Jaroussky and the Paris-born singer-songwriter Juliette Noureddine, known to the world simply as Juliette.

“The piano duet is one of life’s miracles,” continues Tharaud. “First and foremost, it is the most intimate way of playing chamber music … You have a very intense sense of the secret inner workings of your partner at the piano. There is nothing else like it.”

He points out that the genre played an important role in the appreciation of music in the 19th century, when transcriptions for piano duet enabled amateur players to acquaint themselves with scores originally written for instrumental ensembles, orchestras and the opera house. To his regret, today’s composers rarely conceive works for piano duet, but he is pleased that many young students of the piano find themselves sharing a keyboard with a partner. In light of this, Tharaud points out that two famous pieces on the programme of 4 Hands – the soothing ‘Berceuse’ from Fauré’s Dolly Suite and the iridescent ‘Jardin féerique’ from Ravel’s  Ma Mère l'oye – were originally written with children in mind.

“It was a joy to record this album,” he concludes. “I will have succeeded in my artistic mission if it encourages listeners to explore a genre that is currently somewhat neglected by major concert halls. If hearing these pieces prompts people to buy some sheet music and enjoy playing duets together – just as we did in the recording studio – then I will have achieved my aim.”