The Votapeks are a husband and wife team who have very nice pedigrees from Juilliard, and currently work out of Michigan State University. This program is an exceptional one, and not at all what we sometimes see emerging from the throes of academia. The recital is quite challenging, Mozart’s youthful yet mature Sonata getting an effervescent, classically clear reading with great energy and assurance. Schubert’s F-Minor work is one of about 30 such compositions he created for piano four-hands, and one must say his most popular. The Votapeks make the transition from the classical statuary of Mozart to the darker and more emotionally complex world of Schubert’s contrasting and diffuse musical elements, replete with the requisite shadows and brief streaks of light.

The Debussy is interesting in that the composer made this transcription. The harp and orchestral parts are alternated here by the Votapeks to great effect, and one must say that the composer’s sense of the rightness to transcribe this particular work for two pianos is on the mark. Very little in the way of emotional content gets lost when we travel from the original to the transcript, and that is saying a lot. Astro Piazzolla, tango master, is not one of my favorites, and there are relatively few of his many works that affect me emotionally or with any degree of intellect. The five works that have been wonderfully created by Pablo Ziegler, a pianist who was one of Piazzolla’s closest collaborators, show the contrapuntal nature of his music in a fine manner. But what is more is the spirit and tuned-in swing that the duo is able to bring to the music. Out of all the arrangements I have heard of Piazzolla’s music, I must say that this duo piano one will remain in my mind as the most effective and brilliantly conceived.

The sound is wonderful, the program flawless, and the performances top notch. If you want to add some two-piano discs to your collection, you can do no better than by starting here. Steven E. Ritter

The Votapeks: From Mozart to Piazzolla

$14.99

Add to Cart