STRAVINSKY: Tango ( (1940). Piano-Rag-Music (1919). Three Movements from Petrouchka (1922). HINDEMITH: Suite for Piano Op. 26 (1822), PIano Sonata, Op 167 (1920),
Magdalena Müllerperth, piano
ARS SACD (No number given) TT: 59:43
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KORNGOLD: Piano Trio, Op. 1. ZEMLINSKY: Piano Trio, Op 3
Stefan Zweig Tri / Konstantin Reinfeldo
ARS SAD (no I.D. provided) TT: 60:05
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DEBUT: Music for Harmonica and Piano
Konstantin Reinfeld, harmonica. Benyamin Nuss, piano
ARS SACD (nNo identification provided) TT: 65:13
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After the great success of Petrushka, in 1921 Artur Rubinstein commissioned Stravinsky to write a three-movement virtuoso solo piano arrangement.The famous pianist played it often in concert but never made an official ommercial rrecordingl; a live Carnegie Hall performance was issued in RC's huge (and expensive!) Artur Rubinstein Edition. Vladimir Horowitz recorded only theRussian Dance. But since that time, dozens of pianists have recorded it including spectacular versions by Yevgeny Kissin, Louis Lortie, Yefim Bronfman, Denis Matsuev, Emil Gilels, and Yuja Wang. Any new recording has to face this formidable competition, and this new one by young German pianist Magdalena Müllerperth (b.1992) offers falls short. All the notes are there, but the demonic fire and energy are not. Two brief Stravinsky pieces begin the disk, and we also have brief sonata and a suite by Hindemith that seem to be odd companions. . It seems strange more music isn't included—playing time is less than an hour. Excellent audio, but hardly competitive.

Early 20th Century Viennese schmaltz in full bloom. This SACD presents two early piano trios by Erich Wolfgang Korngold (his Op, 1, written 1909 - 1910), and Alexander Zemlinsky dating from 1896. The latter originally was composed for clarinet, cello and piano. Here we have the later version with piano, violin and cello. It is intriguing that my computer readout for this disk identifies this music as a "clarinet trio." The Stefan Zweig Trio, named after the famous Viennese writer, consists of Sibila Konstantinova, piano; Kei Shirai, violin, and Tristan Cornet, cello. Since 2012 they have been recogniuzed for their passionate playing, and they surely do all that can be done for theseViennese works. Excellent audio. You can see this music performed by the Trio on You Tube.

Beginning in 2017, harmonica virtuoso Konstantin Reinfeld and pianist Benyamin Nuss have collaborated on concerts of music written for or arranged for their two instruments. Reinfeld plays a diatonic 10-hole instrument that is capable of producing a remarkable range of sounds. The program features music of Bach, Bartók, Andrzej Korzinski, Pixinguinha, Masashi Hamauzu, Chick Corea, Kaoru Wada, and Jacob Do Bandolin, as well as works and improvisations by the two soloists. No information is given about venue of the recording, but from the photo is appears to be a church. Engineers have captured the distinctive sound of the harmonica with the greatest clarity, and you will be surprised at much you will hear. You can sample the two artists on You Tube where you will find much of the music on this recording.

R.E.B. (June 2019)

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