An inextricable bond exists between the piano and ballet, this due to the fact that the ballet dancer’s strenuous daily routine of rehearsing in a mirror-lined hall is not normally accompanied by an orchestra, but by a piano. Seated at the piano is a répétiteur, who, with two virtuoso hands, routinely and tirelessly replaces an entire orchestra, providing the musical fundament for the creative work of the choreographer. The répétiteur’s high level of musical and pianistic mastery has always been crucial, but this was particularly the case in the days when they frequently were required to play directly from an open score, with little or no preparation.
Tracklist
Please note that the below previews are loaded as 44.1 kHz / 16 bit.Total time: 01:03:15
Additional information
| Label | |
|---|---|
| SKU | PTC5186579 |
| Qualities | DSD 512 fs, DSD 256 fs, DSD 128 fs, DSD 64 fs, DXD 24 Bit, FLAC 192 kHz, FLAC 96 kHz |
| Channels | 2ch Stereo, 5 Channel Surround Sound, 2ch Stereo & 5ch Surround |
| Artists | |
| Composers | |
| Genres | |
| Mastering Engineer | Polyhymnia International (DSD 64), NativeDSD / Tom Caulfield (DSD 128, DSD 256, DSD 512) |
| Instruments | |
| Original Recording Format | |
| Producer | Hein Dekker |
| Recording Engineer | Jean Marie Geijsen |
| Recording location | Studio 5 MCO Hilversum, The Netherlands |
| Recording Software | Pyramix, Merging Technologies |
| Recording Type & Bit Rate | DSD 64 |
| Release Date | October 28, 2016 |
Press reviews
NativeDSD Senior Reviewer
This is a wonderful album!
NativeDSD Listener
I have thus purchased nine tracks from the new Pentatone album of Tchaikovsky ballet music transcribed for piano duo. I am playing them as I draft this.
Fantastic music and great sounding in DSD512 format!
MusicWeb International
[…] The Osaka-born sisters Mari and Momo Kodama, who grew up and had their musical training in Europe, are both new to me. That said, Dominy Clements welcomed the latter’s solo album, Point and Line, and Michael Cookson found the former’s Beethoven concertos with Kent Nagano and the DSO Berlin to be ‘impressive’, if not really competitive. Mari has also recorded the Beethoven sonatas and a new Falla album with Kazuki Yamada and the OSR, both for Pentatone. In their spirited preamble to the booklet notes – the word ‘fun’ appears several times – the sisters confirm they’ve played together before, but that this is their first recording as a duo.
These iconic ballet suites have certainly attracted some prestigious arrangers for piano duo, among them Anton Arensky, Claude Debussy, Sergei Rachmaninov and, in our own time, the Cypriot pianist-composer Nicolas Economou. Solo versions include pianist-conductor Mikhail Pletnev’s Nutcracker suite, attractively played by Alexandra Dariescu on a recent Signum release. In another league entirely is the complete ballet, arranged and played by Stewart Goodyear. That Steinway album – recorded by Sono Luminus at their studios in Boyce, Virginia – is a musical and sonic treat; indeed, it’s a must for Tchaikovsky fans and pianophiles alike.
Rachmaninov’s piano four hands arrangement of The Sleeping Beauty, begun in 1890, required a number of corrections and revisions before Tchaikovsky was satisfied with it. The Kodamas have chosen just five numbers, but those interested in hearing the full version might be interested in this recording from New Classical Adventure. I hope to review it some point, although the download’s lack of documentation is a powerful incentive not to. At least Pentatone are scrupulous about providing Pdf booklets which, in general, are pleasing to look at and good to read. […]
HRAudio.net
“The performance of Mari and Momo Kodama are of particular interest in that they do not merely play the notes as dished up by the arrangers. Using the symphonic scores to understand and subsequently extract the transcriptions from their original context, they add another dimension. A dimension of fairytale through suggestive, but elegant and refined playing, with a judiciously coloured palette of make believe, with even some interspersed ‘mystique’ elements, making these wonderfully ‘transduced’ performances, which many are at best familiar with in their orchestral versions, so intimately and irresistibly enjoyable. I have a great respect for what Mari does, but had never heard Momo before. Judging by the result she is of equal stature. And the flow of both sisters’ playing demonstrates such a convincing degree of togetherness that it is impossible to hear who is in the lead, notwithstanding the excellent multi-channel recording. Both grands sound warm and Grand. Performance, Stereo Sonics and Multichannel Sonics: 5 out of 5 Stars rating.”
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