Shirinyan/Wizjan - Sergei Rachmaninov: Suites For Two Pianos

Armenian-born pianist Marianna Shirinyan and Polish pianist Dominik Wizjan began their collaboration at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen, where Shirinyan is a professor. On this Orchid Classics release they play both Suites for Two Pianos by Rachmaninov � works that are relatively rarely heard compared with much of the composer�s output, yet which reveal much about the evolution of his style. The Suite No.1 for two pianos, �Fantaisie-Tableaux�, was composed when Rachmaninov was only 20 and is unusual in his output for its programmatic movements, each one inspired by a poem and already exhibiting his characteristic virtuosity and aching expressivity. The Suite No. 2 was written seven years later in the wake of Rachmaninov�s Piano Concerto No. 2; he was at the peak of his powers, resulting in music that is both staggeringly demanding to play and bewitching to hear.