An orchestra of four hands

Whether four-handed or on two pianos, the piano duo Adrienne Soós & Ivo Haag are always good for surprises at a high pianistic level. The two explore the large pool of unused piano arrangements from the 19th century, which have become obsolete because there are recordings today. Back then, people in the bourgeois salons also got to know new symphonies by playing them on the piano.

Time and again, Soós & Haag find substantial gems; you can rely on their instinct. On this CD, it is the lyrically playful Sonata in G minor for piano four hands op. 17 by Hermann Goetz (1840-1876). Goetz came from Königsberg, but later worked as an organist, music teacher and critic in Winterthur and Zurich. This is also where he met Johannes Brahms.

The main work on this CD is Brahms' Symphony No. 2, arranged for piano four-hands by the master himself. In this recording, the two pianists reveal the originality of Brahms' piano writing. Even in the quiet, static moments - such as at the beginning of the Adagio non troppo - the compact symphonic movement has a clear structure, and the sound of the virtuoso chords is never overblown or blurred by the pedal technique.
The differentiated orchestral coloring is also interesting: for example, the "singing" violins typical of Brahms with their wide-breathed, phrased legato, or the soft, dark winds. The folk-song-like theme is presented with joyful freshness, and the duo blends into the overall sound with such homogeneity that the dialogues are played with such sensitivity, rhythmic elasticity and attention to detail.

The movement in Goetz's original composition for four-hand piano is completely different. The two piano parts are more intimately interwoven, delicate and light in tone. Here it is no longer about the large orchestra, but rather a linear, sparkling interplay between the two pianists: inventive, imaginative and dramaturgically refined. Adrienne Soós and Ivo Haag present this with charm and inspiration, and they vividly formulate the content of this sonata. Clara Schumann's March in E flat major for piano four hands, a playful and virtuoso occasional composition, brings this CD, which is well worth listening to, to a cheeky close.