Kolner Klavier Duo - Dvorak: Music For Four Handed Piano (2009)

The raison d'etre for this disc is to promote Dvorák's less well-known music for piano four-hands, so for listeners looking for another work along the lines of his Symphony From the New World, it may prove initially disappointing. The longest works on the disc are transcriptions of the orchestral Scherzo capriccioso and the Slavonic Rhapsody No. 2 and neither of them can match the symphony's weight of utterance. The remaining works range from the emphatic Polonaise through the 12 ephemeral Silhouetten, a pair of evanescent Minuets to a momentous Festival March, and while they all contain much that is entertaining, none has the symphony's instantly memorable melodies.
For listeners looking for another disc of well-crafted if less well-known nineteenth century works for piano four-hands, however, this disc may prove eminently satisfying. The performances by the Kölner Klavier-Duo of Elzbieta Kalvelage and Michael Krücker are as dedicated and skillful as the best symphonic musicians in Köln. If their tempos are perhaps overly strict in the outer sections of the Scherzo capriccioso and the opening section of the Slavonic Rhapsody, their rhythms in the Polonaise and Festival March are quite forceful. The music does not quite match the four-hand music of Schubert or Brahms at their best -- nor, for that matter, Dvorák at his best in the Slavonic Dances -- but for listeners who already know and love that repertoire, this disc may prove delightful. Berlin Classics' sound is a bit dry and a little distant.