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#2020236 - 01/24/13 10:06 AM Re: Greatest works for two pianos [Re: pianoloverus]
Thracozaag Offline
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Registered: 10/06/04
Posts: 1914
Loc: Salt Lake City
I wouldn't term it necessarily "great", but it was fun banging around on the two-piano version of the Planets (especially Mercury), and I've always been fond of the Op. 58 set of Medtner's. The two-piano version of Les Preludes is pretty nifty, and something I've always been itching to play.
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#2020263 - 01/24/13 10:54 AM Re: Greatest works for two pianos [Re: pianoloverus]
Orange Soda King Offline
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Registered: 11/25/09
Posts: 5222
Loc: Louisville, Kentucky, United S...
I actually think the first movement of Brahms' 4th symphony works pretty well in Brahms' own 2-piano arrangement, as well as the last movement of his 3rd symphony.


Edited by Orange Soda King (01/24/13 10:54 AM)
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#2020276 - 01/24/13 11:26 AM Re: Greatest works for two pianos [Re: Thracozaag]
pianoloverus Offline
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Registered: 05/29/01
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Loc: New York City
Originally Posted By: Thracozaag
I wouldn't term it necessarily "great", but it was fun banging around on the two-piano version of the Planets (especially Mercury)...
For those who haven't seen the fun.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MO98n0sgFIA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCqtz6__GrA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1FLhjSz7us

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#2020277 - 01/24/13 11:26 AM Re: Greatest works for two pianos [Re: Orange Soda King]
bennevis Online   content
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Registered: 10/14/10
Posts: 2748
Originally Posted By: Orange Soda King
I actually think the first movement of Brahms' 4th symphony works pretty well in Brahms' own 2-piano arrangement, as well as the last movement of his 3rd symphony.


There are quite a few arrangements for two pianos of symphonies, done by the composers themselves - I've got a recording of Shostakovich's 4th for example, as well as Brahms 1. And there's Liszt's of Beethoven's 9th for two pianos too - obviously more bombastic than the solo version....

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#2020293 - 01/24/13 11:59 AM Re: Greatest works for two pianos [Re: pianoloverus]
Nikolas Online   content
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Registered: 11/26/07
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Loc: Europe
Originally Posted By: pianoloverus
Originally Posted By: Thracozaag
I wouldn't term it necessarily "great", but it was fun banging around on the two-piano version of the Planets (especially Mercury)...
For those who haven't seen the fun.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MO98n0sgFIA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCqtz6__GrA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1FLhjSz7us
I read the name Koji Attwood in youtube. Isn't he a member here? In any case well done!

Mars doesn't sound too good, with all the brass lacking, but the rest are brill!
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#2020298 - 01/24/13 12:05 PM Re: Greatest works for two pianos [Re: Nikolas]
Pogorelich. Offline
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Registered: 12/28/08
Posts: 4128
Loc: in the past
Originally Posted By: Nikolas
Originally Posted By: pianoloverus
Originally Posted By: Thracozaag
I wouldn't term it necessarily "great", but it was fun banging around on the two-piano version of the Planets (especially Mercury)...
For those who haven't seen the fun.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MO98n0sgFIA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCqtz6__GrA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1FLhjSz7us
I read the name Koji Attwood in youtube. Isn't he a member here? In any case well done!

Mars doesn't sound too good, with all the brass lacking, but the rest are brill!


I'm listening to the Brahms now, and it's so good! (And I know how difficult it is, I have to play that in a week - the variation with thirds makes me cringe.. better go practice now)
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#2020301 - 01/24/13 12:09 PM Re: Greatest works for two pianos [Re: pianoloverus]
Nikolas Online   content
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Registered: 11/26/07
Posts: 4027
Loc: Europe
Heh... I should've been more careful...

Reading part of someone's signature is not good... just noticed (and after a PM) which member Koji is! grin Sorry Thracozaag!
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#2020309 - 01/24/13 12:16 PM Re: Greatest works for two pianos [Re: pianoloverus]
Thracozaag Offline
1000 Post Club Member

Registered: 10/06/04
Posts: 1914
Loc: Salt Lake City
No worries, and you should have heard the original bare-bones version of the Planets--Mei-ting and I had to add quite a bit of stuff, haha (I agree--miss the brass as well)
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#2020568 - 01/24/13 04:58 PM Re: Greatest works for two pianos [Re: pianoloverus]
FSO Offline
Full Member

Registered: 04/03/12
Posts: 251
Loc: UK, Brighton
Bach's concerto in C minor for two harpsichords (played on pianos)?
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#2021996 - 01/27/13 05:39 AM Re: Greatest works for two pianos [Re: pianoloverus]
dolce sfogato Offline
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Registered: 03/29/10
Posts: 2439
Loc: Netherlands
Rachmaninoff Suite op.17/Arensky Suite op.15/Milhaud 'Scaramouche'/Ten Holt 'Canto Ostinato'/Saint-Saëns Beethoven-variations op.35/Ravel 'La Valse/Debussy 'En blanc et en noir'/Medtner 'The Knight Errand' op.58-2/Poulenc Sonata/Brahms Sonata op.34, yes, I absolutely adore it, with the Haydn-variations op.56, not to be missed.
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Chopin op.25/35/22, Liszt sonata, Schubert D.960, Kapustin op.40

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#2022010 - 01/27/13 06:39 AM Re: Greatest works for two pianos [Re: pianoloverus]
wr Offline
6000 Post Club Member

Registered: 11/23/07
Posts: 6497
Max Reger's Variations and Fugue on a theme of Beethoven, op. 86, and his Introduction, Passacaglia, and Fugue, op. 96, are worth mentioning. The latter is particularly colossal in that strange way that pieces from that era could be (what WAS in the air, anyway?), and that got me to thinking about who might do a good recording of it. And that thought sort of drifted sideways to thinking about the 2-piano version of Busoni's Fantasia Contrappuntistica (another piece for this list). And then I realized the dream team for recording it would be Richard Goode and Peter Serkin.

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#2022027 - 01/27/13 07:42 AM Re: Greatest works for two pianos [Re: pianoloverus]
Andromaque Offline
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Registered: 08/29/08
Posts: 3836
Loc: New York
I think that asking for the "greatest" is likely to result in the predictable (Mozart / Schubert and even Lupu/Peraiah ).. But check out this electrifying Sorcerer's Apprentice (Paul Dukas) played brilliantly by Alexander Kobrin and Frederic d'Oria-Nicolas.



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#2022030 - 01/27/13 07:53 AM Re: Greatest works for two pianos [Re: pianoloverus]
fnork Offline
1000 Post Club Member

Registered: 10/01/04
Posts: 1091
Loc: Helsinki, finland
Indeed, the Medtner op 58 are way underperformed - I wouldn't hesitate with putting them far high on my list of 2-piano rep. A piece not mentioned so far is Dutilleux Figures des resonances which I found very nice as well. Then there's a bunch of contemporary music that came to my mind, but alas, I can't remember names of composers nor pieces.

...ahh, right, there's a rather effective Dialogo (nr 3) by swedish composer Daniel Börtz.

A little google search on 2-piano rep led me to this page, seems to be a rather detailed listing, including some contemporary rep:

http://www.duolafitte.com/catalogue_en.html


Edited by fnork (01/27/13 07:56 AM)

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#2022031 - 01/27/13 07:59 AM Re: Greatest works for two pianos [Re: pianoloverus]
fnork Offline
1000 Post Club Member

Registered: 10/01/04
Posts: 1091
Loc: Helsinki, finland
Also, Rachmaninoff's youthful "Russian rhapsody" deserves a mention!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vL_eAb_hS8

Written over the span of some days as far as I remember. Not a bad achievement for an 18-or-so-year-old!

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#2022152 - 01/27/13 11:51 AM Re: Greatest works for two pianos [Re: pianoloverus]
gooddog Offline
4000 Post Club Member

Registered: 06/08/08
Posts: 4322
Loc: Seattle area, WA
My favorites, (besides the Mozart sonata), are Mendelssohn's concertos for 2 pianos and the Bach concertos for 2 or 3 pianos. (I much prefer the Bach performed on pianos rather than harpsichords.)
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#2022154 - 01/27/13 11:53 AM Re: Greatest works for two pianos [Re: pianoloverus]
didyougethathing Offline
Full Member

Registered: 10/08/11
Posts: 476
Loc: New York
It's for four hands, but I've always liked Dvorak's Legends.

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#2023619 - 01/29/13 07:15 PM Re: Greatest works for two pianos [Re: pianoloverus]
asthecrowflies Offline
Full Member

Registered: 03/11/12
Posts: 121
Loc: London, Cambridge, San Francis...
Pletnev's transcription of Prokofiev's Cinderella (played by Pletnev + Martha) is pretty awesome. Also, Shostakovich's Concertino Op 94. And the previously mentioned Bartok!

And why stop with 2 pianos, when you can have 4! Especially when you have Pletnev, Martha, and Kissin playing them:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9FWoBqsNsk
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Kinda-sorta list: Bartok-Sonata, Beethoven op.109, Hough/Hammerstein-My Favorite Things


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#2023628 - 01/29/13 07:42 PM Re: Greatest works for two pianos [Re: pianoloverus]
BDB Online   content
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Registered: 06/07/03
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Loc: Oakland
There are 3 Romantic Waltzes by Chabrier which are impressive. I am not certain what people think of Liszt's Concerto Pathetique, but there is a recording of Bartok and Dohnanyi playing it.
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#2023630 - 01/29/13 07:44 PM Re: Greatest works for two pianos [Re: BDB]
Thracozaag Offline
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Registered: 10/06/04
Posts: 1914
Loc: Salt Lake City
Originally Posted By: BDB
I am not certain what people think of Liszt's Concerto Pathetique, but there is a recording of Bartok and Dohnanyi playing it.


And what a recording!!
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#2023710 - 01/29/13 10:29 PM Re: Greatest works for two pianos [Re: asthecrowflies]
DanS Offline
Full Member

Registered: 10/28/12
Posts: 237
Loc: NJ
Originally Posted By: asthecrowflies

And why stop with 2 pianos, when you can have 4!


In that case, I'm voting for Anthiel's Ballet Mecanique.
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'Nothing in music is hard, just unfamiliar' -Kenny Werner

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#2023748 - 01/30/13 12:00 AM Re: Greatest works for two pianos [Re: pianoloverus]
RealPlayer Offline
2000 Post Club Member

Registered: 05/02/03
Posts: 2170
Loc: NYC
Always liked W.F. Bach's Duetto for two harpsichords (that's what my score says -- elsewhere called a concerto I think). Not a "major" work, but few two-piano works are. Fun to play and listen to. Certainly effective on two pianos, but best on two bright, metallic harpsichords.

Extremely imitative between the two parts.

I have an excellent old LP by Rafael Puyana and another harpsichordist.
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#2023784 - 01/30/13 01:56 AM Re: Greatest works for two pianos [Re: pianoloverus]
BDB Online   content
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Registered: 06/07/03
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The best work with 4 pianos is Stravinsky's Les Noces. It is an incredible ballet, if you are ever fortunate enough to see it performed!
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