The piano duet literature abounds in dances, many of which deserve more attention than they usually get on disc or in concert. Why, for example, do we seldom encounter Grieg’s marvelous Norwegian Dances? They have more humor and rhythmic zest than many of the composer’s more familiar Lyric Pieces. Christiane Baume-Sanglard and Dana Ciocarlie evoke these qualities in their joyous and perfectly paced interpretations, while bringing comparable lightness and tasteful rubatos to Grieg’s two Valses-Caprices.
The duo offers the first complete four-hand recording in years of Max Bruch’s 15 Swedish Dances Op. 63. These enchantingly tuneful works are trickier to bring off than they sound, yet the pianists’ smooth and logical handling of Bruch’s sudden shifts in tempo and mood amount to effortless navigation (the opening of No. 5 is a good example). Having previously endured Hans Huber’s derivative and boring Preludes and Fugues, I’m pleased to report that his Ten Dances Op. 47 are far superior. They unpretentiously fuse Brahms and Strauss Jr., and are skillfully deployed for the duet medium; check out the third waltz’s gently cascading runs, No. 5’s motto theme repeated in different keys, and No. 10’s cross-rhythmic phrases.
The first and third of the Three Swiss Dances by Helena Winkelman (born 1974) evoke George Antheil’s boisterous, cluster-packed works and Henry Cowell’s strumming the piano strings. The second, Valse hyptnotique, is stark and minimal except for the pile-up of loud clusters in its central climax. That these pieces stick out alongside their salon-ish program mates may bother some listeners; personally, I appreciated the “shake-up” between Huber and Bruch. In fact, my only reservation about this release concerns Claves’ close-up, dry, and dynamically constricted sonics.
