Schubert 4 Hands Album Review – Lovingly Searching for Two Pianists’ Accounts of Emotional Synergy | classical music

SSchubert’s late works for piano for four hands have attracted some great duets over the years, from Benjamin Britten and Sviatoslav Richter to Radu Lupu and Murray Perahia. Achieving them requires an affinity with the composer’s distinctively private sound world and a willingness to share a single instrument, which often requires a different way of thinking about the mechanics of making music.

Leif Ove Andsnes and Bertrand Chamayou are thoughtful musicians, and it is immediately clear from these lovingly researched accounts that they possess an emotional synergy. The gorgeous F minor Fantasia finds the Norwegian’s smooth lyrical lines above the Frenchman’s padded bass. The dynamics are impeccably sculpted. The central Largo is weighty with perfectly balanced decorations throughout. They can be playful too, although their instincts turn inward, exploring the soul of the music. The return of the poignant main theme is Heart Stopper.

The A minor Allegro, posthumously titled Lebensstürme (The Storms of Life), is full of dramatic urgency, with Chamayo tearing up the first part. Andsnes goes with it cheek by cheek amidst a torrent of turbulent running and piano noise. The Norwegian is back on top in A Major Rondo, a conversational account full of good-natured affection. The recorded sound is warmly realistic.