Berlin Classics - 0300669BC - 180 Gram Vinyl - Pressed in Germany - 

This one is spacious and natural-sounding with the piano well-back in space (regardless of how close the mikes were to it) and intensely but naturally focused in that space. There's a wealth of colors and textures as well as wide dynamic contrasts. It sounds minimally miked, so that the piano is plain to "see" as is the reverberant space around it. The attack, sustain and decay are ideally portrayed, which results in an utterly natural and convincing stage upon which can be "seen" the piano in three dimensions.You can be sure the recording is a bitch to track so if you hear clicking and break-up, it's your rig not the recording. Highly recommended for music, performance, sound and excellent German pressing quality. Sound 11/10 Music 11/10 Michael Fremer Aanalogplanet

Acclaimed by audiences and critics alike, the Israeli artists Sivan Silver and her partner Gil Garburg set new standards in the high art, often too little appreciated, of the duo on one or two pianos. + Their new recording, consisting of two highly virtuosic works by Igor Stravinsky, “Le sacre du printemps” and “Petrushka”, finds the duo debuting as exclusive artists on the Berlin Classics label. + Stravinsky arranged his ballet music, some of the most revolutionary works of the 20th c., both for orchestra and for four hands, making great demands of his pianists both technically and comparatively. + Ms. Silver and Mr. Garburg were well on the way to promising solo careers when they paired up first privately and then at the piano. + They relish the constant contrast between recitals as a duo and orchestral concerts, between intimate pieces that call upon them as a unity, works conceived as dialogue, and those in which they sit at two pianos and summon up the massed power of a full orchestra.

Sivan Silver and her partner Gil Garburg set new standards in the high art, often too little appreciated, of the duo on one or two pianos: acclaimed by audiences and critics alike, they are the constantly returning guests of top orchestras, festivals and concert organizers. Press reviews acclaim the Israeli artists for their consummate technical mastery, highly versatile and nuanced playing and exceptional sensitivity. Silver and Garburg capture the playful character of the piano writing, the interplay of impulse and intensity. Nor is this superficial showmanship or mechanical interaction; rather it is an organic and natural blending of the voices and a profound understanding of the work that determines the performance of the two exponents.

With their new recording of two highly virtuosic works by Igor Stravinsky, “Le sacre du printemps” and “Petrushka”, the two artists have met a formidable challenge. Stravinsky, who arranged this ballet music both for orchestra and for four hands, makes great demands of his pianists. In particular, their interpretation must always stand comparison with the orchestral version. Nor is that all. Stravinsky’s works make the utmost demands of the instrument and of the artist: rich in contrast and colour, rhythmically vivid and complex, his music demands power and highly nuanced playing concentrated into a small area. This is a task that the pianist pair tackle with remarkable mastery. They unlock from the piano the timbres of an orchestra and the rhythms of a percussion kit and do it in a way that creates the impression only one person is playing. Silver-Garburg were well on the way to promising solo careers when they paired up first privately and then at the piano. They relish the constant contrast between recitals as a duo and orchestral concerts, between intimate pieces that call upon them as a unity, works conceived as dialogue, and those in which they sit at two pianos and summon up the massed power of a full orchestra. “It’s easy for a piano duo to create effects with sheer virtuosity. But we find that far too little. We want the listeners to be touched by our music to the depths of their heart.”

1. Introduction
  2. The Augurs of Spring - Dances of the Young Girls
  3. Ritual of Abduction
  4. Spring Rounds
  5. Ritual of the River Tribes
  6. Procession of the Sage
  7. The Sage
  8. Dance of the Earth
  9. Introduction
  10. Mystic Circles of the Young Girls
  11. Glorification of the Chosen One
  12. Evocation of the Ancestors
  13. Ritual Action of the Ancestors
  14. Sacrificial Dance
  15. The Shrovetide Fair
  16. The Magic Trick
  17. Russian Dance
  18. Petrushka's Room
  19. The Moor's Room
  20. The Ballerina
  21. The Shrovetide Fair (Evening)
  22. Wet Nurses' Dance
  23. The Bear and the Peasant
  24. The Jovial Merchant With Two Gypsy Girls
  25. Dance of the Coachmen and Grooms
  26. The Mummers