Arensky: Five Suites For Two Pianos / Genova & Dimitrov Piano Duo Sale Supply

Claudio Abbado has termed Aglika Genova and Liuben Dimitrov “the piano duo of the young generation” and the two have indeed come to be regarded as one of today’s most sought-after piano duos worldwide. On their latest CD, dedicated to their beloved teacher Vladimir Krainev, who died in 2011, they interpret suites by Anton Arensky. Arensky enjoyed enormous renown as a composer during his short lifetime and his chamber, instrumental, and vocal legacy, including above all the five suites for two pianos heard here, impressively attests to his artistic stature. From his audiences, whose members included the geniuses Tchaikovsky and Tolstoy, he earned great praise for these suites, both in the orchestral version and in the original version for two pianos. Arensky grew up in a music loving well-to-do family and studied counterpoint and fugue as well as composition under Rimsky-Korsakov at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. He then became a composition teacher at the Moscow Conservatory, where he was appointed to professorship in 1889. He trained many students who later became famous composers (including Rachmaninov and Scriabin). This refreshingly modern interpretation of the suites presents them in all their fascinating sophistication and transparency and reveals the spirited emotionality, sincerity, and bold virtuosity of the effective and dazzling piano parts in their best light. – CPO, (Translated from German.)