APOSTOLOS PALIOS - STEFANOS NASSOS: RUSSIAN DANCES FOR TWO PIANOS

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A. Arensky: Suite No 1 for two pianos, Op. 15
S. Rachmaninoff: Suite No 1 for two pianos, Op. 5
                              Suite No 2 for two pianos, Op. 17
P.I. Tchaikovsky: ‘Nutcracker’ Suite
                              (transcription for two pianos: Nikolas Economou)

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One of the most important pieces for two pianos, Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Two Suites make up a full picture of his writing. Suite No 1, an early work composed in 1893, is inspired by four poems, one for each of its movements: its style is influenced by the great Romantics of the 19th century. Suite No 2, composed in 1901, shortly before the composer’s Piano Concert No 2, is closer to his well-known style: Romanticism and beautiful cantilenas, combined with broad harmonies.
The transcription of Tchaikovsky’s ‘Nutcracker’ Suite by Nikolas Economou, who sadly passed away at a young age, has become a well-known work, a successful transcription of a symphonic composition for the piano, transferring the colouring of the orchestra with tremendous accuracy.