American Dream Ludmila Berlinskaya, Arthur Ancelle, Orchestre Victor Hugo, Jean-François Verdier & Laurent Comte

• Dana Suesse (1909 - 1987): Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra:
• 1 Suesse: Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra: I. Allegro 07:48
• 2 Suesse: Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra: II. Adagio 06:41
• 3 Suesse: Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra: III. Scherzo 02:30
• 4 Suesse: Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra: IV. Finale. Lento e con espressione - Allegro moderato 03:13
• Amy Beach (1867 - 1944): Suite for Two Pianos Founded Upon Old Irish Melodies, Op. 104:
• 5 Beach: Suite for Two Pianos Founded Upon Old Irish Melodies, Op. 104: I. Prelude. Lento, quasi una fantasia 05:39
• 6 Beach: Suite for Two Pianos Founded Upon Old Irish Melodies, Op. 104: II. Old-time Peasant-Dance. Allegro con spirito 03:48
• 7 Beach: Suite for Two Pianos Founded Upon Old Irish Melodies, Op. 104: III. The Ancient Cabin. Lento come prima 06:30
• 8 Beach: Suite for Two Pianos Founded Upon Old Irish Melodies, Op. 104: IV. Finale. Molto vivace (Con fuga) 03:52
• Victor Babin (1908 - 1972): Concerto No. 2 for Two Pianos and Orchestra:
• 9 Babin: Concerto No. 2 for Two Pianos and Orchestra: I. Moderato 06:18
• 10 Babin: Concerto No. 2 for Two Pianos and Orchestra: II. Molto vivo e ben ritmico 07:28
• 11 Babin: Concerto No. 2 for Two Pianos and Orchestra: III. Molto sostenuto, intimo e calmo 03:44
• 12 Babin: Concerto No. 2 for Two Pianos and Orchestra: IV. Finale alla fuga. Allegro con spirito 07:24
• Total Runtime 01:04:55

Info for American Dream

Der „amerikanische Traum“ ist der rote Faden, der die drei Werke dieses Programms miteinander verbindet. Amy Beach wurde 1867 in New Hampshire geboren und komponierte mehr als 300 Werke, darunter eine monumentale Suite für zwei Klaviere, die von der romantischen Tradition inspiriert ist und auf alten irischen Melodien basiert. Nadine Dana Suesse - Spitzname „Gershwin Girl“ - wurde 1909 in Kansas City geboren. Seit ihrem 13. Lebensjahr spielte sie ihre eigenen Kompositionen im Radio und komponierte Hits, vor allem für Bing Crosby. Sie lehnte die Verlockungen Hollywoods ab und studierte bei Nadia Boulanger in Paris. Nach ihrem Tod verschwanden ihre Werke aus dem Repertoire, doch das Duo Berlinskaya Ancelle möchte ihre Musik mit diesem Konzert aus dem Jahr 1943 wiederbeleben, das als „romantisch, aber gemischt mit modernen Harmonien und Akkorden direkt aus dem Jazz“ beschrieben wird. Victor Babin wurde 1908 in Moskau geboren und emigrierte 1937 mit seiner Frau Viktoria Vronskaya in die Vereinigten Staaten. Ihr Klavierduo war dort sehr erfolgreich: 1957 wurde Babins virtuoses Zweites Konzert unter der Leitung von George SzelI in Cleveland uraufgeführt.

Ludmila Berlinskaya, Klavier
Arthur Ancelle, Klavier
Orchestre Victor Hugo
Jean-François Verdier, Dirigent (Titel 1–4)
Laurent Comte, Dirigent (Titel 9–12)

Ludmila Berlinskaïa and Arthur Ancelle
Drawing their strength from a mutual taste for sharing, taking risks, and exploration, Ludmila Berlinskaya and Arthur Ancelle are inseparable pianists; they are a symbiotic couple on and off stage.

Reviews acclaiming the duo as “sensational pianists” (Fanfare) and “brilliant, cheerful” (Diapason), lauding their ability to “cultivate duality in a supernatural dimension” (Le Monde), their “superb technique” (Classica), their synchronised playing which gives “the impression of being only one player” (Musicweb-international) and their “truly dazzling playing” (Fonoforum) have placed them on the list of highest-ranking piano duos on the international stage.

Both coming from a long line of famous performers, and both accomplished soloists, Ludmila Berlinskaya and Arthur Ancelle have become a piano duo characterised by an unfaltering mutual understanding. Thanks to their special energy on stage, original repertoire, new concert formats and ability to communicate with the audience, they aim to contribute to giving the piano duo a status equal to all other forms of chamber music.

Performing together since 20211, the duo managed to put together a repertoire featuring the ‘greatest hits’ for two pianos and four hands, as well as rare works featuring original compositions and new transcriptions, enriched by Arthur Ancelle's scores : Francesca da Rimini (Jurgenson), Romeo & Juliet (Chant du Monde), After a reading of Dante, etc.

Each season, they are guests of the most beautiful halls: Philharmonie de Paris, Radio France Auditorium, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Salle Gaveau, Salle Cortot, Moscow and St. Petersburg Philharmonic Halls, Zaryadye Hall, Moscow Conservatory, Mariinsky Concert Hall, Athens' Megaron, and they are invited to prestigious festivals such as the Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad, the Moscow December Nights Festival, the Tokyo Spring Festival, Rota das Artes in Lisbon, Klavier Raritäten in Husum, Lille Piano Festival, the Lisztomanias, the Solistes à Bagatelle or the Pianofolies du Touquet…

With a rich repertoire of some ten double concertos, they also collaborate with renowned orchestras such as St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Freiburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre National de Lille, Orchestre National d'Ile de France, Ulsan Philharmonic Orchestra, Ural Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre Victor Hugo Franche-Comté, Orchestre de Picardie, and conductors of all generations: Nikolai Alexeev, Arie Van Beek, Vladimir Ponkin, Dmitry Liss, Jean-François Verdier, Lin Tao, Vahan Mardirossian, Jader Bignamini, Georg Köhler, Yuri Medianik, Laurent Comte, Lucie Leguay, Rebecca Tong…

Bolstered by intense recording activity as a duo, as soloists, or as chamber musicians, Ludmila Berlinskaya and Arthur Ancelle have already released 10 albums together, all of which have been extremely well received and awarded by the international press (Gramophone's Editor's Choice, Classica's Choc, 4F Télérama, Le Monde’s and Libération's Album of the Year, Pianiste Maestro, Clé d’Or by Resmusica, Musical Choice by Musiq3 etc.). Their concerts are recorded and broadcast by France Musique, Radio Classique, TCE Live (France), Deutschlandfunk Kultur (Germany), Radio Orpheus (Russia), NPO radio 4 (Netherlands), RTS (Switzerland)...

Dedicated to promoting and transmitting their art, Ludmila Berlinskaïa and Arthur Ancelle teach a class entirely dedicated to piano duos at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris, and are the artistic directors of the Piano-Piano project, which includes the Rungis Piano-Piano Festival, the Académie Piano-Piano and the open Piano-Piano Database, all dedicated to the world of 2-pianos and 4-hands.

"I can only say I was bowled over by the playing of this Franco-Russian husband-and-wife duo" Jeremy Nicholas – Gramophone

"Blithely, with panache, and audacity. A tour de force" Melissa Khong - Classica

Booklet for American Dream