“This is the third recording of Stravinsky’s ‘Sacre du Printemps’ we received for reviewing within a couple of weeks. Following the extremely good and colorful interpretation of the duo Dennis Russell Davies – Maki Namekawa, and the mannered and unsubstantial performance of the duo Ott-Tristano, we are listening now to a version that is phenomenally transparent and rhythmically well differentiated. Stravinsky’s archaic sound world comes to life in a fascinating way.
The following Hindemith Sonata is rarely heard and played in a very transparent way. It springs to life through very efficient dynamic nuances.
Maurice Ravel’s ‘Rhapsodie espagnole’ was initially written for four hands piano in 1907. The orchestral version was written a year later in 1908. So we are hearing the original, which wasn’t intended as a sketch by the composer, but as a complimentary composition to the orchestral version. The Duo Hio – they are married since 2005 – plays the work poetically. The rhythmical foundation is unbelievably efficient with its enchanting lighting and coloring effects, and I have never heard the tempo indication ‘En demi-teinte et d’un rythme las’ in the Habanera more thrilling than in this recording.”