Martha Argerich, Sergei Babayan – Prokofiev for Two (2018) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Martha Argerich, Sergei Babayan – Prokofiev for Two (2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 01:00:10 minutes | 468 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Deutsche Grammophon (DG)

Pianists Martha Argerich and Sergei Babayan have recorded two selections from Prokofiev’s music for stage and screen in magnificent two-piano transcriptions by Babayan. The new album features Babayan’s twelve-movement transcription of numbers from the ballet Romeo and Juliet and his seven-movement suite transcribed from Prokofiev’s incidental music for Hamlet and Eugene Onegin, film score for The Queen of Spades and opera War and Peace.

Nestled up cosily with Sergei Babayan, gazing into the distance, rather like Juliet next to Romeo, Martha Argerich seems to have had an eye on marketing when she produced the “Prokofiev for Two” album cover for her longstanding publisher, Deutsche Grammophon. Although well-known, these works haven’t yet been released in this format: each of the 19 pieces is an accomplished transcription by Sergei Babayan. More than half of this album is given over to extracts from the ballet Romeo and Juliet, originally a symphonic work, but one that sounds devilishly good when brought to life by these two exceptional pianists. The remainder of the album is made up of various pieces of stage music, from Hamlet, Eugene Onegin and the opera War and Peace. This is a reinvigorating album, with an eighty-year-old Martha Argerich who has lost none of her extraordinary technique. As for the Armenian pianist Sergei Babayan, a student of Mikhail Pletnev and a teacher of Daniil Trifonov, he seems to be having great fun with his own transcriptions alongside his long-time partner and friend.

Tracklist:
1-01. Martha Argerich, Sergei Babayan – Prokofiev: 12 Movements From Romeo And Juliet, Op. 64-1. Juliet’s Death (Transcription For 2 Pianos By Sergei Babayan) (01:41)
1-02. Martha Argerich, Sergei Babayan – Prokofiev: 12 Movements From Romeo And Juliet, Op. 64-2. Montagues And Capulets (Transcription For 2 Pianos By Sergei Babayan) (03:39)
1-03. Martha Argerich, Sergei Babayan – Prokofiev: 12 Movements From Romeo And Juliet, Op. 64-3. Morning Dance (Transcription For 2 Pianos By Sergei Babayan) (01:40)
1-04. Martha Argerich, Sergei Babayan – Prokofiev: 12 Movements From Romeo And Juliet, Op. 64-4. Quarrel (Transcription For 2 Pianos By Sergei Babayan) (01:27)
1-05. Martha Argerich, Sergei Babayan – Prokofiev: 12 Movements From Romeo And Juliet, Op. 64-5. Gavotte (Transcription For 2 Pianos By Sergei Babayan) (03:38)
1-06. Martha Argerich, Sergei Babayan – Prokofiev: 12 Movements From Romeo And Juliet, Op. 64-6. The Young Juliet-The Nurse And Romeo (Transcription For 2 Pianos By Sergei Babayan) (00:47)
1-07. Martha Argerich, Sergei Babayan – Prokofiev: 12 Movements From Romeo And Juliet, Op. 64-7. Folk Dance (Transcription For 2 Pianos By Sergei Babayan) (03:57)
1-08. Martha Argerich, Sergei Babayan – Prokofiev: 12 Movements From Romeo And Juliet, Op. 64-8. Dance With Mandolines (Transcription For 2 Pianos By Sergei Babayan) (02:12)
1-09. Martha Argerich, Sergei Babayan – Prokofiev: 12 Movements From Romeo And Juliet, Op. 64-9. Aubade (Transcription For 2 Pianos By Sergei Babayan) (02:18)
1-10. Martha Argerich, Sergei Babayan – Prokofiev: 12 Movements From Romeo And Juliet, Op. 64-10. Dance Of Five Couples (Transcription For 2 Pianos By Sergei Babayan) (01:44)
1-11. Martha Argerich, Sergei Babayan – Prokofiev: 12 Movements From Romeo And Juliet, Op. 64-11. Romeo And Juliet Before Departure (Transcription For 2 Pianos By Sergei Babayan) (08:06)
1-12. Martha Argerich, Sergei Babayan – Prokofiev: 12 Movements From Romeo And Juliet, Op. 64-12. Death Of Tybalt (Transcription For 2 Pianos By Sergei Babayan) (04:13)
1-13. Martha Argerich, Sergei Babayan – Prokofiev: Incidental Music To Hamlet, Op. 77-The Ghost Of Hamlet’s Father (Transcription For 2 Pianos By Sergei Babayan) (05:36)
1-14. Martha Argerich, Sergei Babayan – Prokofiev: Incidental Music To Eugene Onegin, Op. 71-Mazurka (Transcription For 2 Pianos By Sergei Babayan) (01:26)
1-15. Martha Argerich, Sergei Babayan – Prokofiev: Incidental Music To Eugene Onegin, Op. 71-Polka (Transcription For 2 Pianos By Sergei Babayan) (01:32)
1-16. Martha Argerich, Sergei Babayan – Prokofiev: The Queen Of Spades, Op. 70-Polonaise (Transcription For 2 Pianos By Sergei Babayan) (02:21)
1-17. Martha Argerich, Sergei Babayan – Prokofiev: Pushkin Waltzes, Op. 120-Waltz No.2 In C Sharp Minor (Transcription For 2 Pianos By Sergei Babayan) (02:57)
1-18. Martha Argerich, Sergei Babayan – Prokofiev: War And Peace, Op. 91-Natasha’s And Andrei’s Valse (Transcription For 2 Pianos By Sergei Babayan) (04:54)
1-19. Martha Argerich, Sergei Babayan – Prokofiev: The Queen Of Spades, Op. 70-Idée fixe (Transcription For 2 Pianos By Sergei Babayan) (05:54)

Personnel:
Martha Argerich – piano
Sergei Babayan – piano

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