Bruch: Concerto for 2 Pianos, Op. 88a & Suite No. 1 on Russian Themes, Op. 79b (Live)

Featuring

Ariane Matiakh
Mona Bard
Rica Bard
Staatskapelle Halle
Max Bruch

Did you know?

1/7

Composer Biography

Max Bruch, who lived to be 82, was born in Cologne in 1838 and died in 1920, experiencing a period of significant political and industrial change.

Critical Reception

The Sutro sisters, who premiered Bruch's double concerto, made significant alterations to the score, resulting in a work that had little in common with Bruch's original.

Composition History

Bruch agreed to write the double concerto for the Sutro sisters despite his general dislike for the piano, which he called an 'unmelodious keyboard toy' and 'tedious rattletrap'.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Bruch was an enthusiastic collector and arranger of folk songs, believing a good folk tune was 'worth more than 200 art melodies' and a 'source of all genuine melody'.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Bruch was deeply committed to musical Romanticism and believed that 'only genuine melody can survive all the fluctuations and vicissitudes of the times!'

Composition History

The Concerto for two pianos and orchestra, Op. 88a, was originally an orchestral suite with organ obligato, which Bruch arranged for the American piano duo Rose and Ottilie Sutro due to financial difficulties.

Performer Biography

Mona and Rica Bard, the piano duo on this recording, are sisters who have played together since childhood and have received national and international awards.