Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring" incorporates Russian and Ukrainian folk tunes, transforming them into an "innermost, songlike core" that is repeated like a mantra.
Album & Artwork
The album title "GO EAST!" reflects the musical journey from Brahms and Hindemith's waltzes, inspired by Hungarian folk tunes, to Turkish folk music and Stravinsky's Russian-influenced "Rite of Spring."
Recording & Production
For Özkan Manav's "Two Anatolian Tunes," the performers intentionally "mistuned" some piano notes during recording to better evoke the quarter-tones found in Turkish music.
Interpretation
The duo intermingled Brahms's and Hindemith's waltz cycles on this album after noticing similarities in keys and "Hungarian-tinged idioms" between the two composers.
Composition History
Igor Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring" was inspired by a vision of a pagan rite where an elder-chosen young girl dances herself to death as a sacrifice to the God of Spring.
Performer Biography
Gülru Ensari and Herbert Schuch, the piano duo on this recording, are partners in real life, having married in Istanbul in 2014.
Interpretation
For this recording of Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring" for piano four hands, the duo added extra orchestral parts to the piano score and used a tambourine and güiro to replicate percussion effects.
You might also enjoy...
Go East! Stravinsky, Brahms, Hindemith & Manav
Tchaikovsky: Ballet Suites for Piano Duo
Grieg: Works for Piano 4 Hands (Norwegian Dances, Op. 35; Valses-Caprices, Op. 37; Peer Gynt Suites, Op. 46 & 55)
Ligeti: Works for Piano, 2 Pianos, and Piano 4-Hands
Tournament for Twenty Fingers
Respighi: Works for Piano 4-Hands
Grieg: Works For Piano Duo, Vol. 1
Encores
Four Hands for France: Music for Piano Duet
Dvořák, Grieg & Brahms: Music for Piano Four Hands
Schmitt: Complete Original Works for Piano Duet & Duo, Vol. 3
GRIEG, E.: Piano Music for 4 Hands (Cologne Piano Duo)
