Saint-Saëns: Music for Two Pianos

The work of French pianist and composer Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921) for solo and duo pianists comprises nearly 200 compositions. The program of this release contains original works for two pianos as well as a selection of Saint-Saëns' transcribed orchestral pieces. Pianists Artur Pizarro and Ludovico Troncanetti made their debut as a piano duo in Lisbon in 2023 with a recital that featured the repertoire of this album. The artists are united by a love for performing repertoire for two pianos and four hands, and they plan to continue their collaboration with further projects on stage and in the studio. Featured are Saint-Saëns' transcription of "Le Rouet d'Omphale" which, like the "Marche héroïque," is premiered here in the original version for two pianos. The first and most extensive of the two original works for two pianos by Saint-Saëns is a set of variations on a theme by Beethoven, based on the trio section of the minuet from Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 18, "The Hunt." Saint-Saëns' homage to Chopin, whom he had admired passionately since his student days, dates from 1886. Saint-Saëns vividly evokes the spirit of the polonaise without actually quoting any of Chopin's own works. During a trip to Las Palmas in North Africa in 1889, he began composing his "Scherzo for two pianos," a work with echoes of Debussy, Ravel, and Satie. "Caprice arabe" was also inspired by his travels to North Africa. The recital ends with another caprice, the virtuosic "Caprice héroïque," which, despite its powerful beginning and fugue-like ending, is more whimsical than heroic.