Piano Titans
Anagnoson & Kinton
Opening Day ODR 7432
openingday.com
Has it really been almost 40 years that the Toronto-based pianists James Anagnoson and Leslie Kinton have delighted audiences with their exemplary keyboard skills? The two pianists met as students while at the Aspen Music Festival. Nine discs and more than 1,000 performances later, they’re recognized as one of the world’s foremost piano duos and this latest CD, titled Piano Titans with music by Clementi, Beethoven and Schubert, is a testament to their ongoing success.
To be honest, the title may be a bit of a misnomer. While Anagnoson & Kinton could rightly be regarded as piano titans, (as could Beethoven and Schubert), most of the music on this CD — apart from the great Schubert Fantasie — wouldn’t be regarded as “titanic.” Instead, it comprises small musical gems, as pleasing to listen to as they are to perform.
The disc opens with two short piano sonatas by Clementi, famous during his lifetime as a pianist, composer and piano manufacturer. Nowadays Clementi’s works are performed more by students than by professionals, but his music is not without its charm, and the duo does it justice, exhibiting a particular precision and elegance of phrase. Three Marches Op.45 by Beethoven follow, scored for four hands at one piano. Complete with musical depictions of treading feet and drum-roll effects, these pieces are great fun, undoubtedly conceived for performance in amateur Viennese drawing rooms.
Anagnoson & Kinton save the best for last in a compelling performance of the great Schubert Fantasie in F Minor D940. Written for one piano, four hands, the piece is now regarded as one of the finest piano duet compositions in the repertoire. Here the two are in perfect sync, easily capturing the dramatic intensity of the music through a strong and assured performance, thus rounding off the CD in a most satisfying way.
Well done, gentlemen. May you continue to face each other across the expanse of two grand pianos for many years to come!
