Piano duos look like a dying artform these days, so it’s wonderful to have Torontonians James Anagnoson and Leslie Kinton provide us with regular reminders that there is musical precious metal left in this rarefied vein.
- Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
- Classical Music 101 | What Does Period Instrument Mean? - May 6, 2019
- CLASSICAL MUSIC 101 | What Does It Mean To Be In Tune? - April 23, 2019
Their ninth album — their first from Opening Day Entertainment — is entitled Piano Titans. It’s too grandiose a way to describe these two affable teachers (Anagnoson is dean of the Royal Conservatory’s Glenn Gould Professional school, Kinton works primarily at Western University).
It’s also too grandiose a description of the music on this album.
Only one of the six pieces is a masterwork: Franz Schubert’s Fantasie in F minor, D940, for piano four hands. The other works are by titanic composers Ludwig van Beethoven (a set of three fun but insignificant marches) and two B-flat Major Sonatas for two pianos by piano pioneer Muzio Clementi.
So, in terms of programming, this release is a bit of a letdown. But this musical duo is in beautiful form throughout, nowhere more than in the deep and dramatic Schubert Fantasie, a compact opera reduced to the work of 20 fingers on five- or six-dozen keys (the keyboards on early 19th century pianos did not yet have 85 or 88 keys).
The duo plays it with both strength and grace, with beautifully wrought phrases and nicely balanced dialogue.
The Fantasie, which represents a third of this hour-long album, can be savoured over and over again.
The Clementi Sonatas are problematic in their repetitiveness. Each contains a limited amount of musical material that gets rehashed several times in predictable ways. Almost as if to underline the fact, both pieces on the album are in the same key. Although Clementi is considered one of the pioneers of modern piano repertoire, there is a reason why he is played by students, not professionals.
That said, Anagnoson and Kinton bring as much shape and nuance to these pieces as they will bear — all in finest taste. The two consummate musicians make this music beautiful, if not titanic.
Anagnoson and Kinton have been doing this for 40 years, and can still confidently prove that they have the upper hands in showing how it is supposed to be done.
During the academic break, both men are hitting the road in force, with appearances at several music festivals within driving distance of Toronto this summer. Their most titanic night of the hot season will be right in Toronto, when the perform Igor Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring for Toronto Summer Music on July 19, in a mixed programme entitled Riots and Rituals (details here).
You can find out more about the album and listen to audio samples here.
John Terauds
- Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
- Classical Music 101 | What Does Period Instrument Mean? - May 6, 2019
- CLASSICAL MUSIC 101 | What Does It Mean To Be In Tune? - April 23, 2019
