Unplayed Stories in 40 Fingers: First Recordings of Works by Mendelssohn, Moscheles, Liszt and Schubert鈥擬ultipiano Ensemble; Berlin Radio Symphony/Ivor Bolton (Hyperion 68459)
Israeli pianist Tomer Lev says: 鈥淭his truly is an album of 鈥楿nplayed Stories鈥欌�攁 journey鈥nto intergenerational musical collaborations that transcend time, culture and geography. Featuring a unique selection of multi-hand piano works from the early 19th century, the recording showcases artistic partnerships between teachers and their students, between idols and their admirers, as well as contemporary musicians re-imagining forgotten classical masterpieces. Each composition on this album represents a fusion of creative minds, with some pieces co-authored by two or even three artistic contributors.鈥� Felix Mendelssohn & Ignaz Moscheles each contributed to the first piece on the program, Fantaisie & Variations on a Weber Theme for 2 pianos and orchestra from 1833. Moscheles鈥� Grand Duo鈥攐riginally for 2 pianos 8-hands, is presented here with orchestration added by Mr. Lev and Israeli composer Aryeh Levanon. Franz Liszt鈥檚 arrangement of Schubert鈥檚 Wanderer Fantasy has been around nearly 175 years, but it鈥檚 given a fresh coat of paint here in a version for two pianos and orchestra by Alexander Tamir (of the piano duo Eden & Tamir). Even the two Schubert Grande Marches for piano 4-hands are presented as you鈥檝e probably never heard them before, arranged by Austrian pianist Ernst Pauer for 2 pianos 8-hands! The Multipiano Ensemble was founded in 2011 in Tel Aviv and includes Tomer Lev, Berenika Glixman, Alon Kariv, and Nimrod Meiry-Haftel.