Milhaud: Music for two pianists

Among the 443 compositions (and more) to which Milhaud appended opus numbers in the course of his long and prolific composing life (from 1910 to 1973) can be found a large number of original works and arrangements for two pianos and piano duet. The majority of the two-piano works appear on this CD (along with his duet arrangement of Le Bœuf sur le Toit), and among them are some of the most popular of all Milhaud's works.

The titles tell us what to expect—colour and flamboyance, high spirits, jazzy rhythms and knockabout good humour, mostly with an American accent: North (Kentucky and New Orleans), Central (La Bal Martiniquais) and South ('La Libertadora' was the nickname of Simón Bolívar, the revolutionary who gave his name to Bolivia).

CDA67014  61 minutes 41 seconds
HI-FI NEWS RECORD OF THE MONTH
‘If you like two-piano music you'll love this disc. There is simply so much to enjoy. Piano discs as uninhibited and infectious as this are few and far between’ (Gramophone)
‘A hugely entertaining new disc from Hyperion and a superb introduction to the work of a currently rather underrated composer’ (BBC Record Review)
‘An entertaining and delightful issue’ (The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs)