Cédric Tiberghien - Bartók: Sonata for Two Pianos & Percussion (2017) [Hi-Res]

A welcome return to the piano music of Béla Bartók and a programme which includes the popular Sonatina, the aggressively experimental Op 18 Études and the Piano Sonata of 1926, the composer’s ‘year of the piano’. Cédric Tiberghien is then joined by François-Frédéric Guy, Colin Currie and Sam Walton for the Sonata for two pianos and percussion—a high-spirited conclusion to this successful mini series.

Cédric Tiberghien's Bartók series has been an ear-opener expressive and sharp-witted performances that clinch the music s essence in original terms. The French pianist has saved some of Bartók's most straight-up tuneful material for last, and this instalment includes the Three Hungarian Folksongs from the Csík District (melodies Bartók learned in summer 1907 from a Transylvanian flute player), the Three Rondos on Slovak Folk Tunes and the slight, blithe Sonatina. Tiberghien balances these with the knotty Études and the thick-set Sonata and through it all, the angular and the earthy, he has a way of making Bartók's rhythms sound simultaneously stretchy, precise and personal. He's joined by fellow pianist François-Frédéric Guy and percussionists Colin Currie and Sam Walton for the Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion from 1926 jostling, gracious, deft playing to round off the disc. **** --Guardian, 15/2/17

If all you require is a compelling, jazzily inflected version of the Sonata for two pianos then look no further. --Gramophone, Mar'17

5* Recording / 5* Performance: The latest instalment of Cédric Tiberghien s Bartok recording cycle is as outstanding as all the others, ranging from modest folk-song arrangements to the full-on glory of the Sonata for two pianos and percussion.///In the Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion, Tiberghien is joined by François-Frédéric Guy, Colin Currie and Sam Walton: the result is the best version in excellent digital sound available; indeed the recording quality is top-drawer throughout, the piano(s) perfectly caught. /// --BBC Music Magazine, May'17// Classical Source, July'17