Beethoven: Piano Works for Four Hands

Rarely does the piano duo genre get the attention or recognition it truly deserves. For anyone who thinks it’s something of a musical sideline for composers, just listen to these superb examples by Beethoven. They’re played in this exciting new recording by pianists Peter Hill and Benjamin Frith, whose combined virtuosity, musicality and enthusiasm fires up every moment. Beethoven’s infinite variation takes centre stage in two fascinating works: the Eight Variations on a Theme by Count von Walstein, in which Beethoven works wonders with the enigmatic minor sidestep in his friend and patron’s imaginative theme; and the Six Variations on “Ich dense vein,” written for the Brunsvik sisters. Hill and Frith open with the lighthearted Sonata in D and end with the dazzling piano duo version of the Grosse Fuge, delivered with equal measures of analytical dissection and fearless bravado.