Stravinsky: Rite Of Spring [Marc- André Hamelin; Leif Ove Andsnes] [Hyperion A68189]

Shortly before its notorious Paris ballet premiere in 1913, this was essentially how The Rite of Spring first saw the light of day: Leif Ove Andsnes and Marc-André Hamelin recapture the heady, visceral thrill which must have been in the air when Stravinsky sat down at the piano with Debussy to create this landmark of modernism.
Andsnes and Hamelin also play the Concerto for Two Pianos, a substantial Stravinsky score and one well worth getting to know. Here is every side of Stravinsky’s persona, not just the cool neo-classicism of the period when he wrote it, but flashes of the fantasy of The Firebird and the violence of The Rite of Spring. Together with three colourful, short Stravinsky arrangements the programme adds up to a brilliant album. –Financial Times, February’18As expected, Soulima Stravinsky’s two-piano take on Madrid, originally written for the pianola, is dispatched with rhythmic flair and a sure sense of style. It’s an alluring little number that would make a perfect encore. This recording is well up to the high standards we’ve come to expect from Hyperion. –Music Web International, March’18The complex obstinate staccato melodies in Concerto for two pianos develops ideas introduced in the Rite. Here Andsnes and Hamelin are masters of modernism; they coax a prism of colours from the instruments, all of which are captured in detail via the superior sound recording. –BBC Music Magazine, April’17