The
Alexandre Tharaud
& Friends billing of this program of four hands piano music indicates that the pianist is joined by different players on the second part of each work; in fact, each track features a different pianist. That might seem unwieldy at best, given that duo piano partnerships evolve over years in search of a unified sound, but that is not what
Tharaud
's album is about. Instead, he seeks the spontaneity that concerts had a hundred years ago or more, when various artists might step onto the stage unexpectedly, and his idea works delightfully. For one thing, many of his partners are young up-and-comers, and listeners will be glad to make the acquaintance of the likes of
Beatrice Rana
and
Mariam Batsashvili
if they haven't already. For another, several, such as the cellist
Gautier Capuçon
, are not pianists by trade, adding to the spontaneous quality.
puts this all together with a fun, constantly shifting program that includes standards of the genre like one of
Dvo¿ák
's
Slavonic Dances
, semi-popular material like the
Galop-Marche pour huit mains
of
Albert Lavignac
(here, it is arranged for four), obscure but worthwhile pieces like one of
Robert Schumann
Sechs Studien in kanonischer Form, Op. 56
, 20th century pieces, and more. The whole thing has a very attractive gather-round-the-piano quality, and it was no surprise to see the album make classical best-seller charts in the spring of 2024. ~ James Manheim