This is a delightful record. Almost all these pieces are known best as orchestral music, but here they scintillate in their two-piano and piano-duet format. Claire and Antoinette Cann studied at the Royal College of Music with Phyllis Sellick and she must have passed on much of her experience (and plenty of musical tips) from her years of very successful duetting (two pianos, three hands) with her husband, Cyril Smith, after he was partly incapacitated by a thrombosis.
They open with the Saint-Saens and the midnight tolling bell is immediately evocative; then the skeletons dance with lively vigour—the articulation strong-fingered, yet with much imaginative dynamic variation; the closing cock crow brings a charmingly pensive moment before these not very sinister apparitions scamper away. This piece was arranged by the composer from his orchestral score, but Debussy's delightful Petite suite—brimming over with good tunes—was conceived for piano, four hands. Here it appears to be played on two pianos, placed side by side, and no harm in that: the interplay which is inherent in the part writing, and which the Cann duo relish, is appealingly clear, yet without any loss of essential homogeneity. I have never heard this work more winningly played.
Who would have thought that Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite (arranged by the pianists themselves) could be so enticing in piano transcription. The orchestral timbres are really not missed, for the Cann sisters bring dazzling colours of their own. Rhythms are strong and crisped up. After the boisterous ''Trepak'' even the ''Arab dance'' sounds more animated than usual, largely because of the bold, clean articulation of its basic rhythm which is given a buoyant lift. All this music is conceived in pianistic terms and given a refreshing new look.
When we turn to Brahms's Variations on a Theme by Haydn the whole character of the piano sound becomes fuller and more orchestral. The performance is richly satisfying, every bit as enjoyable as the orchestral version. MacDowell's sparkling Hexentanz portrays a coven of witches, dancing with the same exuberant spirit as Saint-Saens's skeletons—the bravura articulation is dazzling. Then come eight of the Brahms Waltzes, alternately vivacious (No. 6 in C sharp major) and warmly lyrical or gently affectionate (Nos. 2 and 5 in E major). The range of mood is remarkable, ending with a lovely account of the famous 'Cradle song'—No. 15 in A flat. Finally, comes a boldly arresting account of Liszt's most famous Hungarian Rhapsody.
The recording was made in Rosslyn Hill Chapel, Hampstead and is a model of how two pianos should be balanced. The sound is vividly natural and real; brilliant without being hard, sonorous without being 'plummy' and with a firm bass, unspoilt by excess reverberance. The Cann sisters' playing is totally winning without any preciosity, or self-consciousness, and with real joy in the music consistently communicated. I recommend this mid-price CD strongly—you won't regret its purchase.'