Hearing the synergy and effusion of sound achieved by a live duo piano performance can be quite a rewarding experience. The sheer range and dynamic capabilities of the two instruments joined together gives the composer a rather unique palate with which to work. Of course these same attributes wreak havoc in the recording studio, and great two-piano recordings are difficult to come by as a result (the joint forces of
Martha Argerich and
Nicolas Economou being a delightful exception). Centaur's recorded sound for many of their solo piano selections is often quite murky, treble-heavy, and distant-sounding. Those same issues plague this recording of pianists Désirée Paulsen Bakke and
Saida Kafarova. When playing together, the middle register of both instruments becomes completely indistinct and articulation seems nebulous and inexact. Without the powerful bass that marks the best duo piano performances,
Rachmaninov's Second Suite for two pianos lacks any real backbone or substance. While these same musicians may have fared better under different recording conditions, on the present album their performance is just too bland and fuzzy to warrant adding their disc to a collection.