New Classics

The Divine Art label has long been associated with music for piano duo – whether at two pianos or one – through the brilliant work of Goldstone & Clemmow and more recently Piano-à-Deux. The label now features a new duo, Sergio Gallo and Zeynep Ucbasaran, with this selection of popular and well-loved miniatures and transcriptions, bookended by major works from Liszt and Milhaud. The pianists met as students at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest. Zeynep Ucbarasan is from Turkey but moved to the USA for her postgraduate studies and now lives in California. Her previous recordings and concert appearances have drawn widespread praise. Sergio Gallo is a Steinway artist who specialises in music of the Romantic period. He has made several acclaimed recordings and won many awards. He is currently is professor of Piano Performance at the Georgia State University in Atlanta. Composers on this delightful album include Antonin Dvorák (three Slavonic Dances), Benjamin Godard (the Berceuse from Jocelyn), Charles Gounod (the Love Duet and Waltz from Faust), Darius Milhaud (Le boeuf sur le toit), Franz Liszt (Two Scenes from Lenau’s Faust) and Georges Bizet (the Overture Carmen). These sparkling performances of well known pieces form a light counterpoint to Gallo and Ucbasaran’s new 3-PIANO PROJECT (Divine Art DDA 25207) with Spanish pianist Miguel Ángel Ortega Chavaldas.

—John Pitt