"I can only say I was bowled over by the playing of this Franco-Russian husband-and-wife duo"
Drawing their strength from a mutual taste for sharing, taking risks, and exploration, Ludmila Berlinskaya and Arthur Ancelle are inseparable pianists; they are a symbiotic couple on and off stage.
In only a short time, the duo managed to put together a repertoire featuring the ‘greatest hits’ for two pianos and four hands, as well as rare works featuring original compositions and new transcriptions, enriched by Arthur Ancelle's scores : Francesca da Rimini (Jurgenson), Romeo & Juliet (Chant du Monde), After a reading of Dante, etc.
They also collaborate with renowned orchestras such as the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, the Freiburg Philharmonic Orchestra, the Ulsan Philharmonic Orchestra, Ural Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre National d'Ile de France, the Orchestre de Picardie, and conductors of all generations: Nikolai Alexeev, Arie Van Beek, Vladimir Ponkin, Dmitry Liss, Vahan Mardirossian, Jader Bignamini, Georg Köhler, Yuri Medianik, Lucie Leguay, Rebecca Tong...
Bolstered by intense recording activity as a duo, as soloists, or as chamber musicians, Ludmila Berlinskaya and Arthur Ancelle have already released 8 albums together, all of which have been extremely well received and awarded by the international press (Gramophone's Editor's Choice, Classica's Choc, Le Monde’s and Libération's Album of the Year, Pianiste Maestro, etc.). Their concerts are recorded and broadcast by France Musique, Radio Classique (France), Deutschlandfunk Kultur (Germany), Radio Orpheus (Russia), NPO radio 4 (Netherlands), RTS (Switzerland)...
Their creativity and desire to share is also expressed through the artistic direction of two festivals: La Clé des Portes, created in 2012 and which takes place in the enchanting setting of the Loire castles, and the Rungis Piano-Piano Festival, entirely dedicated to the world of 2-pianos and 4-hands playing.
REVIEWS
Libération's favourite albums of the year:
"Year after year, from record to record, these two have become the most brilliant stars on the firmament of original and explosive piano duos. (...) B Like Britain, a compilation of pieces by 20th-century British composers whose surnames start with B (Arnold Bax, Benjamin Britten, York Bowen, Richard Rodney Bennett), is a CD that will leave you flabbergasted."
"The standard of pianism, from both of our intrepid protagonists, is very much of the highest echelon. (...) In this flawless performance, much of the more reflective writing emerges with a sort of amplified luminosity. The two pianists play as one, matching their tones expertly and with a unanimity of attack that borders on the supernatural; they have an equal aptitude for prestidigitation, too. (...) A most splendid disc, recorded at demonstration quality. Berlinskaya and Ancelle leave us wanting more. One for the Want List, methinks"
"The Franco-Russian duo never stops climbing musical summits. The proud honesty of tone, the rigour of inspiration, no less than the tireless ductility of the material that their two keyboards with four hands joined together model fantastically..."
Drawing their strength from a mutual taste for sharing, taking risks, and exploration, Ludmila Berlinskaya and Arthur Ancelle are inseparable pianists; they are a symbiotic couple on and off stage.
Reviews acclaiming the duo as “sensational pianists” (Fanfare) and “brilliant, cheerful” (Diapason), lauding their ability to “cultivate duality in a supernatural dimension” (Le Monde), their “superb technique” (Classica), their synchronised playing which gives “the impression of being only one player” (Musicweb-international) and their “truly dazzling playing” (Fonoforum) have placed them on the list of highest-ranking piano duos on the international stage.
Both coming from a long line of famous performers, and both accomplished soloists, Ludmila Berlinskaya and Arthur Ancelle have become a piano duo characterised by an unfaltering mutual understanding. Thanks to their special energy on stage, original repertoire, new concert formats and ability to communicate with the audience, they aim to contribute to giving the piano duo a status equal to all other forms of chamber music.
In only a short time, the duo managed to put together a repertoire featuring the ‘greatest hits’ for two pianos and four hands, as well as rare works featuring original compositions and new transcriptions, enriched by Arthur Ancelle's scores : Francesca da Rimini (Jurgenson), Romeo & Juliet (Chant du Monde), After a reading of Dante, etc.
Each season, they are guests of the most beautiful halls: Philharmonie de Paris, Radio France Auditorium, Salle Gaveau, Moscow and St. Petersburg Philharmonic Halls, Zaryadye Hall, Moscow Conservatory, and they are invited to prestigious festivals such as the Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad, the Moscow December Nights Festival, the Tokyo Spring Festival, Rota das Artes in Lisbon, Klavier Raritäten in Husum, Lille Piano Festival, the Lisztomanias, the Solistes à Bagatelle or the Pianofolies du Touquet...
They also collaborate with renowned orchestras such as the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, the Freiburg Philharmonic Orchestra, the Ulsan Philharmonic Orchestra, Ural Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre National d'Ile de France, the Orchestre de Picardie, and conductors of all generations: Nikolai Alexeev, Arie Van Beek, Vladimir Ponkin, Dmitry Liss, Vahan Mardirossian, Jader Bignamini, Georg Köhler, Yuri Medianik, Lucie Leguay, Rebecca Tong...
Bolstered by intense recording activity as a duo, as soloists, or as chamber musicians, Ludmila Berlinskaya and Arthur Ancelle have already released 8 albums together, all of which have been extremely well received and awarded by the international press (Gramophone's Editor's Choice, Classica's Choc, Le Monde’s and Libération's Album of the Year, Pianiste Maestro, etc.). Their concerts are recorded and broadcast by France Musique, Radio Classique (France), Deutschlandfunk Kultur (Germany), Radio Orpheus (Russia), NPO radio 4 (Netherlands), RTS (Switzerland)...
Their creativity and desire to share is also expressed through the artistic direction of two festivals: La Clé des Portes, created in 2012 and which takes place in the enchanting setting of the Loire castles, and the Rungis Piano-Piano Festival, entirely dedicated to the world of 2-pianos and 4-hands playing.
© Berlinskaya Ancelle piano duo 2023
The first part is entirely Russian, in which the common thread is the only person to ever have transcribed these famous pages: Victor Babin, who together with Vitya Vronksy comprised one of the most famous piano duos of the 20th century. The second part is devoted to the programme of the CD celebrating the duo's 10th anniversary with works by Gershwin and Alexander Tsfasman, often referred to as the "Russian Gershwin".
| Borodin | Polovtsian Dances |
| Rachmaninoff | It's Lovely Here |
| Floods of Springs | |
| Vocalise | |
| Rimsky-Korsakov | Cradle Song |
| Dance of the Tumblers | |
| Khachaturyan | Lezginka, from the ‘Gayane’ ballet |
| Gershwin | The Man I love (paraphrased by Gregory Stone) |
| I Got Rhythm | |
| Tsfasman | Fantasy on themes by Gershwin (transcription Igor Tsygankov) |
| Jazz Suite (transcription Igor Tsygankov) |
Programme based on the CD released in January 2022.
| George Gershwin | Three Preludes (transcription Gregory Stone) |
| The Man I Love (paraphrased by Gregory Stone) | |
| Four Songs (arranged by Paul Posnak): ’S Wonderful / Funny Face But Not For Me Someone to Watch Over Me It Ain’t Necessarily So Variations on I Got Rhythm (transcription George Gershwin) |
|
| Alexander Tsfasman | Fantasy on themes by Gershwin (transcription Igor Tsygankov) |
|
Four Songs (arranged by Arthur Ancelle): |
|
| Jazz Suite (transcription Igor Tsygankov) |
| Tchaikovsky | The Sleeping Beauty (transcription Sergei Rachmaninoff) |
| Ravel | Ma mère l’Oye |
| Prokofiev | Suite from Cinderella (transcription Michail Pletnev) |
"Salon Français à 4 mains"
| Debussy | Petite Suite |
| Bizet | Jeux d’enfants |
| Fauré | Dolly Suite |
| Aubert | Feuilles d’Images |
| Ravel | Ma mère l’Oye |
Other repertoire, including works for two pianos, piano 4-hands or piano concertos, are available on request
LISTEN"For ten years, the Franco-Russian duo has been reaching the summits of the repertoire for two pianos. (...) The two of them are a model of accomplishment. (...) Between jazz and classical music, as virtuoso as they are inventive, Ludmila Berlinskaya and Arthur Ancelle create magnificent orchestral atmospheres, audacious worlds alternately adorned with elegance or fantasy, in a saving bulimia of dreams, joy and music."
Alexander Tsfasman - From Jazz Suite: Snowflakes
Alexander Tsfasman - From Jazz Suite: Fast movements
Arnold Bax - Hardanger
Richard Rodney Bennett - Divertimento - I. Samba triste
Alexander Glazunov - Fantasy in F minor, Op. 104 - II. Scherzo
Sergei Rachmaninoff - Suite No. 2, Op. 17 - II. Waltz
Reynaldo Hahn - Le ruban dénoué (12 waltzes for two pianos)
I. Décrets indolents du hasard
Claude Debussy - En blanc et noir - I. Avec emportement
Camille Saint-Saëns - Dance macabre - original version
Cinderella - Spring Fairy
Romeo and Juliet - The Montagues and the Capulets
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker, Suite Op. 71a - March
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