I may previously revealed my attraction to multiple-same-instrument ensembles, and multiple keyboards is one of my favorites. This is not a new idea: Bach wrote a wonderful concerto for four harpsichords, Mozart did a concerto for three pianos, and Gottschalk and others in the 19th century mounted gigantic concerts at which there were as many as a dozen grand pianos on the stage all banging away in ensemble. In fact The William Tell Overture was one of the big hits for the multi-ensemble, and in this program we have the same composer’s Barber of Seville Overture. The general idea here is to make these familiar works available in a new and fresh fashion that’s great fun.
The Orford Arts Center is in Quebec, and that’s where this six-piano ensemble was assembled and gave their first concert – all 60 fingers doing their thing. They may have been stimulated a bit by the Five Browns and decided to go them one better, I don’t know. Can’t have too many multi-piano ensembles, I say. And unlike the Browns, the Orfords arrange all their selections for all the pianos. Most of the clever arrangements are done by the founder of the ensemble, Olivier Godin. The longest and most serious of the works on the program is the collection of music from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet ballet. The composer himself did a solo piano version of some of the music (even recorded it himself), but his orchestral score is so lush and colorful that it works ever so much better on the six pianos. The Rossini is also a kick, as is the very different example of the many varied arrangements of music from “Carmen.”
The sound is fine, but it seems very contrary of Atma – who have released some excellent SACDs – to issue this only as a standard two-channel CD. It cries out for surround sound – with the six pianos surrounding the listener! Then among other advantages the clever arrangements could really be appreciated fully.
– John Sunier
