CD-Production „Schubert | Stravinsky | Vasks“
Hamburg-based pianists Linda Leine and Daria Marshinina, originally from Latvia and Russia respectively, have been playing together as a permanent piano duo for many years now. Now they are releasing their first CD, the recording of which was funded by the Funk Foundation.
The choice of repertoire reveals for one thing that this duo does not shy away from interpretive or technical challenges. The two artists recorded the grand Divertissement for Piano, four hands, in E minor D 823 by Franz Schubert. This is music that shows the composer at the peak of his creativity, but which has sadly never enjoyed particular popularity, even in specialist circles. To round off the programme, this is accompanied by another Schubert piece for four hands: Rondo in D Major D 608. This piece bears the unofficial title of ‘Notre amitié est invariable’ – a motto that Linda Leine and Daria Marshinina have also explicitly made their own.
The works for two pianos included emphatically throw open the door to the modern. One of the pieces included is the significant Concerto for Two Solo Pianos by Igor Strawinsky, which at times feels like a reflection of Beethoven’s later work. According to the duo, this is ‘a brilliantly constructed work, which […] surprises, astounds and poses emotional riddles time and again.’ The CD also includes a world première recording of Musik für zwei Klaviere (Music for two pianos), written by contemporary Latvian composer Peteris Vasks (*1946), under whom, incidentally, Linda Leine once studied composition.
This choice of works is not only intended to shine a light on modern, or at least unfamiliar, music, but also allows the album to tell the personal story of the piano duo of Leine and Marshinina at the same time. A story that happily brings the three cultural identities together: the Russian (via Strawinsky); the Latvian (via Vasks); and, to a certain extent, the German (via Schubert).
The works were recorded in May 2018. As with many previous productions funded by the Funk Foundation, the renowned Jesus-Christus-Kirche in Berlin-Dahlem was selected as the location for the recording for its exquisite acoustics. The CD was officially released on 22 February 2019 on the Hamburg-based label ES-DUR.
For further information on the piano duo Linda Leine and Daria Marshinina, please visit their website: www.leine-marshinina.com
The official video trailer for the CD is directly accessible via this link.
You can also watch and listen to Rondo in D Major D 608 by Franz Schubert here, as interpreted by the piano duo of Leine and Marshinina.
The CD has already had some extremely positive reviews despite its relatively recent release.