Les Carnaval des Animeaux/Works for two pianos

Saint-Saëns' humourous master piece "The Carnival of the Animals", performed in the compos-er's original version for chamber orchestra, on two original Erard Grand Pianos by Julian Reynolds & Peter Lockwood with the ensemble Concentus Bestiales, cellist Dmitry Ferschtman as the unsurpassable performer of "The Swan", and an original glass harmonica. Plus five lesser known original master works for two pianos four hands by Saint-Saens, including the composer's own wonderful arrangement of his Danse macabre, also performed on two original Erard Pianos from the period.

This CD first came out in August 1996 and received very favourable reviews. We felt, howev-er, that the design of this first edition was not a very attractive one, so now the cover has been changed to make it more of an eye-catcher. The sparkling performances are really worth listening to - many reviewers thought this rendition of the Carnival of the Animals the most convincing performance ever put on disc (Harold Schonberg in the American Record Guide to name but one), also because of the original chamber music arrangement used here. Performances of the works for two pianos are also very rare, and this is is the only recording where original Erard pianos from the composer's time were used.