Duo Koroliov

A few seasons back, we witnessed Evgeni Koroliov's peerless interpretation of his favourite piece, Bach's 'Goldberg Variations'. The name Koroliov is also one half of a phenomenal piano duo, of which the other fifty percent is embodied by Ljupka Hadzi-Georgieva. The pair met while studying at Moscow's Tchaikovsky Conservatory. Since 1976, they have been playing to packed halls. Their Russian roots clearly shine through in this concert programme, which is wholly dedicated to the magical year 1913. The year that saw the scandalous premiere of Stravinsky's 'Le Sacre du Printemps' in Paris. For the ballet rehearsals, Stravinsky made a reduced version for piano four-hands. This was also handy for him to play to his friends, as he did one evening in 1912, partnered by a certain Claude Debussy, who declared that the music "pursued him like a beautiful nightmare". In the piano reduction, you will listen to the 'Sacre' with fresh ears. Its seismic primal forces remain undiminished. Duo Koroliov makes the earth burst open beneath your feet. In 1913, Prokofiev was also working on his diabolic 'Sarkasmen', a series of studies on a variety of mockingly ironic expressions. Just like the 'Sacre', this is the diametric opposite to Debussy's highly evocative 'Préludes' from the same wonderful year.