Variations on a theme by Schumann - Brahms
Fantasy in F minor, D940 - Schubert
L'Embarquement pour Cythere - Poulenc
Petite suite - Debussy
Rapsodie espagnole - Ravel
Katia and Marielle Labeque are an extraordinarily accomplished piano duo. One of the most memorable aspects of their recital at the National Concert Hall on Saturday night was their exploration of tone colour, from the beautifully even, veiled sound at the opening of Ravel's Rapsodie espagnole to the bright-toned staccatos of Poulenc's L'Embarquement pour Cythere. Then there is their rare ability with crisp ensemble, both in piano duet and in the challenges of two-piano work. All this, plus their dynamic stage presence and their direct characterisation of the music, makes them natural entertainers.
While they were more subdued on this occasion than when I last saw them, they still have that aura - engaging to some, infuriating to others - of an accomplished double act. Their snazzy costumes don't quite match each other. And this is reflected in their behaviour. One has a restrained demeanour; the other is waiting, whenever the music suggests flamboyant virtuosity, to stamp, hum out-of-tune and wriggle around. Everything looks spontaneous, but is as calculated as Liberace's smile.
The rewards of this recital lay more in the displays of technical skill and presentation than in the musical interpretations. The Labeques can certainly characterise. But everything is by the moment and at extremities. I have rarely heard the opening section of Schubert's Fantasy in F minor played with such beautiful tone, or at such a languid pace that it was divorced from what came after it. Brahms's Variations on a theme by Schumann was so strongly phrased that each variation was fragmented. In parts of Debussy's Petite suite, speed and dash were everything, at the expense of important and beautiful detail.
Wanting throughout this impressively virtuosi recital was the graded middle-ground which connects events, puts things in context and shows insight.