Mozart & Poulenc: Double & Triple Piano Concertos

It’s a family affair: American conductor Kent Nagano’s wife, daughter and sister-in-law are the soloists on this delightful album of concertos for two and three pianos. Charm is the keyword of the trio’s account of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 7 for 3 Pianos, particularly in their sunny, seamlessly integrated account of the finale. The sisters Mari and Momo Kodama team up for Mozart’s Concerto for Two Pianos, a work the composer himself played with his sister Nannerl. The pair dovetail exquisitely together in the delicate middle movement, and relish the witty repartee of the effervescent finale. The inclusion of Poulenc’s Concerto for 2 Pianos and Orchestra is a major bonus, and here the Kodama sisters are abetted by the sharp, spicy accompaniment provided by the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande under Kent Nagano’s idiomatic direction. The first movement coda is magically poetic, the finale a burst of exuberant rhythms and colours.