CD "TwoPianists" at International Record Review magazine

"This young couple was recently married, which may have assisted in coinciding interpretations (and might well have increased the prospects for rehearsal time, too). Of the two Suites I particularly like the second, not just because of the duo’s spectacularly flighty exposition of the “Valse”, a presto which is rendered all the more impactful by the relaxed sway of its ‘big tune’, but because of its close to impeccable alignment of fingerwork which keeps buoyant the all-important rhythmic dimension while never assailing the ear with uninvited brashness.

The “Symphonic Dances”, written in the Summer of 1940 during the composer´s convalescence from a minor operation, started like in the form it appears on this disc, a work for two pianos, and its demands are as daunting for this ensemble as in orchestral version, which sadly met with less than equivocal enthusiasm from critics at the time, who accused him of merely re-bottling old wine. It´s a pity the Rachmaninov/Horowitz friendship never spawned a recording of this work, for it apparently came quite close to doing so (they gave a memorable performance at a family gathering at Rachmaninov’s house in Beverly Hills, California, in June 1942), but thankfully the work has been rather more warmly endorsed in the last half century.
Shumann and Magalhães are fully equipped for the task, which speaks as highly of their imagination for the music’s ever-altering temporal terrain as of their pianism per se.

The finale, a most exacting movement taking the form of “Lento assai – Allegro Vivace”, is a treatise in duo playing, always mindful of the darker episodes but equally responsive to the music’s fleeting moments of levity.

The “Polka italienne” and “Prélude in C sharp minor” (the latter arranged by the composer) are also included, and I found the first of these to be among the most glistening examples – really enterprising, witty playing with a tremendous sense of resourcefulness to the ensemble. The duo should be pleased with their rendition of the “Six Morceaux, Op.11”, for the ‘Scherzo’ growls and guffaws with terrific pizzazz while the “Valse” is as poetic as it is dynamic.

This set, sensitively recorded and thoughtfully put together, deserves great success".

Mark Tanner