This is a dream of a piano-duo program, four works which fit perfectly together. A nice idea, too, to begin with Debussy’s Épigraphes antiques, invocations of an older time, and to put actual earlier music (Bach) at the close.

Debussy’s six Épigraphes antiques are each shaped beautifully, just as each phrase within each movement is carefully considered, and each chord is voiced scrupulously. The timbral variety available to Forte and Nádas reflects Debussy’s pastel, subtle shades; the music seems to “float” (thanks in part to Debussy’s use of the whole-tone scale), while “Pour la danseuse avec crotales” clearly aims to seduce. The sustaining pedal is impeccably deployed (how rarely does one get to write that about a Debussy performance …); this is two players as one. The lightness, the flightiness, of some of the upper lines is delightful; pacing for each of the six movements is superbly judged, giving just the right space for resonance. And how the “Oriental” augmented seconds of “Pour l’Égyptienne" make their mark, evocative, now deeply sensuous, while the morning rain (“Pour remercier la pluie du matin”) appears here as a joyous dance. And a final point: Forte and Nádas nicely remind us that Debussy' can write proper staccatos, too: this is not Debussy bathed in pedal. While Steven Osborne and Paul Lewis on Hyperion (their disc French Duets) remains the modern front runner, this offers a fine alternative. The applause for Forte-Nádas does seem rather immediate, given the atmosphere of the performance, though …

How bright the D-Major of Mozart’s K 448 sounds though after the Debussy; and how joyous. The sense of joy in communicating Mozart’s utter genius is heard here brilliantly, as lines chase each other (whether comprised of 16th-notes of half- and quarter-notes). Hos satisfying the recurrence of the opening in the first movement; how joyous the accompanying staccatos; how scampering the sixteenth-note scales. It is a live performance, and there is the odd small slip, but that only adds to the feeling of the live event. The central Andante is exactly that: a lovely sense of flow, but also grace. Fote and Nádas realize that here, as in the slow movements of Mozart's piano concertos, the baseline inspiration is opera. Hearing the various layers naturally follow on from each other when Mozart stratifies registers is utter delight; on a technical level, how lovely to hear the trills so even. Talking of opera, the finale is clear opera buffa; it exudes hustle and bustle (albeit perfectly articulated) as much as any performance of the Overture to Le nozze di Figaro.

For nearly 40 years my reference for this piece has been the old DG recording by Justus Franz and Christoph Eschenbach (yes, via the original LP); it remains so, but this is a lovely adjunct performance, and in the context of this recital, is eminently satisfying. If Mozart is food for the soul, we eat well.

Schubert’s glorious, luminous F-Minor Fantasie emerges with real strength here. The duo Forte-Nádas ensure that we hear the relationship of primary and secondary lines at higher dymamic levels; and if the Mozart is mercurial, fluid, the Schubert first movement is hewn of granite in its fortes; the way the music melts into Schubert’s characteristic songful lyricism is magical. The dynamic Scherzo is particularly robust and impressive here, not just in its core strength but, within that, the lead-ins to sections, so subtly and powerfully done. The harmonic sensitivity of the performers is superb; and how they adapt their sound from Mozart to Schubert to allow for the deeper resonances (whether acoustic or emotional). In an ideal world, perhaps just a little more glint on the piano’s treble would have enlivened the Scherzo just that touch more (this is obviously to do with the piano used, not the performers). This is a beautiful version of the F-Minor Fantaisie, one to cherish. The end fitting and poignant.

Finally, the radiant C-Major of Bach’s BWV 1061, the Concerto for Two Keyboards. If one can “hear fun,” it is here, in the dialogs between voices. The rigor of Bach’s writing is used to expressive Affekt beautifully; this is a wonderfully variegated account of the first movement, its remit held within rock-solid pulse. The final gesture of the first movement sounds for all the World like a transcription of the closing cadence of a great Bach organ piece. There is huge care lavished on the central Adagio ovvero Largo before the final festive Fuga glows in a celebration of contrapuntal extravagance. This approaches great Bach playing: it is intensely human and yet we remain aware of the almost superhuman aspects of the genius of its creation. Do we miss an orchestra? Well, we should remember that the original version of this was a Concerto for Two Harpsichords Unaccompanied (BWV 1061a, sometimes appearing as BWV 1061:1), so its appearance here in this form is perfectly fitting.

Somewhat flippantly, it saddens me to see a performance from 1980 referred to as “historic” in the documentation; but only because it reminds me that I, too, am now therefore “historic”. This is, though, a most satisfying recital, beautifully played, and the recording allows for the performers’ extraordinary abilities to shine through. The melding of joy of performance and laser-clear analysis of the four scores is something to rejoice in; and, it should be said, is all too rare, What a ravishing way to spend an hour or so!. Colin Clarke

Colin Clarke

five stars: A most satisfying recital, beautifully played. What a ravishing way to spend an hour or so!