The concept of the fantasia, a free form unleashing the composer’s wildest thoughts, is somewhat contradicted by the wonderful sequence of pieces assembled here, which are full of rigour and logic. Purcell’s contrapuntal essay around a single note (in Kurtág’s soulful arrangement) and Mozart’s inspired fugal construction for a mechanical clock (with Busoni’s whimsical additions) give way to Scriabin’s rare and rather conventional late Fantasia, entirely new to me, and Rachmaninov’s expansive Op 5 from 1893, a glorious Suite of ample sound for two pianos. The GrauSchumacher Piano Duo are always accurate and well balanced, with some great feats of coordination, but the recorded sound lacks immediacy.
