When two masters play side-by-side, magic happens. So it is with this excellent new recording from pianists extraordinaire Josep Colom and Javier Laso.
Mozart & Schubert Four Hand Piano Works, Josep Colom and Javier Laso. Eudora Records 2025 (Pure DSD256-Direct Mixed, Stereo, MCh) Edit Master Sourced HERE
I have long admired the playing of both Spanish pianist Josep Colom (b. 1947) and Swiss-born pianist Javier Laso (b. 1975). Both are masters of their craft, both present outstanding recitals with great depth of understanding, and both reward one's attention with immaculate playing filled with excitement and interesting twists. Never is there just a pedestrian run through. One can always expect a rewarding, insightful, listening experience.
And we have them side-by-side in this album performing works for four hands by Mozart and Schubert, composers whose works both pianists know intimately.
The selections are all for piano-four-hands, and they are entertaining. However, as always with Mozart and Schubert, these works are replete with hidden depths—depths that are easily passed over. But not here. No, here we are entertained but also intellectually challenged and stimulated because these two superb pianists don't simply glide superficially across the surfaces of these works. They pause, they shape, they ask questions—questions of both the music and the composer's intentions. The questions are never an overt, they are subtle, intuitive, gently probing, always wondering what lies hidden here? What will I see if I turn it this way, or that?
As one might expect, the performances are delightful. Filled with sparkling energy. These works dance, swirl, peek and slide away in the hands of these two great pianists. And, as one might hope, Colom and Laso perform with the utmost congeniality and complementary movement. That old expression, "they almost read each others' minds" is very apropos.
As these two artists of different generations play together, one senses that they respect each other completely. Moreover, they like each other and enjoy working together, performing together. That is no mean feat in the days of heady competition amongst top level performers such as these two. And yet, here, that camaraderie is immediately apparent in the sounds of their music-making.
And the superb musicianship is enhanced gratifyingly by the brilliant recording from Gonzalo Noqué. Once again, Gonzalo mounts to the skies in my estimation for the sound quality of this release. Recorded in DSD256, then mastered entirely in the DSD domain, with no PCM, no analog mixer, this is Pure DSD256-Direct Mixed audio.
There is a wise adage in audio that to make a great recording, there are five steps. First, the music. Second, the musicians. Third, the room. Fourth, the placement of the microphones. Fifth and last, the choice of microphone and equipment. (Courtesy of Frans de Rond, master recording engineer for Sound Liaison.)
And this is what Gonzalo is doing in his recordings, and getting better at it with every new release. He is accomplishing each step: music, musicians, hall, microphone selection and placement, and, finally, choice of microphone and equipment.
But Gonzalo is adding a Fifth step, a further element. He is making a very intentional choice to record and release in Pure DSD256. He lays down his tracking channels in DSD256. But he then mixes purely in the DSD domain, with no PCM, for a final release that is Pure DSD256. If you have not listened to Pure DSD256 recordings, you have not yet heard the best sound quality that is being produced today. I encourage you to seek out examples. Find out if you hear the difference that I get so excited about.
For a comparison of the sound quality in a Pure DSD256 recording versus recording mixed in DXD and then output to DSD from that DXD mixing session (which is pretty standard in the industry), see this article and the accompanying downloadable sample files: Mixing in Pure DSD - No PCM Allowed.
This new recording from Eudora Records, Mozart & Schubert, is an great choice to hear some of the best sound quality being made available today. And, the performances are top of the house.
Josep Colom and Javier Laso recording session, April 6-8, 2024, Auditorio de Zaragoza - Princesa Leonor, Sala Mozart, Zaragoza, Spain. Piano: 1957 Model D Steinway & Sons.
Photos courtesy of Eudora Records
