Atlanta Symphony Martinu Two Piano Concerto Review
Powered by pianists Christina and Michelle Naughton, twin sisters facing each other as the two nine-foot Steinways were nestled together, the concerto motors along with terrific energy and verve. Martinů pushes the pianos to their limits, with the two instruments intertwined in a delicious web of counterpoint, full of pent-up excitement and an almost Impressionistic color palette.
Although conductor and orchestra dispatched the music two-dimensionally and at face value, the Naughtons played with an exuberant cool, making eye contact as their phrases ricocheted off each other. Orchestra and soloists were together but without much rapport — matters that should be improved upon for Saturday’s repeat performance.
The Naughton twins, in complementing metallic bronze and gray dresses, returned for an encore. Now seated side-by-side at one piano, they leapt into the most famous of Antonín Dvořák’s Slavonic Dances (C Major, Op. 46), which helped bridge all of the evening’s music. The pianists would bob a head or sway a shoulder or swivel a hip on the piano bench, offering music that was earthy, joyous and very physical — all the facets missing from the orchestral parts in the concerto. They highlighted those distinctive Czech rhythms, at once playful and a bit forlorn. In just a couple of minutes, they taught us how it goes.
Pierre Ruhe, Arts ATL, May 19,, 2023