"Captured in beguilingly immediate sound that creates the impression of Emma Abbate and Julian Perkins playing in your living room, this is a recording I have already returned to several times simply for the pleasure of hearing two players at the top of their game."
BBC Music Magazine
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Performance
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Recording"This is a fabulous compilation of twentieth century British piano duets performed brilliantly by Emma Abbate & Julian Perkins. ... A very welcome release of little heard repertoire."
Lark Reviews
"Twenty fingers on one keyboard? This requires a ballet for phalanges choreographed with microscopic precision. The trend to get behind the keys with two blew over from Germany via France to England, where the repertoire experienced a real boom in the middle of the last century. Excellent premise for a record, Emma Abbate and Julian Perkins found and swung a sublime selection into the ether with Tournament.
The most famous name on the tracklist is Sir Lennox Berkeley, who with his refined and playful style creates sardonic smart fun à la Poulenc. The neoclassical of Richard Arnell and Stephen Dodgson reminds of Igor Stravinsky and Paul Hindemith, while constant Lambert's jazz seeps between the staves of Trois pièces (only for white keys!). The Italian-British piano pair surprises with an inspired, yet down-to-earth interpretation that highlights the elegance and eloquence of four hands playing."
Het Nieuwsblad ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"The performances by Emma Abbate and Julian Perkins are thoroughly enjoyable, committed, and technically sound. The BIS recording is excellent."
MusicWeb International
''The four-hands piano duo Emma Abbate and Julian Perkins have taken the trouble to understand this repertoire; they are able to tell a totally convincing story with every piece. ... Stephen Johnson's excellent programme note sums up one of the Berkeley works with the sentence "seriousness is constantly balanced with playfulness.” Abbate and Perkins always find ways to strike that balance, and do so exquisitely.''
The Arts Desk
"Emma Abbate and Julian Perkins are a marvellous duo ... Throughout, the duo plays with infectious verve, arresting synchronicity, lovely tone, and supple phrasing. This is duo playing that provides the best of both worlds; the sonic richness of piano four hands, executed with a precision that creates the aural illusion of but a single player at the keyboard. All of the performances are captured in an acoustic both rich in color and marvellously detailed. Arnell’s Sonatina, and both Dodgson works receive their world premiere recordings here. This is a most pleasurable disc, one I’m delighted to recommend."
Fanfare
"Seventy minutes well-spent in the company of Emma Abbate & Julian Perkins ... Throughout, Emma Abbate & Julian Perkins play as-one, with dedication and shared pleasure."
Classical Source
