Two pianists at one instrument in the concert hall is a thrilling sight and sound. The musical balance, responsiveness – even the physical choreography – of two minds, four hands working as one is extraordinary to witness.
Kolesnikov and Tsoy offer us a mesmerising programme. Plunging straight into the Rite of Spring is an audacious, arresting opening; hearing it on piano does not diminish its power, but seems to compress its savage energy and tauten the eerie tension. The Ukrainian Desyatnikov dances to a different tune, his duo like an aural snow-globe of dances given a vigorous shake. Schubert, as always, confounds our expectations – this duet-fantasia is no salon-music bauble, but a profound unbroken conversation between equals that draws us close to eavesdrop its hushed, whispered truths.