Stravinsky’s four-hand transcription of the complete Petrushka ballet has often been recorded, but not his duet versions of the three movements arranged as piano solos for Arthur Rubinstein. The duet versions basically sound like the solo versions but a little fuller, and less of a virtuoso tour de force due to the fact that more hands make lighter work. At the same time, the Shrovetide Fair’s rapid chords and polyrhythmic textures benefit from the added security and clarity obtained by two pairs of hands. Indeed, security and clarity essentially define Marina Lomazov and Joseph Rackers’s performances.

Most duos find that the The Rite of Spring’s frequent hand crossings and other issues concerning congested fingering traffic can be circumvented by playing the work on two pianos rather than one. Lomazov and Rackers, however, opt for a single keyboard. This probably explains, in Part 1, why the Introduction and ‘Les augures printaniers’ are rhythmically square and dynamically constricted. Or why ‘Jeu du rapt’ lacks the scurrying lightness of Eden and Tamir’s wonderfully incisive recording (Decca, 6/70), or why the savage momentum of ‘Jeux des cités rivales’ never lets loose.

For whatever reason, Part 2 inspires more assured and centred pianism. The players avoid the easy temptation to milk ‘Cercles mystérieux des adolescentes’ and give welcome melodic shape to the chromatic runs of ‘Glorification de l’élue’. They bring balletic flow and lilt to the ‘Danse sacrale’ finale’s rhythmic asymmetry, while gracefully differentiating the Sostenuto e maestoso section’s interweaving ostinatos and flourishes (pesante, after all, does not mean percussive!). A few notes knocked out of tune in the process should be considered battle scars rather than production flaws. One could imagine more impact and fullness of body to the recorded sound yet a realistic concert-hall ambience still comes through.