Melodiya presents the second part from the series of recordings by the piano duet of Elena Sorokina and Alexander Bakhchiyev.

The grateful listeners, fellow musicians and music critics named the ensemble of Sorokin and Bakhchiyev a “Golden Duet of Russia”. They performed for the first time together in 1968, and for almost 40 years of their collaboration they have given thousands of concerts both at home and abroad, played over 100 works by Russian and foreign composers and recorded over 70 records and CDs. The duet’s repertoire is truly all-embracing – baroque, classical and romantic music, pieces for “home playing”, composers of the 20th century and contemporary authors. Even the most partial of the reviewers noted their in-depth comprehension of styles, reflection of the composers’ creative spirits in their interpretations no matter which of the periods the pianists would turn to. The more so, their performances were often accompanied with commentary from Elena Sorokina, a prominent musicologist and professor of music history at the Moscow Conservatory.

The duet’s monographic programmes which covered all piano works four-hands of this or that composer were especially popular. This album features four sonatas four-hands by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, including the unfinished K357, and also his sonata for two pianos K448, which stands out for its vivid, truly concert style what brings it closer to the genre of piano concerto.

Sorokina and Bakhchiyev recorded Mozart’s sonatas in 1980 and 1981.