Charles Owen & Katya Apekisheva - Poulenc, Debussy & Milhaud: Works for 2 Pianos (2023) [Official Digital Download 24/192]

Charles Owen and Katya Apekisheva perform a stunning selection of French 20th-century music for piano four hands. Both Milhaud and Poulenc were members of Les Six, a band of composers who specialised in producing colourful, quirky and highly original scores. Milhaud’s Scaramouche epitomises the wit and joie de vivre of this approach and has become one of his most popular works – although at the time the composer nearly forbade its publication. Poulenc combined grace and sparkling humour with a nobility that reflected his desire for a ‘return to simplicity’.