Performers
- Geister Duo
- David Salmon piano
- Manuel Vieillard piano
Programme
Robert Schumann Pictures from the East (Bilder aus Osten) for four hands, Op. 66 [22’]
I. Lebhaft
II. Nicht schnell und sehr gesangvoll zu spielen
III. Im Volkston
IV. Nicht schnell
V. Lebhaft
VI. Reuig andächtig
Antonín Dvořák From the Bohemian Forest (Ze Šumavy) for four hands, Op. 68 (choice) [15’]
I. In the Spinning-Room (Na přástkách): Allegro molto
II. Silent Woods (Klid): Lento e molto cantabile
III. From Troublous Times (Z bouřlivých dob): Allegro con fuoco
Concert description
Back in Johann Sebastian Bach’s time, the piano keyboard was too short to fit two pianists at it. However, the instrumental industry was developing rapidly and already the Viennese classics were able to confidently employ for this solution. It became popular around 1770. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was one of the first to compose a piece for four hands – he wrote duets for himself and his beloved sister Nannerl. But it was not until Romanticism that the wide dynamic, textural and expressive possibilities of this specific cast type were demonstrated.
In the compositions of Robert Schumann and Antonín Dvořák, the pair of pianists speak with one voice like a lyrical subject spinning a story. In doing so, both composers go beyond the purely sonic meaning of music. The German composer saturated his cycle of miniatures with poetic references – he was inspired while writing by translations of Al-Hariri’s Arabic maqams, rhyming tales from an exotic world. And the Czech composer in Op. 68 returns with memories to the beloved places in his native land, trying to capture and paint their character in music.
– Karolina Dąbek (pisanezesluchu.pl)