Works for Piano Duo: Concert review

Martin Ball in The Australian reviews “Team of Pianists: Works for Piano Duo” in Melbourne last week.

PIANO duets are the ugly duckling of pianistic performance, loved by their composers and performers, but generally spurned by audiences in favour of the more brilliant solo repertoire. Piano duets are rarely heard on our concert stages, and duos such as the Labeque Sisters are the exception that proves the rule.

In the right hands, of course, piano duets can blossom into beautiful works of art. The venue is important too, as these pieces are much more at home in the intimacy of a drawing-room soiree. Just imagine the premiere of Brahms’s Variations on a theme by Haydn for two pianos, played by Brahms himself and Clara Schumann, to friends in the salon at home.

Read the full review: Piano duet just delivers