Souvenirs
CD programme
Piano four hands
From New York via Amsterdam to Paris and Vienna – in this programme the Onyx Piano Duo combines musical souvenirs from four different countries to create a colourful overall picture. The lively “Divertimento” by the unjustly neglected composer Leo Smit meets Ravel’s “Ma Mère l’Oye” and Samuel Barber’s ballet suite “Souvenirs”, musical memories of his youth. The concert opens with Mozart's virtuoso C major Sonata KV 521, one of the great masterpieces for piano four hands. The Onyx Piano Duo's debut album with this program will be released in 2024.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Sonate C-Dur KV 521
Maurice Ravel: Ma Mère l‘Oye
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PAUSE
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Leo Smit: Divertimento
Samuel Barber: Souvenirs op.28
Dreamscapes
Piano four hands
The Onyx Piano Duo takes the audience on a journey through different dream worlds: imaginative character pieces from four different countries lead from Dvorák's folkloric legends an the "Summer Dreams" by the American composer Amy Beach to Ravel's magical fairy tale settings "Ma Mère l'Oye". The finale is Mendelssohn's brilliant incidental music for Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream", arranged for piano duet by the composer himself, and a musical and pianistic firework.
Anonin Dvorák: Legenden op.59 (Auswahl)
Amy Beach: Summer Dreams op.47
Maurice Ravel: Ma Mère l'Oye
PAUSE
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy:
“Ein Sommernachtstraum“ op.61
Black and white
Piano four hands and 2 pianos
Magical transcriptions of Bach’s chorales and arias are the focus of the first part of the concert. They are framed by two works by Debussy that couldn't be more different: the Petite Suite, with its innocent dances and disarmingly beautiful harmonies, and the late work “En Blanc et Noir”, written during the First World War and musically forward-looking. At around the same time, Ravel composes his powerful vision of a Viennese waltz, which is increasingly about to sink into chaos. Finally, in Tansman's ballet music “The Night Train,” a dreamed waltz is juxtaposed with a tango - always accompanied by the rattling rhythm of the train.
Claude Debussy: Petite Suite
Johann Sebastian Bach: Choral-Transkriptionen
Claude Debussy: En Blanc et Noir
PAUSE
Alexandre Tansman: Le Train de Nuit
Maurice Ravel: La Valse
Dancing keys
Piano four hands
With 20 fingers on 88 keys, four-handed piano playing is almost predestined for musical dances. Brahms' varied waltz miniatures are followed by Barber's rarely played "Souvenirs" - a ballet music full of catchy melodies and rousing rhythms. Debussy's “Petite Suite” consisting of four poetic character pieces, on the other hand, remains enchantingly simple, making it one of the most popular four-handed piano works. At the end, three scenes from another piece of ballet music are heard: Stravinsky's highly virtuosic four-handed version of “Pétrouchka” impressively unfolds the piano's full orchestral potential.
Johannes Brahms: Walzer op.39
Samuel Barber: Souvenirs op.28
PAUSE
Claude Debussy: Petite Suite
Igor Strawinsky: Drei Sätze aus Pétrouchka
Fantasy images
Piano four hands
In the final years of their lives, both Mozart and Schubert wrote fantasies in F minor: Mozart composed a funeral music, originally for a mechanical flute clock, that juxtaposes dramatic and tender elements, while Schubert's monumental fantasy is one of his most famous works and unfolds an enormous emotional spectrum. The second part invites the audience to let their imagination wander into distant lands: first with Schumann's "Pictures from the East", inspired by Arabic poetry, and finally with Ravel's "Rhapsodie espagnol", from the delicate and dream-like "Prélude à la nuit" to the passionate “Feria”.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Fantasie f-Moll KV 608
Johann Sebastian Bach: Transkriptionen
Franz Schubert: Fantasie f-Moll D940
PAUSE
Robert Schumann: Bilder aus Osten op.66
Maurice Ravel: Rhapsodie espagnole
Further programme suggestions can be agreed individually. Please feel free to contact us!