Four hands make light work of piano masterpieces

Piano music lovers can look forward to a very unusual recital in Rickmansworth on Saturday, May 13.

Two distinguished pianists, Emma Abbate and Julian Perkins, will present ‘Duality: four hands on one piano’, a programme that will include some of the finest compositions ever written for duetting musicians.

Emma is from Naples and has been described as “an amazingly talented pianist” by the leading Italian magazine, Musica. She is a professor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Julian is artistic director of the Cambridge Handel Opera Company and was recently appointed to the same role at the Portland Baroque Orchestra in Oregon.

Emma and Julian have given duet recitals at many prestigious venues, such as the Royal Opera House and St John’s Smith Square. They have also performed for the Mozart Society of America, and their album, ‘Tournament for Twenty Fingers’, showcasing works by 20th century British composers, received a five-star rating from BBC Music Magazine.

Their Three Rivers Music Society concert will feature two acknowledged masterpieces – Mozart’s Sonata for four hands in C Major, and Schubert’s Fantasia in F Minor, which was written in 1828, the last year of his short life. It is regarded as one of his greatest works.

The programme will also include Ravel’s ‘Mother Goose’, written for the children of close friends, and three works by less well-known names – the 20th century British composer and broadcaster Stephen Dodgson, Amy Beach, the first successful American woman composer, and John Field, an Irish pianist who is said to have influenced some of the 19th century’s greatest musical figures, Chopin, Brahms, Schumann and Liszt.

The concert will be held in the Baptist Church, High Street, Rickmansworth WD3 1EH. 7.30pm start. Tickets £16 at the door, including free concert programme and refreshment. Reduced prices for TRMS members/patrons and online booking. Free entry to under-25s. trms.uk

For more information visit http://trms.uk/