Anthony and Joseph Paratore, Duo Pianists ... October 22, 1982

Abstract

"With continuous radio broadcasts, personal record libraries, and the increasingly promising music programming on television, few music lovers of today appreciate the limited opportunities of their ancestors to hear music. Twentieth-century technology has, of course, diminished in no way the unique quality of the musical experience, but it has allowed us to take performances of all kinds somewhat for granted and, many would argue correctly, has made us lazy. For example, how many out-of-practice pianists would choose to "do battle" with a Beethoven sonata or a Chopin nocturne when an inspired recording of a Rubinstein or a Horowitz is at the fingertips? In earlier times, this possibility for immediate gratification did not exist except for professional musicians or the wealthy who could afford to hire them. Lesser men and women who wanted music were expected to make it for them-selves. The nineteenth century is of particular interest in this respect because of the unprecedented relationship between music and the new middle class that emerged in Europe and America. The appearance of a large number of musical amateurs held important implications for many aspects of music sociology. Certainly among them were the universal popularity of the piano, its acceptance into middle-class homes on a grand scale, and the overwhelming body of literature supplied by composers for parlor soloists and partners. Just as important as original compositions for this instrument were transcriptions of current orchestral and vocal works, music that served at the same time as vehicles of entertainment, education, and advertisement. Thus, not unlike many, many other less well-remembered amateurs, Queen Victoria and her Consort spent many happy hours together at the keyboard reading the symphonies of Beethoven, the string quartets of Mozart, and the vocal music of Rossini transcribed for one piano, four hands. Today, because of the general accessibility of recordings and the peculiarly twentieth-century preference for music in its original form, the vast body of transcriptions, with few exceptions, has been pushed aside and left to historians. The smaller number of original compositions for two pianists at one keyboard, especially those works intended by their creators to be more than parlor diversion, have survived as concert fare and are sometimes performed on two instruments. Works expressly written for two pianos were typically conceived as concert music; in this category are found substantial contributions by master composers. Tonight's concert by Anthony and Joseph Paratore presents a faithful sampling of this music: two works for one piano, four hand, and two works for two pianos; three original compositions and one transcription; three pieces from the nineteenth century and one from the twentieth century. It will likewise exhibit the pleasures of this special category of piano music in both its chamber and concert forms."--page 2.