So Duo

The violin and cello duo cannot be considered as a musical rarity; yet it is also far from one of the most popular instrumental combinations in Western classical music. It is a challenging ensemble for both those composing for it and those venturing in the performance of its repertoire. It is a duo which invites counterpoint: the deep nature of both instruments and their vocation is to melodic singing, to the sustained lines which translate the human being’s aspiration to vocality into instrumental music. In consequence, to undertake a composition for violin and cello duo is also to implicitly accept the challenge of polyphony, and to affirm one’s mastery of its most intricate secrets.

Abélard will release an album "Rammstein on Piano" on 9 June. The French piano duo Héloïse Hervouët and Emilie Aridon-Kociolek have signed with Decca Records, a label of Universal Music. They will be supporting Rammstein on their Europe Stadium tour 2023.

Despite the poor choice of couplings, this disc contains outstanding performances of both major works. The Clinton-Narboni Duo on Elan recently set the standard in Martinu's wonderful Concerto for Two Pianos, but this performance is every bit as good, and happily quite different. Rather than the chamber orchestra featured on Elan, Genova and Dimitrov enjoy the backing of a full ensemble, and what they sacrifice in the finer points of harmonic detail (evident, for example, at the opening of the finale) they more than make up for in sheer adrenalin. The very natural balances also pay major dividends in the atmospheric textures of the long central slow movement.

The art of the piano four hands has gone unnoticed for many years and its historical importance has been minimised in comparison with other chamber music ensembles. Nevertheless, the great composers have dedicated works to this formation, and there is an extensive literature for it. “Essenz” was created with the intention of highlighting the exceptional repertoire written for piano four hands, choosing some of the works we consider to be the fundamental pillars of the genre.

Formed in 2019, award-winning violin and cello duo GAIA have rapidly won plaudits for their pioneering programming and bold and daring performances.Their debut album release features three works specially written for the duo, and also bears testimony to their championing of works by underrepresented and overlooked voices from classical music’s past.

Because cornetist Rob Mazurek and drummer Chad Taylor both come from the jazz sphere, it's usually tempting to lump their collective work as Chicago Underground Duo in that particular genre. The problem is it is only one of the elements that CUD employs in the music they've made over the last 15 years together. Age of Energy, the group's debut on Northern Spy, is a case in point. In addition to a drum kit, Taylor plays a drum machine and other electronics.