Amadeus Duo

Performers

Notes on the performers

Fami and Sharon’s musical partnership spans many years, but they have recently shifted their focus to dedicate themselves entirely to their piano duo performances. Their commitment to excellence and unwavering passion for exploring the piano four hands repertoire has led them to offer eclectic programmes that mix lesser-known works with their favourite masterpieces by Mozart and Schubert – two composers for whom they hold a particular affinity.

Born respectively in the Canary Islands and Belgium, Fami and Sharon have earned their Masters of Music in Advanced Performance with distinction at the Royal College of Music, London, studying under the tutelage of Irina Zaritskaya, Andrew Ball, and Yonty Solomon, who himself was a student of the legendary Dame Myra Hess.

As recitalists and chamber musicians, Fami and Sharon have performed at some prestigious concert venues in Europe and England, including the Riverhouse Arts Centre, Cheltenham Town Hall, Fairfield Hall, Steinway Hall, St Mary’s Perivale, National Gallery, St James’ Piccadilly, and St Martin-in-the-Fields in London.

They have had the privilege of participating in a multitude of distinguished masterclasses with some of the world’s most celebrated musicians, including Galina Eguiazarova, Pavel Gililov, John O’Conor, Dina Joffe, Edith Fischer, Josep Colom, Emanuel Ax, Paul Badura-Skoda, and Murray Perahia.

Fami’s skills have been recognised through numerous international awards, including the First Prize at the Yamaha Competition in the Canary Islands, the Second Prize and Special Prize at the Pedro Espinosa Piano Competition in Spain, and the Third Prize at the Morisa Mantiel Competition in Spain. Sharon has also been recognised with several accolades, including winning both the solo and concerto competitions at the Brevard Music Center in North Carolina, USA. Additionally, he has received First Prizes at the Excellentia Competition in Brussels and the International Piano Concerto Competition in Tennessee, USA.

Their ability to seamlessly blend their individual sounds into one cohesive musical expression has earned them critical acclaim. A music critic once praised Fami and Sharon’s remarkable synchronicity, stating that “their four hands played as one in an extraordinary show of togetherness.”

Programme

Programme notes

Johann Sebastian Bach

Four Chorales transcribed by Sharon Barnea

1. Durch Adams Fall ist ganz verderbt, BWV 637
2. Komm, Gott Schöpfer, heiliger Geist, BWV 667
3. Herr Gott, nun schleuß den Himmel auf, BWV 617
4. In dir ist Freude, BWV 615

BWV 637 – Through Adam’s fall are wholly ruined. This chorale prelude is one of the most original and imaginative in the Orgelbüchlein, with a wealth of motifs in the accompaniment.

BWV 667 – Come, God, the Creator, Holy Ghost. This chorale prelude on Martin Luther’s hymn for Pentecost consists of two variations linked by a bridging interlude. The first is a miniature chorale prelude almost identical to BWV 631 in the Orgelbüchlein, with an uninterrupted cantus firmus in the soprano line. In the second, the four lines of the cantus firmus are heard in the pedal, beneath a flowing imitative ritornello accompaniment on the keyboard.

BWV 617 – Lord God, now unlock Heaven. Tobias Kiel’s hymn references the Song of Simeon, a biblical text associated with the Epiphany-tide feast of the Presentation in the Temple.

BWV 615 – In you is joy. The church musician Johann Lindemann published the text in 1598 and Giovanni Giacomo Gastoldi supplied the melody in 1591.

Source: Wikipedia

F. Schubert

Lebensstürme, Allegro in A minor, D 947

As with much of Schubert’s music, the Allegro in a minor was not published until years after the composer’s death, in 1840, at which time the publisher Anton Diabelli christened it Lebensstürme (“the storms of life”). This overly trite sobriquet does little to prepare the listener for the depth of what is in store. Harmonic and structural adventures are indeed afoot, creating subtleties of light and shade and the emotional complexity characteristic of Schubert’s music. The melodic ideas themselves appear straightforward, as if subjects in a representational painting: it’s an apple; it’s an old man—but Schubert’s harmonic daring casts these subjects in nuanced lighting, suggesting that the truth is more elusive than it may seem.

Source: musicatmenlo.org

Claude Debussy

Petite Suite, CD 71a

1. En bateau
2. Cortège
3. Menuet
4. Ballet

The Petite Suite, L 65, is a suite for piano four hands by Claude Debussy. The suite was composed from 1886 to 1889. It was first performed in February 1889 by Debussy and pianist-publisher Jacques Durand at a salon in Paris. It may have been written due to a request (possibly from Durand) for a piece that would be accessible to skilled amateurs, as its simplicity is in stark contrast with the modernist works that Debussy was writing at the time.[

Source: Wikipedia