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Click here to
see performances 2007-2008 |
The American identical
twins, Richard and John Contiguglia, are among the most acclaimed
and versatile piano duos in the world today. After many years of
concertizing in Europe and America since their London debut in 1962,
which the London Daily Telegraph described as “setting a new
standard for this intimate form of music-making,” Richard and John
are now the proprietors of their own recording company,
Gemini CD
Classics.
Their first releases, Schubert Piano Duets - The Final Year,
Live From The Holland Liszt Festival - Duos of Franz Liszt for
One and Two Pianos, and Gershwin - Grainger, reflect
their lifelong commitment to popularizing the great body of music
for two pianists. Earlier in their career their live performances
and recordings on the Connoisseur Society label of Bartók's Suite
for Two Pianos, Op. 4b, of Liszt's transcription for two pianos
of Beethoven's 9th Symphony and of Liszt's Operatic
Paraphrases on Don Giovanni, Norma, and La Sonnambula were
modern-day premieres. The Liszt Society of Budapest, Hungary, in the
first record competition in the society's history, awarded the
Contiguglias' recording of the Beethoven-Liszt 9th Symphony,
its grand prix. The recording was a Top 10 Billboard Best
Seller in the US and a best-seller in Japan. With the Cleveland
Orchestra they revived Victor Babin's Concerto for Two Pianos and
Orchestra. Their recital in Santa Barbara, California, in 2000,
for the Music Academy of the West was selected by music critic, Greg
Hettmansberger, as one of the best musical events of the year in his
New Year's Eve summation for the Santa Barbara News Press. In
praising the Contiguglias' devotion "to what is possibly the most
misunderstood - and certainly underappreciated - genre of all great
music," Mr. Hettmansberger added that "the Contiguglias have spent
nearly four decades trying to change that. Friday night at the
Lobero Theatre, they offered overwhelming evidence for both their
passion and their extraordinary talents."
Richard and
John Contiguglia graduated in the top 1% of their class at Yale,
with identical averages of 91%, receiving their B.A. degrees
summa cum laude, with Philosophical Orations. Two years later
they received M.Mus. degrees from the Yale Graduate School of Music,
at the top of their class. Subsequently, they studied for four years
in London with the legendary British pianist, Dame Myra Hess.
Special
Recital Program
for the 2007-2008 Season
Beethoven's 9th Symphony
Transcribed for 2 Pianos
by Franz Liszt
Click Here to View |
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Newest release on the
Gemini CD Classics
label |
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Beethoven / Liszt Symphony No. 9 (Choral)
Richard and John Contiguglia,
Duo-Pianists
The most popular orchestral
work of all time, magnificently transcribed for two pianos
by Franz Liszt, can be heard once again in the
Contiguglias’ new recording for Gemini CD Classics.
View More Information |
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Contiguglia Duo's
Beethoven/Liszt CD
reviewed in the American Record Guide |
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 "I
enjoy transcriptions as much or more than most, and this is a great
one, of the greatest piece, with a masterly performance, excellent
recorded sound, and perceptive notes."
- American Record Guide,
January/February 2008
Read full article
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Contiguglia Duo
reviewed in The News-Gazette, Champaign/Urbana, IL |
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 "The
piano duo of the identical Contiguglia twins is one of the most
famous exemplars of this branch of the piano field. They have shown
their superb discipline and fine musicianship here in years past as
guest artists with Hobson's Sinfonia da Camera. On Monday night,
they aroused to a high level of enthusiasm the members of a
moderate-sized audience in Smith Music Hall."
- The News-Gazette, Champaign/Urbana, IL, June 2007
Read full article |
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Contiguglia Duo
reviewed in the
News Times of
Danbury, CT |
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 "When
it came to Mozart's concerto, the Contiguglias' four hands
seemed to be playing with one mind and heart. The Allegro
movement was rich in thematic development, flowing back and
forth without repeating, but constantly moving along with a
natural progression. Exchanging phrases smoothly in this
brilliant dialogue, the twins' cooperative effort was a model of
a well-functioning family. The final movement included cadenzas
and ritards performed with amazing synchronicity. The twins knew
each other's parts as their own. My apologies go to the RSO, as
my attention was completely captured by the pianists."
- News Times, Danbury, CT, December 2006
Read full article |
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Contiguglia Duo
reviewed in the Classical Voice of North America |
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 "The
playing was as astonishing as the music itself"
"And the best
artists – in which august group the Contiguglias belong – find
new meaning in every repeat performance. So there was nothing
routine about this concert"
"I heard things I'd
never noticed before, due to the great precision and clarity of
the performance. 'Twas Art with a capital "A," all 'round."
- Classical Voice of North Carolina, October 2005
Read full article |
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Performances 2007-2008 |
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Anderson, Indiana |
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Friday, November 9, 2007 at 7:30 pm
Presented by Anderson University and the Central Christian
Church of Anderson, Indiana
Central
Christian Church
923 Jackson Street
Anderson, Indiana
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Symphonic
Poem No. 4,
Orpheus
Franz Liszt
(1811-1886)
(transcribed for two pianos by the composer)
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En Blanc et
Noir Claude
Debussy
(1862-1918) |
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1. Avec emportement |
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2. Lent. Sombre |
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3. Scherzando |
Variations on
an Original Theme in A-flat Major
Franz Schubert
(1797-1828)
Op. 35-D813 (one piano, four-hands) |
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Sonata in D
Major, KV 448
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) |
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Allegro con spirito |
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Andante |
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Molto Allegro |
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Davidson, North
Carolina |
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Thursday, January 24, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Tyler-Tallman Hall
Sloan Music Center
Davidson College
Davidson, NC 28035
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Symphonic
Poem No. 4,
Orpheus
Franz Liszt
(1811-1886)
(transcribed for two pianos by the composer)
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En Blanc et
Noir Claude
Debussy
(1862-1918) |
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1. Avec emportement |
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2. Lent. Sombre |
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3. Scherzando |
Variations on
an Original Theme in A-flat Major
Franz Schubert
(1797-1828)
Op. 35-D813 (one piano, four-hands) |
From Beethoven’s 9th Symphony (Choral),
Op. 125 Ludwig van Beethoven
(1770-1827)
(transcribed for two pianos by
Franz Liszt)
Franz Liszt
(1811-1886) |
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IV |
Finale
Presto – Allegro ma non troppo – Tempo I, Allegro – Vivace –
Adagio cantabile – Allegro assai – Presto – Recitativo –
Allegro – Allegro assai vivace alla marcia – Andante maestoso
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Adagio ma non troppo ma devoto – Allegro energico -
Allegro ma non tanto – Poco adagio – Poco allegro stringendo
il tempo sempre più allegro - Prestissimo |
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Albuquerque, New
Mexico |
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Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Charles
Pianos
5000 B Menaul NE
Albuquerque, NM 87110
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Symphonic
Poem No. 4,
Orpheus
Franz Liszt
(1811-1886)
(transcribed for two pianos by the composer)
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En Blanc et
Noir Claude
Debussy
(1862-1918) |
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1. Avec emportement |
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2. Lent. Sombre |
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3. Scherzando |
Variations on
an Original Theme in A-flat Major
Franz Schubert
(1797-1828)
Op. 35-D813 (one piano, four-hands) |
From Beethoven’s 9th Symphony (Choral),
Op. 125 Ludwig van Beethoven
(1770-1827)
(transcribed for two pianos by
Franz Liszt)
Franz Liszt
(1811-1886) |
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IV |
Finale
Presto – Allegro ma non troppo – Tempo I, Allegro – Vivace –
Adagio cantabile – Allegro assai – Presto – Recitativo –
Allegro – Allegro assai vivace alla marcia – Andante maestoso
–
Adagio ma non troppo ma devoto – Allegro energico -
Allegro ma non tanto – Poco adagio – Poco allegro stringendo
il tempo sempre più allegro - Prestissimo |
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Wenham, Massachusetts |
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Saturday, March 8, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Gordon
College
Phillips Recital Hall
255 Grapevine Road
Wenham, MA 01984
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Symphonic
Poem No. 4,
Orpheus
Franz Liszt
(1811-1886)
(transcribed for two pianos by the composer)
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En Blanc et
Noir Claude
Debussy
(1862-1918) |
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1. Avec emportement |
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2. Lent. Sombre |
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3. Scherzando |
Variations on
an Original Theme in A-flat Major
Franz Schubert
(1797-1828)
Op. 35-D813 (one piano, four-hands) |
From Beethoven’s 9th Symphony (Choral),
Op. 125 Ludwig van Beethoven
(1770-1827)
(transcribed for two pianos by
Franz Liszt)
Franz Liszt
(1811-1886) |
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IV |
Finale
Presto – Allegro ma non troppo – Tempo I, Allegro – Vivace –
Adagio cantabile – Allegro assai – Presto – Recitativo –
Allegro – Allegro assai vivace alla marcia – Andante maestoso
–
Adagio ma non troppo ma devoto – Allegro energico -
Allegro ma non tanto – Poco adagio – Poco allegro stringendo
il tempo sempre più allegro - Prestissimo |
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Champaign/Urbana,
Illinois |
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June 16-21, 2008 at 7:30 pm
University
of Illinois Piano Festival
Smith Memorial Hall
Program to be
announced
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Yachats, Oregon |
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July 9-13, 2008
Program to be
announced
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