Rhapsody in Blue | Duo Licchetta-Sequestro | Piano Four Hands

Duo Licchetta-Sequestro return to the spectacular National Liberal Club in Embankment with an all-new programme, following their highly popular debut in 2024. Culminating in a special performance of Gershwin's evergreen Rhapsody in Blue , the duo begin the evening with Brahms in Vienna - the Op. 39 Waltzes, heard tonight in their original version for piano four hands, contain some of Brahms’s most well-known melodies. Smetana’s deeply patriotic symphonic poem The Moldau captures in music the composer's love of his homeland - evoking the flow of the Vltava River (known as the Moldau in German) from its source in the mountains of the Bohemian Forest, through the Czech countryside, to the city of Prague. Onwards to Paris and the turn of the twentieth century, Ravel's Introduction and Allegro was originally commissioned as a chamber work by the Érard harp manufacturers to showcase their instruments - it was subsequently arranged for various instrumental combinations, including piano four hands, and has enjoyed enduring popularity in concert halls ever since. So the story goes, George Gershwin travelled to Paris in 1926 ready to study with Ravel, but the French composer declined, saying to the young American, "Why be a second-rate Ravel when you can be a first-rate Gershwin?". Rhapsody in Blue was premiered in New York City, 1924, in a concert titled "An Experiment in Modern Music". Combining elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects, the pieve inaugurated a new era in America's musical history - becoming one of the most popular of all concert works.

This concert is presented through a partnership between Kettner Concerts in the UK and Festival del Capo di Leuca in Italy. It is offered freely but we will be inviting donations. Gift Aid forms will be available on the night.

Pre-Concert Dining

Available in the National Liberal Club's main Dining Room. A two-course express menu priced at £29 will be available from 5.00 pm to 6.30 pm before the concert. Highly recommended! Bookings must be made directly with the dining room in advance of the concert day. Email [email protected] or by telephone: 0207 968 0924 and quote "Kettner Concert". Please adhere to the club’s dress code should you wish to dine.

Formed by Italian pianists Alessandro Licchetta and Andrea Sequestro, the Duo Licchetta–Sequestro is distinguished by versatility, stylistic awareness, and the ability to engage audiences with both the great classics of the four-hands and two-piano repertoire and works of the twentieth century and beyond. Their performances are marked by technical mastery and a vivid interplay of contrasting artistic personalities, which creates a dynamic and communicative concert experience.

The Duo has appeared in numerous festivals and concert series in Italy, including La Stanza della Musica (Rome), Pianofestival Spring (Aversa), I Concerti nel Parco at Palazzo Caetani (Cisterna di Latina), Fondazione Grassi (Martina Franca), Teatro Rendano (Cosenza), Settimane Musicali Internazionali (Pozzolo Formigaro), Palazzo Pesce (Mola di Bari), Vivaverdi Multikulti (Matera), Teatro Cavallino Bianco (Galatina), Teatro Apollo, Teatro Paisiello and Fondazione Palmieri (Lecce), and the Teatro Comunale of Nardò, among many others.

International engagements include Sala Eutherpe of the Fundación Eutherpe (León, Spain), several venues venues around, as well as the Demotiko Teatro of Corinth (Greece) for the Musa Concert Series.

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