Two-Piano Gems with Rose Shlyam Grace & Alan Ragan

Name: Two-Piano Gems with Rose Shlyam Grace & Alan Ragan
Start: 2025-11-08T19:00:00-05:00
Location: 645 Oak St, Jacksonville, FL, United States, Florida 32204

Schedule

Sat, 08 Nov, 2025 at 07:00 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

645 Oak St, Jacksonville, FL, United States, Florida 32204 | Jacksonville, FL

Although some concert-goers might regard music for two pianos as idiosyncratic, the two-piano, or “piano duo,” repertoire is extensive. Composers ranging from Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, and Camille Saint-Saëns to Sergei Rachmaninoff, Claude Debussy, and Dmitri Shostakovich wrote works for piano duos. Unlike piano duets, with two players cramped at one keyboard, restricting one player to the low notes and the other to the high notes, music written or arranged for two pianos grants each performer command of the entire instrument.
One of the greatest works written for this genre is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Sonata in D, K. 448. This piece exemplifies the challenges and capabilities of writing for a piano duo. Mozart masterfully illustrates how to make two pianos sound as one, while at other times showcases each performer’s technique and finesse, and yet at still other points assigns each pianist the role of either soloist or accompanist. This Sonata, rich in nuance, sparkling virtuosity, and stark contrasts, epitomizes Mozart’s genius, wit, and inventiveness - ample reason to fall in love with the two-piano idiom.