Captivating piano duo asks, "Shall we dance?"
The Hop's pianist-in-residence and her husband make the keyboards dance with four-handed piano works.
HANOVER, NH, October 9, 2019—Returning to a musical partnership that was born way back when on the Hop's Spaulding stage, husband-and-wife piano duo Evan Hirsch and Sally Pinkas play sparkling dance-based four-handed piano works by Darius Milhaud, Samuel Barber and more in Shall We Dance?, on Tuesday, October 29, 7:30 pm in the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth.
Full of irresistible dance rhythms played out in works for two pianos and two pianists at one piano, the program comprises the graceful and enigmatic 20th-century harmonies of Milhaud's Scaramouche (1937) and Barber's Souvenirs (1951); glorious Latin American dances in William Bolcom's Recuerdos (1993); Joseph Horovitz's Concerto for Dancers, which depicts an accidental and ultimately romantic meetings of ballet and calypso dancers; and a sequence that includes Hirsch's own composition, Sally's Waltz.
In 1994, Pinkas and Hirsch were married but pursuing separate careers as concert pianists (Pinkas as the Hop's pianist-in-residence, which she remains today) when, for a lark, they put together a program of piano duets for a Valentine's Day concert at the Hop. The response was so warm that they made it a regular Hop feature and also took the duo to other audiences. Those also have been appreciative. The Philadelphia Intelligencer called their music "absolutely superb in its execution … exhibiting a unanimity of ensemble rarely heard," while the Wall Street Journal "superlatively well-played... exquisite performance."
They made their European debut at the Officina Musicale Scotese in Abruzzo, Italy, and have since performed widely in France, Bulgaria, Nigeria, China, Thailand, Russia and Israel. Hirsch and Pinkas were the only Americans invited to participate at the notable piano festivals of the St. Petersburg Conservatory (2001) and the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory (2013). In 2015 they performed at the prestigious Cultural Center of the Philippines in Manila and presented masterclasses at the University of the Philippines and the University of Santo Tomas. Other credits include performances for the Apple Hill Chamber Music Center and Monadnock Music in New Hampshire, Music Ninety Eight at the Cincinnati Conservatory, Kfar Blum (Israel), Pontlevoy (France), and PpIANISSIMO (Bulgaria).
They have performed most of the masterpieces for the genre, including works by Mozart, Schubert, Brahms, Rachmaninoff, Debussy, Ravel, and Bartók. Adventurous in their musical explorations, their repertoire also includes rarely-heard works such as Messiaen's Visions de l'amen and Milhaud's La création du monde. The Duo has collaborated with, and recorded the works of American composers Daniel Pinkham, Peter Child, Thomas Oboe Lee and Kui Dong for the Arsis, Albany and Otherminds labels. Their close friendship with George Rochberg (1918-2005) culminated in the commission of his monumental Circles of Fire for two pianos, which the two premiered and recorded for Naxos, along with three more discs featuring Rochberg's solo piano works. The Wall Street Journal praised their "exquisite performance" in their recording of Harold Shapero's Four-hand Sonata, recently released on the UK label Toccata Classics.
MORE ABOUT…
Sally Pinkas is Professor of Music and Pianist-in-Residence at Dartmouth College (NH). She holds degrees from Indiana University and the New England Conservatory, and a PhD in Composition from Brandeis University. She has recorded solo works by Schumann, Fauré, Debussy and Christian Wolff for the MSR, Musica Omnia, Centaur, and Mode labels. Chamber music releases include works by Gaubert and Martinu (Naxos) and Piano Quartets by Mozart and Fauré (MSR). Other recent chamber music collaborators include the Adaskin String Trio, The Villiers and Apple Hill String Quartets, and Ensemble Schumann.
Evan Hirsch, an active recitalist and chamber player, holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from SUNY Purchase and a Master of Music from New England Conservatory. In addition to teaching piano and chamber music at Brandeis University (MA), he teaches regularly at Dartmouth College, and has been on the Adult Education faculty at the New England Conservatory. Hirsch has performed with many contemporary ensembles throughout New England, and has recorded for New Albion, MSR and Arsis. His release of Selections from Vingt Regards by Olivier Messiaen (MSR) has garnered significant critical acclaim.