Star Wars revisited

Wow, nearly a month has gone by since my last blog entry—time flies! While things have been relatively quiet on the duo front, Greg and I want you to know that exciting things are on the horizon, most notably our debut album (which is due to be released in January). In the meantime, check out the latest videos we've posted on YouTube (or watch them below). In these videos you will see Greg and I performing two movements of our Star Wars Fantasy: Four Impressions for Two Pianos. Both performances were taped live in concert.

This performance of "Impression 1" was an encore at Greg's master's degree recital at The Juilliard School in April 2006. Impression 1 is an Art Tatum-esque rag based on the iconic Cantina theme from the original Star Wars film, otherwise known as Episode IV. It is fiendishly difficult (note the constant jumps in the bass and the skittering passagework all over the keyboard) but its spirit is carefree and playful. Fragments of other musical motives are embedded in the texture: if you're astute enough you may notice the Force Theme, Darth Vader's theme, Yoda's theme, and various excerpts of the battle music.

This performance of "Impression 2" was recorded at my master's recital at Juilliard, just a few days after Greg's recital. This movement, in contrast to the first movement, is fluid and free. It is centered on the ubiquitous Force theme.

While composing this work, Greg and I intentionally avoided a direct "translation" of John Williams's score. Instead, we focused on the music's character, atmosphere, and irresistible appeal. I recall watching all six films in succession during spring break that year, stuffing ourselves with pizza and Chinese food. Greg and I marveled over virtuosic light saber duels, argued over the coolness of Luke Skywalker and Hans Solo (Greg prefers Luke whereas I'm a Solo woman, probably because I've always loved the romantic tension between him and Leia, one of my favorite cinematic heroines!), and—of course—we noted which themes excited and moved us. This process of watching the entire series and listening to all the soundtracks was not only a tremendous source of enjoyment and satisfaction (believe me, the arc is really impressive when you take in all the episodes consecutively in two sittings!); it ultimately provided us with a global view of the saga. As we transfered our ideas to paper, we sought to capture the films' epic scope, mythic resonance, and undeniable sense of fun. We hope these pieces—and performances—relay fresh and piquant impressions of the Star Wars universe. Enjoy!

P.S. In light of the recent Thanksgiving holiday, I just want to tell you how grateful Greg and I are to have such devoted and enthusiastic fans. You're the best! -Liz

recording madness

Hello, readers—I'm back from my blogging break (which elapsed not out of neglect, just sheer busyness!). I hope you're all having a snazzy autumn thus far. I love the vibrant colors and melancholic mood of the fall season, but not the shortening of daylight!

Despite our separate commitments this fall (Greg with his doctoral courses/dissertation work/composing, me with my solo recitals/Ensemble ACJW concerts/teaching), Greg and I have been consistently and painstakingly working on our forthcoming album. Greg and I are going indie-style with this whole recording thing. It's great to have nearly complete autonomy over all elements of the production (the repertoire, editing, design, etc.), but it's also a time-consuming, creatively-challenging process. In any case, it's really fitting that Greg and I are going the independent route with our "debut" CD because we're free-spirited individualists at heart, and we've always been fully involved in all aspects of our professional output, whether it be the website, YouTube videos, programming, or compositions. This recording has given us the opportunity to take artistic chances, and we've had a lot of fun (well, stress-laced fun!) along the way: spending hours on end with our fabulous recording engineer Joe Patrych in his Bronx studio; writing about what this music means to us (while trying to stay within a word limit—a nightmare for me!); filtering through photo after photo of us atop a mountain; sharing design concepts; either being impressed, dismayed, or surprised at what we sound like on record!

The recording process is a highly collaborative one, and it is our hope that this album embodies the nexus of our ideas and ideals, our imaginings and efforts, our intensity and joy. EJR

Photos from "Tuxedos by Steinway & Vodka by Chopin"

Sorry these pictures took so long to upload! It didn't help that I left my camera at Liz's apartment for the past few weeks.

Recently, we were asked by Steinway to perform release event for members of the press and media, celebrating the company's new line of concert clothes for men. (Read about our experience in an earlier post.) Unfortunately, the pictures taken with my camera didn't turn out so well (and we haven't yet seen the pictures taken by the Steinway photographer), so we'll just have to make due with what we have.

Exhibit A:
Here I am informing the audience of something very important. (Note: Liz's dress ... oh yes, and also notice the mannequin standing at our right, wearing a very fine Steinway tuxedo.)

Exhibit B:
Now Liz is informing the audience of something terribly important.

Exhibit C:
The Anderson & Roe Piano Duo with the director of the event, the wonderful and enthusiastic Elliot Rittenband.

Exhibit D:
An autograph to Greg & Liz by the emcee of the event, Howard Cross's (#87 of the New York Giants). We apologize to Mr. Cross for forgetting his name in our earlier post!

Anderson & Roe Piano Duo featured in Pianist Magazine

The October/November issue of Pianist magazine includes a news feature on the filmography of the Anderson & Roe Piano Duo.

(#3 of 3) Imagine: You're outside and the moon is out

After reading Liz's thorough blog recollecting all the humorous incidents from our last video shoot (see the video posted below), I'm not sure what I could add, but I'll give it a shot.

I'm proud of Liz. She purchased a "Hello Kitty" lunch box, pretty pink bows, and the tackiest dress you-ever-did-see with admirable courage, but she deserves an apology from me. Liz, I'm sorry I didn't help. I'm sorry I stood five feet from the cash register, pointed my finger and laughed hysterically.

Of course, Liz found herself in even more compromising situations. She spent a good 20 minutes dashing about the New Haven train station while flailing her arms and shouting, "Seriously, this is not a chain letter! It really works!" "Seriously" people, does it really work? Have any of you actually seen your crush's name appear on the screen after pasting the message into three comments?

One of my favorite scenes was the one in which Liz sat at a piano and sweetly instructed Rubinstein to put more feeling in his fingers. There was something about being there in the same room that nearly made me wet my pants. Finding myself completely unable to withhold my laughter, I silently began to pant and wheeze my way into the back room. (I didn't want to disturb her concentration or ruin the shoot!) Unfortunately, en route, Liz started to demonstrate what it meant to "play with one's fingers," playing the Moonlight sonata as if she had never seen a piano before. It was the final straw; I completely exploded. This is only one of several such examples.

A rather embarrassing situation of my own: portraying a split personality (an extremely flamboyant homosexual and a curse-laden scumbucket) in front of streams of passersby. Thankfully, we were in New York City, and very few people seemed to notice anything out of the ordinary.

Alas! The things we do for our art.

I’m going to go tend to my battle wounds - that bench in Riverside park really left a scar!