We're addicted to love ;-)

What with our latest duo release (An Amadeus Affair) and our nearly non-stop touring schedule, we've had quite a number of (awesome!) reactions to our recent performances. Here's a round-up of some of the latest love we've received:

Palm Beach Daily News

Glorious… The Anderson & Roe Piano Duo’s performance was something rarely encountered in concert-going. They have a truly deep artistry … a massive range of sound and impeccable technique. Imagine two pianos on steroids. Who says classical musicians are stuffy?  

Audiophile Audition (regarding An Amadeus Affair):

Totally delightful … unforgettable moments of heartbroken, bittersweet, eternal love … utterly poignant. Everything is beautifully realized by Anderson & Roe; it will change the lives of all who hear it, both for the music and the way it is played.

Performing Arts Monterey Bay

The audience, like Vesuvius, erupted with one massive cheer, jumping to its feet, settling for a moment like hot pumice only to explode again minutes later for two more dazzling pyrotechnic encores. …all the flamboyance, adrenaline and infectious passion that youth and virtuosity could muster.

…sublime, heart-felt musicianship. [Their performance of Bach's] Concerto for Two Keyboards in C major showed exquisite phrasing, beautiful rich tone and a synchronicity in performance and interpretation that I have rarely seen in a live performance. 

Wayne Lee Gay of D Magazine:

Beautifully crafted, brilliantly played … this jaded old music critic was impressed by the impeccable technique and musicianship of the duo.

Palm Beach Arts Paper

Exquisite … nothing short of brilliant … Their playing left me in awe and amazement. 

Theater Jones

A gateway drug to classical music … [Anderson & Roe] get people listening and having fun doing it. Two highly skilled, energetic young pianists … really wonderful, sensible ensemble … clever, complex arrangements. Their piano four hands performance of their arrangement of the first section of Stravinsky’s ballet The Rite of Spring, which turned 100 last year, was timeless.

Dallas Observer:

Immensely talented and entertaining…  

DFW.com

Mixing music and mayhem … [Anderson & Roe's] playing was marked by virtuosity and bubbled with youthful energy. Excellent music that was markedly different from what we usually hear, a full measure of originality, and Cliburn-level pianism. 

Greg Releases New Solo Album

In celebration of what would have been Sergei Rachmaninoff's 141st birthday, I'm super excited to announce the release of my brand new solo album. From the heavenly heights of Bach's French Suite No. 5 to the fiery depths of hell portrayed in Rachmaninoff's Piano Sonata No. 1, the album makes for a thoroughly unearthly and transcendent journey. 

Together they represent my personal journey as a pianist: I first played the French Suite as a fledgling pianist growing up in Minnesota, and the sonata I began years later as a doctoral student at Yale University. They are forever special to me; I hope that you'll similarly find meaning and beauty while exploring them.

• Learn more about the album on Greg's solo website. 
• Buy the album from CD Baby or iTunes.

An Amadeus Affair

BIG news—it's finally here! We're thrilled to announce that our brand new all-Mozart album, An Amadeus Affair, is officially available! Our sonic love letter to the work of Wolfgang is already garnering rave reviews:

Way too hot to be background music, this duo commands and demands your attention. (Midwest Record)

The quicksilver spirit of Mozart shines in a new way in this disc of music for two pianos and four hands … Anderson & Roe make it a marvel, each note just right … [It] has to be heard to be believed ... Greg Anderson and Elizabeth Joy Roe play pretty much as one and they sound as if they are enjoying it, too. (Buffalo News)

The wit and playfulness of Mozart are the primary elements on display here … [An Amadeus Affair] is polished to a fine sheen and delivered with panache. (Infodad)

Purchase your brand-spanking new copy of An Amadeus Affair (available in both CD and digital format) from ArkivMusic, Amazon, or iTunes. 

In commemoration of the new album, we're planning to release a new Mozart music video as well ... stay tuned!

Bellini's Legacy

My cocktail blog has suffered of late (mostly due to my indecision regarding the forthcoming "Rite of Spring" cocktail), but there's nothing like the romance of Valentine's Day to rekindle one's inspiration. Today, I present not one, not two, but THREE cocktail recipes, all inspired by the simple and magnificent "Bellini." 

A Bellini cocktail is the perfect combination of white peach puree and Prosecco. Most classical music aficionados instantly assume the cocktail is associated with Vincenzo Bellini, an Italian composer known for his impossibly gorgeous (and endless) melodic lines. (The drink, sadly, has nothing to do with the composer—it's inspired, rather, by a 15th century artist—but I still like to think that the two are indelibly linked.) As such, and after MUCH taste-testing, I propose three new cocktails inspired by early-nineteenth century bel canto opera:

Donezzeti

In theory it's a stretch, but in taste, it's perfect:

• 1 part pineapple purée (or juice, if you're in a hurry)
• 2 to 3 parts Prosecco (or sparkling wine)

Pour the pineapple purée into a chilled champagne flute, then gently (GEN-T-LY!) add the sparkling wine. If the "gentle" addition of sparkling wine results in a lava flow of froth, try adding the sparkling wine with a baster, inserted below the surface of purée. Drink flamboyantly while careening about your living room to the "Mad Scene" from Lucia di Lammermoor.

The Elixir of Love

Um. Yes. Since an "elixir" (especially the love variety) ought to be complicated to produce, this drink adds a fussy, but delicious step to the "Donizetti" recipe listed above:

• 2-4 sage leaves
• 1.5 ounces pineapple purée/juice
• 4 ounces Prosecco/sparkling wine

Lightly muddle the sage leaves with the pineapple purée/juice. (Vigorous muddling can make a bitter mess of sage leaves, so try to stay calm. Experimentation is key.) Remove the bruised leaves. Pour the infused pineapple mixture into a chilled champagne flute, then gently (GEN-T-LY!) add the sparkling wine. Share with a lover while listening/crying to "Una furtiva lagrime" from Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore.

Rossini

I know, I know, for years (centuries, actually) the bubbly music of Rossini has been compared to champagne, but I'm going to go out on a limb with the following:

• 3/4 ounce limoncello
• 1.5 ounces vodka
• 4.5 ounces Pompelmo(a grapefruit-flavored variety of San Pellegrino)

Mix together in a collins glass with plenty of ice.

With the inclusion of limoncello (from Sorrento) and San Pellegrino (from northeast of Milan), the drink is undeniably Italian and "bubbly." BUT, there's something to this drink that's even perkier, more joyous, and less pretentious than even champagne. Opera's rom-com master, Rossini, now has a new drink to celebrate his glittering carouses of the stage. :-)

New Album Announcement (and its first review!)

An Amadeus Affair

Here's a quick blurb about the album:

Mozart's fascination with romance and Anderson & Roe's infatuation with Mozart come together in a sonic whirl of intrigue, scandal, exhilaration and mischief. Featuring Mozart's own Sonata for Two Pianos and scintillating Mozart arrangements by his not-so-secret admirers, this kaleidoscopic collection of works reveals the composer's mastery of opera, concerto, and the sonata. The Anderson & Roe Piano Duo, hailed as "the most dynamic duo of their generation" (San Francisco Classical Voice), brings Mozart's musical dialogue to life in a flirtatious interplay of four hands at one and two pianos. 

AND, the album already has its first review, and it's a stellar, five-star review at that:

Throughout An Amadeus Affair, Greg Anderson and Elizabeth Joy Roe bring Mozart’s greatness to a new generation while escalating the role of the classical piano duo to a new level of virtuosity and sophistication. [Anderson & Roe] excel at a level unheard in recent years by similar concert pianists of their generation.

- examiner.com

Technically, the album's official release is February 25, but you can preorder it from Arkiv or iTunes!