Danse Macabre: Bacchanal for Two Pianos, Percussion, & Violin

We’re back on Performance Today, and we’re celebrating with a score release!

This past July, we performed our Danse Macabre: Bacchanal for Two Pianos, Percussion, & Violin at the Grand Teton Music Festival. The resident “Death” in the ensemble was performed by violinist Lydia Umloaf (successfully managing seven lightning-fast violin changes), while Richard Brown and John Kinzie tackled a whopping 18 percussion instruments. We stuck to our usual 88x2 keys. Performance Today will air a recording of our performance on their October 31 show — perfect for Halloween! 🎃

In composing this wild ensemble work, we were inspired by Bartok’s Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion, and hints of Bartok’s token “night music,” funkified rhythms, and folksy mayhem can be found throughout. After two super-successful performances (the Tetons and San Francisco Symphony), we’ve prepped and fine-tuned the score and parts, and we’re excited to share the finished product with you. While it’s on the pricier side, the .zip file comes complete with PDFs copies of the full score as well as parts for the percussionists, pianists, and solo violinist. (Don’t forget to use the coupon code “25percent” to save 25% on orders of $50 or more.) We can’t wait to hear your bacchanalian performances!

Let's Rock.

We’re back with another music video premiere! In a sharp departure from the sultry, serene, and soothing imagery in our last several music videos, we’ve ventured into the wild and unpredictable world of grunge rock. A cross between heavy metal and punk, the gritty “Seattle scene”—along with a whole lotta flying hair—compliments our arrangement of György Ligeti’s “Hungarian Rock.”

Originally composed as a chaconne for a single harpsichord, Ligeti gave the Baroque ostinato an eclectic overhaul with his "Hungarian Rock.” Our two-piano arrangement makes use of a muted second keyboard for a rocking percussive effect and pushes the primo pianist to the max with blistering cascades of short interval notes. The result: a monster piece crackling with energy. No amps required.

Rock & roll. 🤘

Composition Competition Submission Highlights (1 of 3)

Last fall we received 46 incredible submissions in our first ever New Music New Video composition competition. Many of these were just too good to keep to ourselves, so we've selected a handful of noteworthy entries to highlight in short video clips for your listening pleasure.

The first piece we introduced to our fans was Rhapsodie #4 “The Sirens” from California composer Danaë Xanthe Vlasse (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter). We were compelled by the unabashedly neo-Romantic aesthetic and haunting narrative of "The Sirens.” Danaë expertly conjured the sirens’ seductive yet dangerous allure through yearning melodies and a slow-burning intensity that’s to die for:

Benjamin Gribble (Facebook and Soundcloud) entered the competition with his composition “Try and Stop Me.” It was a close contender, and no one could stop us from showcasing this brief excerpt of his entry. 😉What we love: Benjamin’s sophisticated writing, the work’s purposeful evolution and almost trance-like quality, and the funk:

Look out for more excerpts soon!

The Mozart Anthology

 
 

For those of you who delight in physical, hold-it-in-your-hands sheet music, we’re so pleased to announce “The Mozart Anthology” is available now on Amazon. This new 74-page score compilation features five of our favorite Mozart arrangements, fantasies, and showpieces for piano duo (all freshly edited, revised, and in some cases rewritten).

You may already be familiar with these arrangements from our Steinway Label albums, When Words Fade and An Amadeus Affair, but it has taken us nearly a decade to find time between tours to commit the works to paper. They range widely in mood and style (from structurally literal to irreverently off-the-wall), but each arrangement contains every bit of the mischief, vivacity, and joy that make Mozart’s music so irresistible. 🤗 

Having performed some of these works more than 10 years, we’ve tested these arrangements extensively. We’ve rewritten some of the most unplayable passages, threw in a few fingerings for the barely playable ones, and fixed an embarrassing compositional flaw or two. Not to mention, this edition is much easier to read than our earlier micro-print scores (so sorry!). 😅🙌

We’re delighted to once again be celebrating the music of Mozart. Mix up a refreshing Amadeus Affair cocktail and join us in toasting one of the greatest geniuses in history. Prost!