Piano at Butler: Unison Piano Duo
The Unison Piano Duo, featuring pianists Xiao Hu and Du Huang, presents a program that highlights their artistry and range.
The evening begins with Johannes Brahms’ Variations on a Theme by Haydn, composed in 1873. Over eight variations and a virtuosic finale, Brahms explores a range of moods and textures. The piece was initially written for orchestra (Op. 56a) and then arranged by Brahms himself for two pianos (Op. 56b): a testament to his love for the piano duo. Today, this piece stands as a cornerstone of the piano duo repertoire. Arturo Márquez’s Danzón No. 2, arranged by Quintana, infuses the program with energy and rhythm, capturing the elegance and infectious pulse of the traditional Cuban dance.
The program concludes with Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, a piece that shook the musical world when it premiered in 1913. Originally composed as a ballet for Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, its Paris debut famously caused an uproar. Stravinsky’s music, a bold portrayal of pagan rituals and sacrificial dances, broke from traditional harmonic and rhythmic conventions. Its raw, percussive textures and driving, uneven rhythms revolutionized 20th-century music. The piano duo arrangement, created by Stravinsky himself, strips the work to its essentials, revealing the architecture and intensity of the score with stunning clarity.
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