By Christopher Stone

Relayed from The Cafe Anglais

Hermione Telford
Henriette Winfeld

The pianoforte duet in which two players are seated at one keyboard was a very popular nineteenth century pastime and one which still has its devotees. But the more interesting and certainly the more comfortable duet is that in which two keyboard instruments are used, one for each player, in the manner of this recital. The repertory for this combination has hitherto been small, but it is increasing with the evident popularity of two-piano recitals. The first known composition is one by Giles Farnaby, who lived about 350 years ago, which was included in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book. Bach, Mozart, Schumann and Chopin have each written two-piano music, but it is only in recent years, probably beginning with the publication of Strauss's Symphonic Poems for two players on two pianos, that the catalogue has grown to adequate proportions. Even now, the major part of the repertory is in manuscript and in the form of arrangements of pieces composed in another medium.