Pianist duo share 88 keys

Dances for Four Hands plays music from around the world

Scott Prewitt

News Editor

@s_prewitt

Seated at a single piano in the center of the stage, Frank Garvey and Yih-Mei Hu began a performance last week that made clear why the duo chose the name Dances for Four Hands.

In a show of collaboration and synchronization timed to a fraction of a second, the duo played as one, switching places on the bench between measures.

Hu and Garvey, each a highly accomplished and accredited pianist, chose five pieces for their Thursday Concert Series performance centered around the theme of international classical dance music.

“Our program today is a whole program of dances from around the world,” Garvey said. “We’re taking a world tour from chilly Norway all the way down to sunny Argentina.”

The first piece the group played was Anitra’s Dance, written in 1876 by Edvard Grieg. The piece was mischievous and playful, almost childlike. It started slow, but the pace picked up as Garvey and Hu played in perfect harmony.

After Anitra’s Dance, the duo played Five Spanish Dances, Op. 12, written by 19th-century Polish composer Moritz Moszkowski.

In five measures, the piece ran the gamut in terms of the mood it set.

The first movement, Allegro brioso, was lighthearted and carefree, reminiscent of an aristocratic ballroom dance.

The second movement, Moderato, was slow and contemplative, but not in a somber way. Garvey played the low end, and Hu the high, but unless a person were watching, it would require a trained ear to distinguish that there were two pianists playing simultaneously.

Garvey said he has developed a list of short mnemonic devices to help him play in tandem with Hu, which he confirmed is as hard as it looks.

“These are literally some of the words I have written in my score,” Garvey said. “Run, hide, get high, low, hover. At one point in my score I have ‘obnoxious Frank, stay low and out, watch Y,’ meaning Yih-Mei, followed by sniff and bounce.”

Bolero con Spirito, the fifth and final movement, was exceptional in its beauty and execution.

Hu again played the higher notes, making them sing throughout the piece’s festive finale. She played with lightning speed, and with Garvey setting the tone and rhythm on the low notes, it was hard to believe the sound all came from a single piano.

In Cortege, the second movement of Petite Suite by French composer Claude Debussy, the duo again played in such unison that there was almost no way to tell which was which. The piece was incredibly intricate and