Back a hundred or so years ago, before the radio, the phonograph and other such devices, a parlor piano was a source of amusement for some. If two players were available, duets were often played.
Publishers scrambled to print fresh music for “piano, four-hands,” and many a composer was obliging when it came to writing something for the amateurs. Of course, some others saw artistic opportunities in this newly fashionable combination, and they wrote music that no dilletante was likely to master.
We’ll look at some of these keyboard duets this week.
