ConcertPulse
Duplex Piano – The Piano with Two Manuals
Elbphilharmonie, Kleiner Saal (Hamburg)
Around 1920, the composer Emanuel Moór had the vision of building the piano of the future. His duplex piano with two manuals was born out of the spirit of the late Romantic period and offers even more tonal colours and a greater richness of sound. On an ordinary piano, one touch of the keys causes a hammer to strike the string. With the duplex piano, two hammers can be coupled: one keystroke then produces two tones simultaneously. This doubling of the tones leads to an unimagined fullness of sound in the forte, and to a magical brilliance of sound in the piano. The two manuals allow for differentiated layers of sound. The concerto is a homage to Johann Sebastian Bach. Emanuel Moór arranged one of Bach’s most famous organ works for the duplex piano: the Dorian Toccata and Fugue. Bach’s music had a profound influence on composers after him, including Schumann, Brahms and the Swiss-German composer Joachim Raff. And so the Romantics entwine themselves around Bach on this evening. Excellent soloists can be heard: Violinist Denis Goldfeld is an internationally renowned musician, violist Boris Faust teaches as a professor of viola at the Hamburg University of Music and Theatre. David Stromberg, who rediscovered the duplex piano and curates the Emanuel Moór concerts, will play the cello. Pianist Florian Uhlig is the master of the duplex piano. He was honoured with the Opus Klassik media prize and the German Record Prize for his complete recording of Robert Schumann’s piano works.
