By Erik D. Dyar

[Editor's note: Unable to attend this concert, I asked Erik Dyar to write a review for PENINSULA REVIEWS. Mr. Dyar, an architect by profession, is also an accomplished pianist who performed a recital in Carmel, California last year.]

The all too neglected repertoire for duo pianists received a welcome presentation Saturday night, April 19, 2003, at Le Petit Trianon in San Jose. The Julliard-trained husband and wife team of Ning-Wu Du and Helen Sim, brought to us by the Steinway Society The Bay Area, played a varying program of works for one piano (four hands) during the first half, and works for two pianos in the second half. It is clear from their performance that far from approaching this format and repertoire as something just to dabble in (since after all they are a married couple who both are fine pianists), they have committed themselves to it. They both played from memory throughout a concert filled with much virtuosity, as well as, musical substance.

The four-handed first half, began with three Hungarian Dances by Brahms. These are playful and fun, and masterfully arranged, gypsy tunes that offered an excellent introduction to the not so familiar sonorities of 20 fingers playing together. These were followed by the substantive center of the program, a four-hand arrangement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 by Hugo Ulrich. Purists may have problems with transcriptions such as this; and obviously a full orchestra in the original version has a much wider palette of colors and textures.
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