Piano duet: a new MTNA competition.(Music Teachers National Association)(Column)

The MTNA Board of Directors recently, unanimously and enthusiastically passed a motion to create a new competition category for the senior level: Piano Duet, one-piano/four hands. The Board's support of this new competition is to encourage pre-college ensemble playing, to promote an important repertoire and to provide an opportunity for piano teachers to collaborate by jointly entering a piano duet team. The guidelines and requirements will appear in American Music Teacher in 2007, and the inaugural competition will take place in 2007-2008. Since many states and local associations already have duet competitions and festivals, we hope a large number of our teachers will take advantage of this opportunity to enter their students in our new MTNA national program.

The significant history of the piano duet begins with Mozart. Mozart and his sister Nannerl, popularized four-hand playing with their European tours of the 1760s. Among Mozart's piano four-hand works are three sonatas, K. 358, 497 and 521, all of which sparkle with intricate imitative dialogue between the performers. Five variations on an original Andante in G Major, K. 501, is another noteworthy duet, which I first heard beautifully performed at Mozart's 250th Birthday concert January 27, 2006, by my colleagues, Andrew Willis and James Douglass.

The oil painting that accompanies this column is by Johann Nepomuk della Croce. The original is owned by the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. The painter was commissioned by Leopold Mozart at Salzburg between late autumn 1780 and early 1781. Wolfgang and Nannerl are shown playing four hands on a fortepiano. Leopold is shown with his violin and his quill, to signify that he is both a musician and a writer. The portrait on the wall is of Mozart's mother, who had died four years earlier.

The 19th century was truly the golden age for the piano duet. In addition to the piano's evolution into an instrument whose sonority could take advantage of four-hand possibilities, we should also remember the limited social opportunities of the 19th century. The piano duet provided a socially acceptable way for young people to come together. Note that many works require the crossing of hands. In the preface to his first published four-hand music (London, 1777), Charles Burney requested that a lady who wished to play four-hands remove the hoops from her skirt and urged her not to be embarrassed should her ...