Richard and John Contiguglia (born April 13, 1937 in
Auburn, New York
Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States. Located at the north end of Owasco Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in Central New York, the city had a population of 26,866 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city of Cayuga County, the ...
) are American identical twin duo-pianists. Born to Italian immigrant parents, they were the second set of twins and the youngest of seven children.
Biography
At the age of five they started piano lessons, and at six gave their first public performance together.
At the age of twelve they performed a group of two-piano pieces on a recital in their hometown by the composer-pianist
Percy Grainger
Percy Aldridge Grainger (born George Percy Grainger; 8 July 188220 February 1961) was an Australian-born composer, arranger and pianist who lived in the United States from 1914 and became an American citizen in 1918. In the course of a long an ...
. Grainger was so impressed with the twins' talent that a few months later he sent them much of his four-hand music, which they championed throughout their career.
Their first important teacher was Jean Wilder, a pupil of
Tobias Matthay
Tobias Augustus Matthay (19 February 185815 December 1945) was an English pianist, teacher, and composer.
Biography
Matthay was born in Clapham, Surrey, in 1858 to parents who had come from northern Germany and eventually became naturalised Brit ...
, then on the faculty of
Wells College
Wells College is a private liberal arts college in Aurora, New York. The college has cross-enrollment with Cornell University and Ithaca College. For much of its history it was a women's college.
Wells College is located in the Finger Lakes reg ...
in
Aurora, New York.
After graduating first and second in their class from public high school in Auburn, the twins attended
Yale College
Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...
. They were elected to
Phi Beta Kappa
The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...
in their junior year, an honor extended to the top 1% of their class of 1000, and received BA degrees in 1959, summa cum laude, with philosophical orations, and were awarded th
Seymour Prizefor the highest numerical average of a graduating student in
Berkeley College
Berkeley College is a Private college, private for-profit college with campuses in New York (state), New York, New Jersey, and online. It was founded in 1931 and offers undergraduate and graduate degrees and certificate programs. Berkeley Coll ...
, their residential college. They achieved identical 4-year averages of 91, a coincidence that received national attention.
In 1961 they received MMus degrees from th
Yale Graduate School of Music During their 6 years at Yale the twins studied piano wit
From 1961 to 1965 Richard and John studied in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
with the English pianist,
Dame Myra Hess, who prepared them for their professional debut in London's
Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadin ...
on October 27, 1962. Its success led to recitals on the Continent, especially in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, where they received enthusiastic critical acclaim, and to a contract to tour in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
under the aegis of impresario
Sol Hurok
Sol Hurok (Solomon Israilevich Hurok; born Solomon Izrailevich Gurkov, Russian Соломон Израилевич Гурков; April 9, 1888March 5, 1974) was a 20th-century American impresario.
Early life
Hurok was born in Pogar, Chernigov G ...
.
Richard and John taught piano for six years at
Syracuse University School of Music from 1966 to 1972. They also taught for 6 years at the
Horace Mann School
, motto_translation = Great is the truth and it prevails
, address = 231 West 246th Street
, city = The Bronx
, state = New York
, zipcode = 10471
, count ...
in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
.
Since 1974, Richard and John have made their homes in New York City.
Bartok and Liszt recordings
During the 1970s the Contiguglias recorded and performed much little-known repertoire of
Bartók and
Liszt
Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...
.
Connoisseur Society Records released Bartók's ''Suite'', Op. 4b and ''14 Pieces from'' ''
Mikrokosmos'' in 1970.
"A good deal of the impact of this music must, I think, be attributed to the way the Contiguglia brothers play it. Frankly, they are an amazing duo, possessed of extraordinarily magnificent pianism, precise ensemble, an acute sense of rhythm and timing, and a fullness of tone which is quite glorious in the ''Suite." (''Ates Orga, ''Records and Recording,'' Feb. 1975)
It was followed in 1971 by Liszt's two-piano and piano, four-hand versions of 4 Operatic Transcriptions (''
Réminiscenses de Mozart's 'Don Juan''', ''Réminiscences de Bellini's'' ''Norma'', ''Réminiscences de Bellini's '
La Sonnambula
''La sonnambula'' (''The Sleepwalker'') is an opera semiseria in two acts, with music in the '' bel canto'' tradition by Vincenzo Bellini set to an Italian libretto by Felice Romani, based on a scenario for a ''ballet-pantomime'' written by Eug ...
'
'', and the ''Tscherkessenmarsch'' from Glinka's
'''Russlan'' ''und Ludmila).
"If somewhere in the world, there were a music lover about 130, he might – were he very fortunate – have heard these works played by Liszt and Tausig. Asked to describe the manner in which these two great and legendary virtuosos played, it would not be surprising were he to put this record on his turntable and say, 'They played like that.'" (Keith Fagan, The Liszt Society, Limited)
Finally, in 1972, Connoisseur Society released their performance of Liszt's monumental transcription for two pianos of
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...
's
''9th Symphony'', coupled with his transcription for one piano, four-hands of his 1845 ''Festkantate for Orchestra, Soloists and Chorus''.
"Here is the all-around finest two-piano recording I have ever heard, bar none." (Edward Tatnall Canby, ''Audio
Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to:
Sound
*Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound
*Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum
*Digital audio, representation of sound ...
'' Magazine)[Canby, Edward Tatnall. "Canby's Capsules", ''Audio'' magazine, February 1974. Archived fro]
the original
on September 17, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
Honors poured in. In 1975 The Liszt Society of
Budapest, Hungary
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population of ...
awarded them a ''Grand Prix'' in the first record competition in the Society's history for the "Liszt-Beethoven 9th". ''
Gramophone
A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...
'' magazine selected two of the Liszt releases as its choices for Top 10 Record Releases of the Year. The Beethoven-Liszt "9th" was a ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' Best Seller and a best seller in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
.
All of the performances on these Bartók and Liszt discs were first recorded performances.
Other notable recordings
Schubert-Brahms Connoisseur Society recording Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...
's
''Fantasy in F minor'' and ''
Marche Militaire
The Three ''Marches Militaires'', Op. 51, D. 733, are pieces in march form written for piano four-hands by Franz Schubert.
The first of the three is far more famous than the others. It is one of Schubert's most famous compositions, and it is oft ...
'',
Brahms
Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...
's Waltzes, Op. 39 and ''
Hungarian Dances Hungarian dance refers to the folk dances practised and performed by the Hungarians, both amongst the populations native to Hungary and its neighbours, and also amongst the Hungarian diaspora.
According to György Martin, a prominent folklore expe ...
, Nos. 5 & 6''
*
John Corigliano
John Paul Corigliano Jr. (born February 16, 1938) is an American composer of contemporary classical music. His scores, now numbering over one hundred, have won him the Pulitzer Prize, five Grammy Awards, Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition, an ...
's ''Kaleidoscope'' and ''Gazebo Dances'', on the
CRI
CRI or CRi may refer to:
Organizations
* Canadian Rivers Institute, for river sciences, University of New Brunswick
* Cancer Research Institute, New York, US
* Centro de Relaciones Internacionales (International Relations Center), Universidad N ...
label, recorded at the composer's request.
* Two-piano Music of
Percy Grainger
Percy Aldridge Grainger (born George Percy Grainger; 8 July 188220 February 1961) was an Australian-born composer, arranger and pianist who lived in the United States from 1914 and became an American citizen in 1918. In the course of a long an ...
and
William Bolcom
William Elden Bolcom (born May 26, 1938) is an American composer and pianist. He has received the Pulitzer Prize, the National Medal of Arts, a Grammy Award, the Detroit Music Award and was named 2007 Composer of the Year by Musical America. He ...
for
Helicon Records
Helicon ( he, הליקון) is an Israeli record label.
History
Helicon Records was founded in 1985. Aside from being the label of many Israeli singers, Helicon was the exclusive distributor of Snapper Music, EMI and Universal Music Group (repla ...
: ''
Lincolnshire Posy
''Lincolnshire Posy'' is a musical composition by Percy Grainger for concert band commissioned in 1937 by the American Bandmasters Association. Considered by John Bird, the author of Grainger's biography, to be his masterpiece, the work has six ...
'', ''Hill Song No. 1'', ''Children's March (Over the Hills and Far Away'', all by Grainger, and ''Recuerdos'' and Two Rags'': The Serpent's Kiss'' and ''Through Eden's Gates'' by Bolcom.
*
Gershwin-Grainger CD and LP for
MCA Classics: "The Legendary Transcriptions of Percy Grainger: ''Fantasy on George Gershwin's 'Porgy and Bess'', the solo-piano transcriptions of Gershwin's ''
Love Walked In
"Love Walked In" is a song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin. The tune was composed in 1930, but the lyric was not written until 1937, for the movie musical ''The Goldwyn Follies'' (1938), where it was sung by Kenny Baker (Am ...
'' and ''
The Man I Love'', the piano 4-hand version of ''
Embraceable You
"Embraceable You" is a jazz standard song with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin. The song was written in 1928 for an unpublished operetta named ''East Is West''. It was published in 1930 and included in that year's Broadway m ...
'' and the original Gershwin duos of ''
Rhapsody in Blue
''Rhapsody in Blue'' is a 1924 musical composition written by George Gershwin for solo piano and jazz band, which combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects. Commissioned by bandleader Paul Whiteman, the work premiered i ...
'' and ''
Cuban Overture
''Cuban Overture'' is a symphonic overture or tone poem for orchestra composed by American composer George Gershwin. Originally titled ''Rumba'' (named for the Cuban rumba musical genre), it was a result of a two-week holiday which Gershwin took ...
''.
* In 1982, Grainger's centennial year, Richard and John recorded for NPR several programs of Grainger's chamber music, including the Trios for piano, violin and cello, ''
My Robin is to the Greenwood Gone'' and ''
Colonial Song'', as well as other works for strings and piano, besides many compositions for two pianists. The previous year they presented an all-Grainger program at
The Caramoor Festival.
Gemini CD Classics
In 2000 The Contiguglias formed their own recording company, Gemini CD Classics, LLC. Under this label they issued five CDs: ''Schubert Duets -'' ''The Final Year;'' ''Live From the Holland Liszt Festival;'' ''Beethoven/Liszt '9th Symphony''; ''Gershwin-Grainger''; and ''Liszt (Operatic Fantasies) and Bartok Suite, Op. 4b.'' The Contiguglias were awarded a second ''Grand Prix'' by the Liszt Society of Budapest for the last recording.
Performances of note
![Contiguglias Lobero Theater Santa Barbara 2000](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Contiguglias_Lobero_Theater_Santa_Barbara_2000.jpg)
Performances of Bartók and Liszt works by the Contiguglias, many of which were modern-day premieres, were presented in London's
Queen Elizabeth Hall
The Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH) is a music venue on the South Bank in London, England, that hosts classical, jazz, and avant-garde music, talks and dance performances. It was opened in 1967, with a concert conducted by Benjamin Britten.
The ...
in 1971 and 1972, one of which featured Bartók's complete works for two pianos. In 1970 they participated in Bartók commemorative concerts in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
and
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
, organized by Bartók pupil and composer,
Geza Frid. They performed a Liszt Marathon Recital in New York's
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
in 1974. They were frequent guests of the Holland Liszt Festivals in
Utrecht
Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...
and Amsterdam during the 1980s.
On November 14, 1986, in
Utrecht
Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...
, Netherlands, under the auspices of the Holland Liszt Festival, they gave the first complete public performance ever of Liszt's unpublished, and almost forgotten, ''Grosses
Konzertstück
A concert piece (German: Konzertstück; French: pièce de concert, also morceau de concert) is a musical composition, in most cases in one movement, intended for performance in a concert. Usually it is written for one or more virtuoso instrumenta ...
über
Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositi ...
's '
Lieder ohne Worter'' after reconstructing the music from manuscript copies. At what was to have been the ''Konzertstück''s debut in Paris by Liszt and a pupil in 1835, Liszt collapsed at the piano in the middle of the performance and was carried off the stage. Many years later,
Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni (1 April 1866 – 27 July 1924) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, editor, writer, and teacher. His international career and reputation led him to work closely with many of the leading musicians, artists and literary f ...
announced an upcoming performance in London with a colleague,
Egon Petri
Egon Petri (23 March 188127 May 1962) was a Dutch pianist.
Life and career
Petri's family was Dutch. He was born a Dutch citizen but in Hanover, Germany, and grew up in Dresden, where he attended the Kreuzschule. His father, a professional vio ...
, but died before the concert could take place. There is no record of this work being publicly performed before the Contiguglias' world premiere in Holland in 1986. Its American premieres followed in Chicago and New York the following weeks.
Richard and John appeared with many orchestras in Europe and North and Central America, often playing unusual repertoire. They were soloists with the
Cleveland Orchestra
The Cleveland Orchestra, based in Cleveland, is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the " Big Five". Founded in 1918 by the pianist and impresario Adella Prentiss Hughes, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Sev ...
in a 1978 revival of
Victor Babin Vronsky & Babin were regarded by many as one of the foremost duo-piano teams of the twentieth century. Vitya Vronsky (''Viktoria Mikhailovna Vronskaya'', 22 August 190928 June 1992) was born in the Crimean city of Yevpatoria, Russia. Victor Babin ...
's ''Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra''; with the
Syracuse Symphony
Syracuse may refer to:
Places Italy
*Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa''
*Province of Syracuse
United States
*Syracuse, New York
**East Syracuse, New York
**North Syracuse, New York
*Syracuse, Indiana
*Syracuse, Kansas
*Syracuse, Misso ...
in
Tibor Serly
Tibor Serly (; Losonc, Kingdom of Hungary, 25 November 1901 – London, 8 October 1978) was a Hungarian violist, violinist, and composer.
Serly was the son of Lajos Serly, a pupil of Franz Liszt and a composer of songs and operettas in the ...
's ''Double Concerto''; with the
Honolulu Symphony The Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, formerly known as Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, was founded in 1900. It is the second oldest orchestra in the USA west of the Rocky Mountains. The orchestra now plays at Neal S. Blaisdell Concert Hall and the Hawaii Th ...
in
Quincy Porter
William Quincy Porter (February 7, 1897 – November 12, 1966) was an American composer and teacher of classical music.
Biography
Born in New Haven, Connecticut, he went to Yale University where his teachers included Horatio Parker and David St ...
's ''Concerto Concertante for 2 Pianos and'' ''Orchestra''; with the
American Symphony Orchestra
The American Symphony Orchestra is a New York-based American orchestra founded in 1962 by Leopold Stokowski whose mission is to demystify orchestral music and make it accessible and affordable for all audiences. Leon Botstein is the orchestra's m ...
in New York's Carnegie Hall, in
Max Bruch
Max Bruch (6 January 1838 – 2 October 1920) was a German Romantic composer, violinist, teacher, and conductor who wrote more than 200 works, including three violin concertos, the first of which has become a prominent staple of the standard v ...
's ''
Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra''; with the
Des Moines Symphony
The Des Moines Symphony (DMSO) is a United States symphony orchestra based in Des Moines, Iowa. The current conductor is Joseph Giunta. Established in 1937 as the Des Moines Civic Orchestra, the orchestra performs both Masterworks and Pops concer ...
and with the
Seattle Symphony
The Seattle Symphony is an American orchestra based in Seattle, Washington. Since 1998, the orchestra is resident at Benaroya Hall. The orchestra also serves as the accompanying orchestra for the Seattle Opera.
History
Beginnings
The orchestra ...
in the orchestrated version, commissioned by the Contiguglias from Tom Kochan, of Percy Grainger's ''Fantasy on George Gershwin's '
Porgy and Bess
''Porgy and Bess'' () is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play '' Porgy'', itse ...
''. Other orchestras with which they have collaborated include the
Boston Pops
The Boston Pops Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in light classical and popular music. The orchestra's current music director is Keith Lockhart.
Founded in 1885 as an offshoot of the Boston Symp ...
under
Arthur Fiedler
Arthur Fiedler (December 17, 1894 – July 10, 1979) was an American conductor known for his association with both the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops orchestras. With a combination of musicianship and showmanship, he made the Boston Pops one o ...
, the
Toronto Symphony
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1906, the TSO gave regular concerts at Massey Hall until 1982, and since then has performed at Roy Thomson Hall. The TSO also manages the Toronto ...
, the
National Symphony, the
Atlanta Symphony
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) is an American orchestra based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The ASO's main concert venue is Atlanta Symphony Hall in the Woodruff Arts Center.
History
Though earlier organizations bearing the same name date ba ...
, the
Pittsburgh Symphony
The ''Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra'' (''PSO'') is an American orchestra based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The orchestra's home is Heinz Hall, located in Pittsburgh's Cultural District, Pittsburgh, Cultural District.
History
The Pittsburgh Sy ...
, the
Baltimore Symphony
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore SO has its principal residence at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, where it performs more than 130 concerts a year. In 2005, it bega ...
, the
Colorado Symphony
The Colorado Symphony is an American symphony orchestra located in Denver, Colorado. Established in 1989 as the successor to the Denver Symphony Orchestra, the Colorado Symphony performs in Boettcher Concert Hall, located in the Denver Performing ...
, the
Phoenix Symphony
The Phoenix Symphony is an American symphony orchestra based in Phoenix, Arizona. The orchestra performs primarily at Phoenix Symphony Hall, and is the only full-time, professional orchestra in the state of Arizona.
History
Founded in 1947, the ...
, the
Netherlands Chamber Orchestra The Netherlands Chamber Orchestra (NKO; Dutch, ''Nederlands Kamerorkest'') is a Dutch chamber orchestra based in Amsterdam. The NKO is part of the ''Stichting Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest'' (Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra Foundation), along ...
, the
Amsterdam Philharmonic, the
Rotterdam Philharmonic
The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra (RPhO; nl, Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest) is a Dutch symphony orchestra based in Rotterdam. Its primary venue is the concert hall De Doelen. The RPhO is considered one of the Netherlands' two principal orc ...
, and the Nordelich Philharmonic Orkest of
Groningen
Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...
,
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
.
Their interest in 'new' music was not limited to works by modern composers. On March 21, 1993, Richard and John were an important part of the annual
Schubertiade A Schubertiade (also spelled Schubertiad) is an event held to celebrate the music of Franz Schubert (1797–1828). Modern Schubertiades also include concert series and festivals, such as the Schubertiade Vorarlberg.
History
During Schubert's lifet ...
, Schubert and the Piano, at the 92nd St. Y in New York, during which they focused on Schubert's Piano Duets, described by the Schubertiade's program director,
Joseph Horowitz
Joseph Horowitz (born 1948 in New York City) is an American cultural historian whose seven books mainly deal with the institutional history of classical music in the United States. As a producer of concerts, he has played a pioneering role in ...
, as "arguably, the most comprehensively varied body of music ever created by a single composer in a single genre," works which are "rarely performed, or recorded." After their extensive illustrated traversal, the twins gave complete performances of the three masterpieces from 1828, Schubert's final year, ''Allegro (Lebensstürme)'', ''Fantasy in F minor'' and ''Grand Rondo in A major''. Schubert duets were an important part of their recital repertoire throughout their career.
Perhaps the most important concert in their final years of concertizing was their performance at the
National Gallery
The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...
in London for
Myra Hess Day in 2008. The day honored the great pianist and national hero, and the Contiguglias' beloved teacher. Their program comprised
Howard Ferguson
George Howard Ferguson, PC (June 18, 1870 – February 21, 1946) was the ninth premier of Ontario, from 1923 to 1930. He was a Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1905 to 1930 who represented the eastern provincia ...
's ''Partita for Two Pianos'', Schubert's ''Variations in A-flat on an Original Theme'' and the Finale of the Beethoven-Liszt ''9th Symphony''. Ferguson had worked closely with Dame Myra on the wartime National Gallery Concerts; Richard and John studied the Schubert Variations with Dame Myra in preparation for their London debut recital.
As part of their early touring, the Contiguglias often visited nursing homes and hospitals to share their music. Under the auspices of Hospital Audiences. Inc., they teamed up with
Glenn Close
Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress. Throughout her career spanning over four decades, Close has garnered numerous accolades, including two Screen Actors Guild Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards ...
and
Jeremy Irons
Jeremy John Irons (; born 19 September 1948) is an English actor and activist. After receiving classical training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969 and has appeared in many West End theatre ...
in a performance of
Saint-Saens' ''
Carnival of the Animals
''The Carnival of the Animals'' (''Le Carnaval des animaux'') is a humorous musical suite of fourteen movements, including "The Swan", by the French composer Camille Saint-Saëns. The work, about 25 minutes in duration, was written for private ...
'', with the famous actors reciting the
Ogden Nash
Frederic Ogden Nash (August 19, 1902 – May 19, 1971) was an American poet well known for his light verse, of which he wrote over 500 pieces. With his unconventional rhyming schemes, he was declared by ''The New York Times'' the country's best ...
poems. The performance was recorded and videotaped by
Video Artists International
Video Artists International (VAI), is an independent American DVD-label specializing in classical music performances founded in 1983, and based in Pleasantville, NY. The company started as one of the first labels to release complete operas and ba ...
.
Publications
Hunting for Liszt Treasure- Music Journal, vol. xxxiii, No. 2, Feb. 1975.
Grainger The Modernist - A Review- NABMSA Reviews, Vol. 2, No. 2 (Autumn 2015).
Some Thoughts on the Performance of a Schubert Duet- Keyboard Classics/Piano Stylist, March/April 1993, P. 54 ff, Vol. 13/ No. 2.
Duo Pianists as Chamber Musicians- Chamber Music, April 1997, Vol. 14, No. 2, P.16ff.
Adams Piano Recital Series
One of the most rewarding experiences of their career, indeed of their lives, was conceiving of and directing for thirteen years, from 2001 to 2014, the Adams Foundation Piano Recital Series project. This philanthropic program arranged piano recitals by American pianists throughout the United States under the sponsorship of the
Adams Family Foundation. During the thirteen years of its operation the program made possible 261 piano recitals in 40 different communities in 25 different states by 18 different American pianists. When the end of the program was announced, Richard and John received some of their most cherishe
tributesfrom many of the pianists who participated, including
Simone Dinnerstein
Simone Andrea Dinnerstein (born September 18, 1972) is an American classical pianist.
Education
Dinnerstein was born in New York City, New York, United States to a Jewish family. She is the daughter of Renee and Simon Dinnerstein. She studied in ...
,
Jon Nakamatsu
Jon Yasuhiro Nakamatsu (born 1968, San Jose, California) is an American classical pianist who resides in San Jose.
About
He is the son of David Y. Nakamatsu, a San Jose electrical engineer, and Karen F. Maeda Nakamatsu, a city employee. He w ...
,
Joseph KalichsteinSteven Mayer Ursula Oppens
Ursula Oppens (born February 2, 1944) is an American classical concert pianist and educator. She has received five Grammy Award nominations.
Biography
Ursula Oppens was born on February 2, 1944, in New York City into a highly musical family fr ...
,
Soyeon Kate Lee,
Frederic Chiu
Frederic Chiu (born 20 October 1964) is an American classical concert pianist.
Education
Chiu was born in Ithaca, New York. He studied music seriously with William Eltzroth at Butler University in Indianapolis, IN, with Karen Shaw (and also stud ...
,
Ann Schein and
Jeanne Stark-Iochmans.
Sources
Contiguglia website: Home
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Contiguglia, Richard Aand John
1937 births
American classical pianists
Male classical pianists
American male pianists
Classical piano duos
Sibling musical duos
Living people
People from Auburn, New York
Identical twins
Yale College alumni
Musical groups established in 1942
20th-century American pianists
21st-century classical pianists
20th-century American male musicians
21st-century American male musicians
21st-century American pianists
1985 establishments in New York (state)