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Pianists Greg Anderson and Elizabeth Joy Roe have electrified audiences worldwide since their first concert as a duo two decades ago, at The Juilliard School. Their original arrangements of popular and classical music, charismatic stage presence, fashion sense, and symbiotic partnership have defined their brand since “that magical moment” when they sight-read together for the first time in college.
“Part of the secret sauce is that we’re not married,” says Greg Anderson—“And not related,” adds Elizabeth Roe cheekily. Underneath the banter, the American duo share a deep friendship, mutual respect, and vision for the role of classical music in contemporary society. “That gave us a mountain to climb together. Being able to travel the world with my best friend, doing something creative and making a difference has made for an incredible run,” says Anderson.
The duo is returning to a growing fan base in Montreal on Sunday, April 21, to perform a much-anticipated recital at the Société Pro Musica. Combining four hands and two-piano repertoire, Anderson and Roe will perform original music by Mozart and Dvořák, as well as various arrangements (mostly their own) of music by John Williams, Holst, Ravel, Leonard Cohen, and The Beatles.
They open with Mozart’s Sonata for two pianos in D major K.448, which is filled with “infectious banter and some of (Mozart’s) most satisfying and joyous music,” says Anderson. In the four-hand format, they will perform Dvorak’s “sublime” Silent Woods, from The Bohemian Forest Op.68, B.133.
Completing the first half is the duo’s first viral YouTube hit, their Three Star Wars Fantasies based on John Williams’s film score. Anderson and Roe will bring a new take on all three movements in their upcoming Montreal performance.
“We’ve always been attracted to music that feels cosmic, otherworldly, which takes us out of the mundane, and out of the chaos and the confusion of modern life,” says Roe. It is this idea that will inspire the second half of their concert. Following their original transcription of Holst’s “Neptune” from The Planets, and an arrangement by Vyacheslav Gryaznov of Ravel’s “Daybreak” from Daphnis et Chloé, the duo will pay tribute to one of Montreal’s greatest musical icons: Leonard Cohen.
The Montrealer’s spiritual quest inspired the duo’s reimagining of Hallelujah. “We were drawn to the complexity of the song because the lyrics cover all states of psychological and emotional states,” says Roe.
Concluding the concert is a “hard gospel” piano arrangement of a Beatles classic, Let It Be. “The whole program speaks to our genre-blind approach,” explains Roe.
“We want our concerts to at times feel familiar and other times keep audiences on their toes. Our hope is that people won’t know what’s happening next—we keep things spicy and unexpected,” says Anderson.
Piano duo Anderson & Roe present their flamboyant program as part of Sociéte Pro Musica’s Cartes Blanche Series on Sunday, April 21, 3 p.m. at Salle Pierre-Mercure, Centre Pierre-Péladeau.
www.promusica.qc.ca, www.andersonroe.com.
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