Concertante works for two (or more) pianos

[kyjo]

Not sure if a thread on this subject has been created yet, but I figured I might as well do so! Concertante works for two (or more) pianos are a niche interest of mine, as I find the interplay between multiple pianists and orchestra to be so engaging. Of course, the delightful concerti for these forces by Mozart and Poulenc are quite well-known, as are - to a lesser extent - those by Bruch, Martinů, and RVW. But, digging deeper, there's a decently-sized repertoire for these forces, mostly by lesser-known 20th century composers. Just yesterday I was listening to this fine album:



The concerto by American composer Dana Suesse (1909-1987) is quite a beautiful work in a predominantly late-romantic style. There are occasional jazzy influences, but less than I expected considering the composer's extensive background in that genre. My only complaint is that the 3rd and 4th movements are too short at only 2 and 3 minutes long respectively - there's promising material in both movements that could've been developed further. I see that her Concerto in Three Rhythms for piano has been recorded by Naxos, which I very much look forward to hearing!

The concerto by fellow American Harl McDonald (1899-1955) is another thoroughly enjoyable discovery. Many of his orchestral works (which often have colorfully "American" titles) were recorded back in the day by Stokowski and Ormandy, but he's received scant attention in recent years. The first two movements have plenty to commend them (especially the uproarious ending of the first), but it is the finale, titled Juarezca, that steals the show. As a certain YouTuber would say, it's more fun than anyone has any right to have, and is as festive and colorful a depiction of Mexico as, say, Copland's El Salon Mexico, perhaps even more so!

I haven't listened to this recording of the RVW concerto yet, but of course there's more formidable competition to be had there. Throughout both works, the Long Duo play quite convincingly, as do the cumbersomely-named Eskişehir Greater Municipality Symphony Orchestra from Turkey under the direction of Patrick Souillot. Quite the multicultural affair indeed! 

[kyjo]

Also of note are these two double-disc releases from MSR Classics titled "20th Century Masterworks for 2 Pianos and Orchestra". The predominantly rare (with the obvious exception of the Poulenc) and interesting contents are as follows:

Volume 1:



Nikolai Lopatnikoff: Concerto for 2 Pianos and Orchestra
Alexandre Tansman: Suite for 2 Pianos and Orchestra
Gianfrancesco Malipiero: Dialoghi VII for 2 Pianos and Orchestra
Nikolai Berezovsky: Fantaisie for 2 Pianos and Orchestra
Francis Poulenc: Concerto for 2 Pianos and Orchestra
Robert Starer: Concerto for 2 Pianos and Orchestra
Paul Creston: Concerto for 2 Pianos and Orchestra

Volume 2:



Pierre-Max Dubois: Concerto Italien for 2 Pianos and Orchestra
Roy Harris: Concerto for 2 Pianos and Orchestra
Arthur Benjamin: North American Square Dance Suite for 2 Pianos and Orchestra
Walter Piston: Concerto for 2 Pianos and Orchestra
Quincy Porter: Concerto Concertante for 2 Pianos and Orchestra
Morton Gould: Dance Variations for 2 Pianos and Orchestra

Whether or not all the pieces contained here are indeed "masterworks" is up for debate, but that's beside the point. So far, I've only listened to Volume 2, of which the highlight for me was probably the characteristic and serious Roy Harris concerto. The Benjamin and Gould works are thoroughly delightful in a lighter vein. The Dubois is witty and urbane in style a la Francaix with some tart harmonies reminiscent of Milhaud, but it's not strongly memorable. I found the Piston and Porter works rather dry and soulless, unfortunately.

[Mandryka]

Georg Friedrich Haas 11.000 Saiten, for 50 microtonally attuned pianos and chamber orchestra 

[Symphonic Addict]

Some compelling works for two pianos and orchestra worth investigating (besides some already mentioned):

Malcolm Arnold: Concerto for piano 3 hands and orchestra *
Darius Milhaud: Concerto for two pianos and orchestra *
Malcolm Williamson: Concerto for two pianos and orchestra
Arthur Bliss: Concerto for two pianos and orchestra *
Alan Hovhaness: Concerto for two pianos and orchestra (aka Symphony No. 45)
Bruno Maderna: Concerto for two pianos and ensemble *
Lennox Berkeley: Concerto for two pianos and orchestra
Grazyna Bacewicz: Concerto for two pianos and orchestra
Henk Badings: Concerto for two pianos and orchestra *
Vittorio Rieti: Concerto for two pianos and orchestra
Sándor Veress: Hommage à Paul Klee, for two pianos and string orchestra *
Heitor Villa-Lobos: Chôros No. 8 for two pianos and orchestra
Benjamin Britten: Scottish Ballad, for two pianos and orchestra
Alan Rawsthorne: Concerto for two pianos and orchestra
Colin McPhee: Tabuh-Tabuhan, for two pianos and orchestra
Geirr Tveitt: Variations for two pianos and orchestra on a folk song from Hardanger *

* Personal favorites

[kyjo]

Some compelling works for two pianos and orchestra worth investigating (besides some already mentioned):

Malcolm Arnold: Concerto for piano 3 hands and orchestra *
Darius Milhaud: Concerto for two pianos and orchestra *
Malcolm Williamson: Concerto for two pianos and orchestra
Arthur Bliss: Concerto for two pianos and orchestra *
Alan Hovhaness: Concerto for two pianos and orchestra (aka Symphony No. 45)
Bruno Maderna: Concerto for two pianos and ensemble *
Lennox Berkeley: Concerto for two pianos and orchestra
Grazyna Bacewicz: Concerto for two pianos and orchestra
Henk Badings: Concerto for two pianos and orchestra *
Vittorio Rieti: Concerto for two pianos and orchestra
Sándor Veress: Hommage à Paul Klee, for two pianos and string orchestra *
Heitor Villa-Lobos: Chôros No. 8 for two pianos and orchestra
Benjamin Britten: Scottish Ballad, for two pianos and orchestra
Alan Rawsthorne: Concerto for two pianos and orchestra
Colin McPhee: Tabuh-Tabuhan, for two pianos and orchestra
Geirr Tveitt: Variations for two pianos and orchestra on a folk song from Hardanger *

* Personal favorites

Thanks, Cesar! Of those that you list, I know and am very fond of the Arnold, Berkeley, Veress, McPhee, and Tveitt works. I'll have to check out some of the others! Also, we shouldn't neglect to mention Mendelssohn's two precocious concerti for two pianos, written when he was about 14. I recall especially liking the one in A-flat major.

[pjme]

I really like Roy Harris concerto!

Max Bruch and the story of  the Sutro sisters. !  Wikipedia has the full story:

Bruch did not write an entirely fresh piece, but reworked music he had been writing for his planned Suite No. 3 for Organ and Orchestra (also referred to as his Orchestral Suite No. 3).[3][4][5] The Suite used some melodies that Bruch had heard on Good Friday 1904, while convalescing in Capri,[3][4][6] and these melodies appear in the concerto.

Bruch gave the Sutro sisters the sole performing rights to the work. Without Bruch's permission, however, they rewrote the concerto themselves to suit their pianistic abilities, copyrighting their version and depositing it with the Library of Congress in 1916. They performed the premiere of this version with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski on 29 December 1916.[7] In 1917 they played a further revised version of the work, with the number of movements reduced from four to three, with the New York Philharmonic under Josef Stránský.[4] Bruch himself conducted a private rehearsal of the concerto with the Sutro sisters in Berlin, but gave permission for it to be played only in the United States (it is not clear from the source which version this was; apparently he knew that the Sutros had made revisions, but to what extent is not known).[4]

The Sutros withdrew the concerto after the second performance and never played it again. They never played Bruch's original version at all. But they continued to make revisions to their version, amounting to thousands of changes, the last by Ottilie as late as 1961 (Rose having died in 1957). Ottilie died in September 1970, aged 98.[8] Some of her miscellaneous scores, manuscripts and newspaper cuttings were auctioned in January 1971. The pianist Nathan Twining purchased a box of unidentified papers for $11, and it proved to contain the autograph score of Rose and Ottilie's version of Bruch's concerto, a work unknown to him. The orchestral parts for the original version were bought by other people at the same auction, and Twining managed to track them down and buy the parts back from them.[4][6] He and Martin Berkofsky then reconstructed Bruch's original version, and they recorded it for the first time in November 1973, with the London Symphony Orchestra under Antal Doráti.[4]
https://youtu.be/1UUjiVoD9Jk?si=Knxi0YQm6TOXKmIF
The concerto has also been arranged as a work for six hands at three pianos, by Wilhelm Brückner-Rüggeberg.

The knowledge of the existence of the concerto has its own peculiar history. It was listed in the 5th edition (1954) of Grove's Dictionary, as Op. 88, but it was not listed in the New Grove in 1980 at all. It now appears in references as Op. 88a.

Darius Milhaud wrote a second concerto for two pianos (with 4 percussionists) -  I find it quite wonderful, full of "fairytale" twinkling in the first movement, dramatic percussion outbursts in the meandering slow movement and a furious, jolly snare drum led finale ( 2 recordings Erato LP + Japanese cd and Bridge
https://youtu.be/zesaP5BNKhg?si=S-z0XYu7BLbgraKk

[pjme]

Not a concerto, but a great work with an important part for two pianos:

Frank Martins 1937 symphony

Danse de la peur for two pîanos and small orchestra.

Martin created an orchestration for two pianos and orchestra of an approximately 15-minute selection from Die blaue Blume – roughly movements 10 and 11 and the introduction. This Danse de la peur was premiered in Geneva on 28 June 1944. Edmond Appia conducted and Martin's good friends Madeleine and Dinu Lipatti were at the pianos. The Danse de la peur is published as a separate piece

[Louis]

Sandor Veress: Hommage à Paul Klee

A really beautiful modernist piece. By an often overlooked composer.

[pjme]

[kyjo]

Sandor Veress: Hommage à Paul Klee

A really beautiful modernist piece. By an often overlooked composer.

I agree - it's quite a unique and captivating work. And if it is to be considered "modernist", it's also quite accessible too!