Last week, members of the Eton College Music Society (ECMS) were immensely fortunate to hear one of the world’s foremost piano duettists Simon Callaghan and Hiroaki Takenouchi, known as the Parnassius Duo.
The afternoon commenced with a short concert given by the Parnassius Duo, in which they played Riffs on Seven by last year’s Composer-in-Residence Frederick Viner, and Rachmaninov’s Suite for Two Pianos.
Following the concert, the two pianists gave separate masterclasses to six Eton duos, an invaluable experience given most boys’ lack of experience in the genre. Boys were advised on the absolute necessity for empathy between players to explore the melody and subtle nuances of each piece.
To conclude an insightful day, Eton musicians performed the pieces they had worked on with remarkable success, with performances such as Debussy’s Le Bateau drawing much applause.
