The first movement ofthe concerto is built on a vigorous dotted opening

subject and a more flowing second subject. The movement projects an 

atmosphere of constant motion; the steady pulse ofsixteenth notes is never

absent for long. The second movement (Notturno) is a quiet mood piece in

ternary form, full of delicate textures and decoration. The third and fourth

movements were originally reversed, as the fugue subject provided the

theme for the variations. Stravinsky decided that the fugue was a more

convincing closing statement, and so changed the order of movements to

its present state. Near the close of the fourth movement, the composer

brings back the prelude briefly, but then finishes with a return ofthe fugue,

its subject inverted.

In 1958 choreographer Dania Krupska invited Dave Brubeck to write a

ballet for the American Ballet Theater. He produced a rehearsal score for

two pianos, an extended series of variations on a tune he had composed

earlier that year while on tour in Poland. The production envisioned by

Krupska was canceled, but Brubeck completed the two-piano score, adding

a fugue to the original variations. Several years later the ballet did reach the

stage, under the title Points ofJazz, accompanied by Brubeck’s score as

orchestrated by Howard Brubeck. The two-piano version was largely

forgotten until the spring of 2000, when Brubeck presented it to the

Brothers Paratore, who have subsequently included it in their concert

repertoire and recorded it.

The use ofcameras or recording equipment during

the performance is not allowed.

For the convenience ofconcertgoers

the Garden Cafe remains open until 6:30 p.m.

Selectionsfrom concerts at the Gallery

can be heard on the second Sunday ofeach month

at 9:00p.m. on WGMS, 103.5 FM.

The Fifty-ninth Season of

THE WILLIAM NELSON CROMWELL and

F. LAMMOT BELIN CONCERTS

National Gallery of Art

2356th Concert

ANTHONY and JOSEPH PARATORE

Piano Duo

Sunday Evening, 8 October 2000

Seven O'clock

West Building, West Garden Court

Admissionfree
PROGRAM

Johann Sebastian Bach Concerto in C Major for Two Pianos

(1685-1750) BWV 1061 (c. 1729)

Allegro

Adagio ovvero Largo

Fuga

Igor Stravinsky

(1882-1971)

Concerto for Two Pianos

(1935)

Con moto

Nottumo

Quatro variazioni

Preludio e fuga

INTERMISSION

Dave Brubeck

(b. 1920)

Prelude

Scherzo

Blues

Fugue

Rag

Chorale

Waltz

A la Turk

Points on Jazz

(1958)

Washington Premiere Performance

Whether on one piano or two, Anthony and Joseph Paratore are

considered one ofthe world’s foremost keyboard duos. They were the first

American duo-pianists to win first prize at the Munich International Piano

Competition. Since that victory launched their career, they have appeared

on numerous celebrity series throughout the United States and with the

world’s premier orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna

Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, and

the National Symphony. They are frequent guests at the Berlin, Salzburg,

and Lucerne Music Festivals, as well as Spoleto USA and Lincoln Center’s

Mostly Mozart Festival, and they presented a recital at the National Gallery

in 1996. In addition to televised performances on British, French, and

German networks, Anthony and Joseph Paratore have appeared on NBC’s

Today Show and Tonight Show, as well as NPR’s All Things Considered.

Recent special projects for the duo have included performing and recording

Saint-Saens’ Carnival ofthe Animals, with narration by Sir Peter Ustinov;

recording compositions for two pianos by Dave Brubeck; and performing

with the Boston, London, and Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestras.

Anthony and Joseph Paratore record for Koch International and appear at 

the National Gallery by arrangement with Mariedi Anders Artists

Management, Incorporated, of San Francisco, California.

The Concerto in C Major, BWV 1061, appears to be Bach’s own

arrangement for two harpsichords and orchestra of a work he originally

conceived for two harpsichords alone. The orchestral accompaniment is

minimal; there is none at all in the second movement, and in the outer

movements the orchestra is silent for long periods, entering only to

emphasize cadences or discreetly double the piano lines. In spite of the

absence of the orchestra, the work as it is performed this evening is

thematically complete, a likely recreation of its original two-keyboard

form.

In the early 1930s Igor Stravinsky’s son, Soulima, began his career as a

professional pianist. The elder Stravinsky composed a work that he and his

son could perform together in concert, completing the Concerto for Two

Pianos in 1934. He and Soulima played the premier performance in Paris

in November 1935. The two pianos are equal adversaries in Stravinsky’s

pointillistic texture, with both parts full of brilliant and complex

counterpoint and many sections marked staccato.