- This beautifully conceived program brings together the complete works for piano duet by three major American composers: Edward MacDowell (1860-1908), Amy Beach (1867-1944) and Samuel Barber (1910-1981).
- MacDowell wrote his Moon-Pictures Op.21 in the winter of 1884-5, and subtitled them ‘after H.C. Andersen’s Picture-Book without Pictures’, referring to an 1848 collection of short bedtime stories. They show MacDowell’s great talent for evoking atmosphere and small-scale drama.
- The Summer Dreams Op.47 by Amy Beach are delightful and picturesque miniatures, evoking fairy tales and children’s stories.
- Six dances make up Samuel Barber's suite Souvenirs Op.28: Waltz, Schottische, Pas de Deux, Two Step, Hesitation-Tango, and Galop. They are coloured by post-Stravinskian melodic intervals and harmonies even while the dance rhythms are those of an earlier century.
- Emma Abbate and Julian Perkins have given duo recitals for the Mozart Society of America and at many UK venues, including the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, St George’s Bristol, St John’s Smith Square, Hatchlands Park and the Russell Collection, Edinburgh. Praised for their ‘‘impressive sensitivity’’ (Early Music Reviews) and for telling ‘‘a totally convincing story with every piece’’ (The Arts Desk), their recordings have received five-star reviews in BBC Music Magazine and other magazines.
