Tuesday evening concert: ANDERSON AND ROE

I was only able to stay for the first half of the concert, since I had to catch a redeye flight back to NYC, but what a treat it was to hear Anderson and Roe tonight! This duo pleases both the eye and ear, with beautiful sounds at the Steinways, as well as grand gestures throughout their performances. Those of you that have heard them know that they often perform their own arrangements of orchestral works. Tonight was no exception. The "treat" for the first half was an arrangement of Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring!" This is the 100th anniversary of the first performance of the original work in Paris, which caused riots among the audience members. Anderson and Roe's grand gestures came to life in this piece, with Ms Roe actually jumping OFF the bench with full force on several occasions. I had the fortune of sitting in between Bob and Karen Vandall during this concert, and got to hear a great story about how Bob, when he was young, used to play his LP record of Rite of Spring over and over and blast the speakers. When his mother came home, she made him turn it off! Anderson and Roe also delighted the audience with their stories in between the pieces. The rest of the first half consisted of a Mozart opera paraphrase from The Magic Flute, the complete Sonata in D for two pianos by Mozart and ended the first half with their now famous Ragtime Alla Turca, based on Mozart's Rondo Alla Turca. Oddly, the program said the piece was by Johann Sebastian Bach. One must wonder how that came to be printed next to "Alla Turca" and a Köchel number!

The duo was also selling their scores and recordings in the lobby at intermission. Some of the arrangements are available from Alfred and others from Anderson and Roe's own publishing company. I didn't get the name of it, but I am sure it's easy to google it.

If you happened to stay for the 2nd half of the concert, feel free to add your comments to this blog! I am sorry I missed it!

You all can check out ANDERSON AND ROE on YouTube, as well.  They have unstoppable energy!  Here is one video of the RAGTIME alla TURCA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYSNmMJHVqM