Piano duet pieces performed with four hands simultaneously are all dazzling and cool! When choosing a piece to present at a recital, many people may wonder, “What kind of piece will make a big impression?” or feel stuck because “They all seem difficult, and I can’t decide…”.
So this time, from among luxurious and brilliant duet pieces, we’re introducing recommended works at the intermediate level! They all sound grand, but since the parts are shared between two players and there are many intermediate-level arrangements, these pieces are easy to try without feeling overwhelmed.
We hope this helps you choose your next duet piece.
[Intermediate] Recommended Piano Duets | A Curated Selection of Cool and Showy Pieces (1–10)
Electrical ParadeVarious Artists
Electrical Parade – Disneyland Electrical Parade Piano Duet (by Reikana)
The music from Disneyland’s famous parade, the “Electrical Parade,” has been arranged as a piano duet for four hands.
If you’re looking for duet pieces, Disney’s bright and cheerful songs will bring a delightful, dreamlike moment to listeners.
Beloved Disney tunes appear one after another in a medley.
In a four-hands piano duet, two people play together, so there are many sections to divide up: accompaniment, melody, interjecting countermelodies, and plenty of obbligato lines.
With an orchestral-like timbre and a high degree of fidelity to the originals, this duet arrangement is irresistible for Disney fans.
There are some difficult passages, but the charm of duets is playing together—let’s help each other and grow.
Because there are many notes, intermediate players might find it challenging, but that’s exactly why you improve when you love what you do.
[Piano Duet] Sabre Dance / Khachaturian / Piano Duo Lumiere / Sabre Dance / Khachaturian / 4-Hands Piano
A highly faithful, cool, and recommended piece for four-hand piano is “Sabre Dance,” used in the final act of Aram Khachaturian’s 1942 ballet Gayane.
The opening timpani and off-beat strings, followed by the xylophone’s exhilarating, fast-paced melody, are impressively recreated in piano duet form.
While there are solo piano arrangements, dividing the melody and accompaniment between two players achieves a much higher level of fidelity than a single performer can.
Although there are technically demanding passages for the performers, the cross-handed playing showcases the essence of duet performance, making it visually engaging as well as musically captivating for listeners.
[Piano Duet] Hungarian Dance No. 5 / Brahms / Piano Duo Lumière / Ungarische Tänze Nr. 5 / Hungarian Dances No. 5 / Brahms / 4 Hands Piano
When someone asks, “What are the classic works for piano four hands?”, this piece is surely what many people think of! Johannes Brahms’s Hungarian Dances is a collection of piano duets comprising 21 pieces in four sets.
Based on the music of the Roma of Hungary, it is also very popular in its orchestral versions.
Among them, No.
5 from the first set is especially well-known and frequently performed in concerts.
A hallmark—and challenge—of this piece is the flexible tempo that reflects the free spirit of Roma music.
Feel each other’s breathing and align your timing perfectly as you play.
[Piano Duet] In the Mood / Piano Duo Lumière / 4-Hands Piano
How about a four-hand duet jazz piece for intermediate players? In the Mood, the big band jazz standard composed by Joe Garland, offers a delightful and fun time for two intermediate pianists playing a duet.
It’s a very upbeat jazz number, famously popularized by the Glenn Miller Orchestra in 1939, and is considered one of the group’s signature tunes.
While duet pieces may often evoke a classical image, choosing jazz works well too, and it’s worth adding to your repertoire.
Since it’s jazz, some improvisational skill is required; however, many scores include guides, so if you have a score with a guide, try following it first.
Unlike classical music, jazz involves improvisation, so once you’ve practiced and feel more comfortable, it might be good to study the chord progressions and challenge yourself with ad-libbing.
Thunder and Lightning: Piano Duet / Johann Strauss II – A Cool Duet! J. Strauss, Unter Donner und Blitz Polka
Here’s an intermediate-level piano duet piece from a classical masterpiece.
Johann Strauss II’s polka “Thunder and Lightning” has been arranged for piano four hands.
The arrangement in the video is included in Noriko Omura’s Duet Piece Selection and is presented as a cool duet piece.
The original is for orchestra, but this arrangement preserves the original timbres while making it fun to play as a duet.
In the orchestral version, the bass drum vividly depicts thunder and the cymbals lightning; in the duet, these are expressed through rapid passages and dynamic contrasts.
When performing, the key is whether you can convey on the piano what the percussion does in the original.
Simply playing loudly will only make the sound muddy.
It’s a good idea to record your performance and aim to capture those subtle nuances!
![[Intermediate] Recommended Piano Duets | A Curated Selection of Cool and Dazzling Pieces](https://i.ytimg.com/vi_webp/T8xcbcGtuBk/maxresdefault.webp)
