[Piano Duets] Perfect for recitals! A carefully curated selection of brilliant, crowd-pleasing works
Playing a piano together by two people is called a duet, also known as piano for four hands, and it has a unique charm different from solo piano.
While regular piano lessons are basically one-on-one with a teacher, many people might want to try a duet with friends or family at regularly held piano recitals.
On the other hand, when you look for sheet music, it can be hard to come up with suitable duet pieces, which can be a challenge.
So this time, we’re introducing recommended piano duet works that will shine at recitals! Some of the selected pieces even include links to the sheet music, which is very convenient.
They’re perfect not only as recital pieces but also for teachers’ performance numbers.
By all means, use this as a reference when choosing duet pieces to liven up your recital!
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[Piano Duet] Perfect for recitals! A carefully selected list of recommended, dazzling pieces (61–70)
HeroYOASOBI
The cool “Yuusha” by the Japanese music duo YOASOBI is a piece you’ll definitely want to hear—and try playing—on piano four hands.
As the opening theme for the TV anime Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, this song follows the second-season opening theme for the anime BEASTARS, “Kaibutsu,” and the first-season opening theme for the anime Oshi no Ko, further cementing YOASOBI’s unwavering popularity among anime fans.
In the duet arrangement, it captures a Vocaloid-like character while stylishly blending progressive rock and jazz.
When performers keep their momentum and power through to the very end, it makes you want to shout “Bravo!”
instinctShiina Ringo
Let me introduce a duet piano arrangement so captivating you might mistake it for an original jazz piece.
It’s “Honnou” by Ringo Sheena.
The song is the title track of her fourth single, released on October 27, 1999 by Toshiba EMI (at the time).
It was used as the ending theme for Nippon TV’s music variety show FUN, so those who remember it may feel a sense of nostalgia.
The piano arrangement adds bold changes, shifting the original’s rock flavor into a jazz-inspired style.
It evokes human desire and instinct bubbling up from within, and the jazz-tinged arrangement draws out a seductive allure.
Even if you don’t know the original, you’ll likely accept it as a stylish, cool jazz piano duet.
Performing it seems challenging in terms of synchronizing the two players, but the sense of satisfaction when you pull it off should be high.
By all means, try tackling Ringo Sheena’s “Honnou” in its jazz-infused form.
Aladdin: A Whole New WorldAlan Menken
A dreamily beautiful piano duet that colors one of Disney Animation’s most iconic scenes.
Its melody conjures the enchanting image of lovers freely soaring beneath a starry sky, expressed in a way that closely mirrors their feelings.
This work portrays the spirit of adventure and pure love of setting off on a magic carpet to discover a whole new world, and by June 1993 it had become a major hit in Japan alone, selling over 120,000 copies.
It also achieved the remarkable feat of winning both a Grammy Award and an Academy Award.
Performed as a piano duet with perfectly synchronized breathing and touch, it offers a wonderful time for teachers and students, parents and children, or friends to inspire one another.
Overture to the stage production “Candide”Leonard Bernstein
Candide is a stage work based on the French philosopher Voltaire’s novella Candide, or Optimism.
The music was composed by American conductor-composer Leonard Bernstein, and the overture is well loved and often performed as a piano duet.
Its bright, sparkling character, which heralds the opening of the stage, raises the excitement of both performers and audience alike! While it may feel a bit pop-like to be strictly classified as classical, it remains a highly rewarding piece that can instantly lift the atmosphere of any concert or recital.
Disney FantalusionVarious Artists
This is a four-hand piano duet arrangement of a popular parade piece that was performed at Tokyo Disneyland from July 21, 1995 to May 15, 2001.
Bursting with energy from the fanfare to the finale, the many rapid notes depict characters and dancers performing in the illuminated parade.
The performance in the featured video seems relatively fast, but since it’s also a march, a more relaxed tempo can work as well—play at a tempo you can handle.
However, be careful: too slow and it will drag; too fast and it will fall apart.
Aim to play with the brilliance of a grand parade in mind.
Aladdin “Friend Like Me”Alan Menken
This piece lets you enjoy a Disney film song as a piano duet.
Incorporating elements of jazz and cabaret, it’s an up-tempo arrangement highlighted by a striking brass section.
Performed powerfully by Koichi Yamadera on the 90-minute special of the TV program Music Station in July 2019, the song beautifully blends a cheerful atmosphere with magical staging.
With its melodic, approachable character, it’s perfect for teacher-and-student or parent-and-child duets.
It has also been staged in the Broadway musical adaptation, earning high acclaim including a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in 2014.
Why not perform this beloved classic—adored across generations—together with someone special?
Piano Sonata in B-flat major, K. 381, for four handsWolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Mozart produced countless masterpieces, and of course he also wrote outstanding works for four hands.
This time, I’d like to introduce his Piano Sonata for Four Hands in B-flat major, K.
381.
Among the pieces featured here, this one is particularly difficult: both the main melody and the accompaniment feature rapid passages, there are frequent octaves, and the hands often have to leap across the keyboard.
Precisely for that reason, it’s a piece that makes a strong impression in performance—be sure to check it out.
