[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 Duets] Perfect for recitals! A carefully curated selection of brilliant pieces (31–40)
Rhapsody for Orchestra “Spain”Emmanuel Chabrier
Rhapsody for Orchestra “España,” a signature work by Emmanuel Chabrier, is said to have been inspired by the passionate music he heard during his travels in Spain.
That overflowing passion remains intact even in a piano four-hands arrangement.
To bring out the most of the fiery Spanish imagery with four hands, aim for a performance with sharp contrasts—clearly delineating the surging, driving sections and the flowing, lyrical passages—to create a dynamic and compelling interpretation.
Danse macabre in G minor, Op. 40Camille Saint-Saëns
Danse macabre, a symphonic poem by the French composer Camille Saint-Saëns and one of his most celebrated works, depicts the uncanny scene of skeletons beginning an eerie dance at the stroke of midnight.
It was first conceived as a song, then completed as an orchestral piece, and today it is performed in many forms, including piano four hands, two pianos, and violin solo.
Because these versions are arranged from the orchestral score, the four-hand rendition is naturally very challenging.
As you play, vividly imagine each scene and craft a compelling performance that draws the audience in.
Hungarian Dances No. 1Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms’s masterpiece Hungarian Dances, based on Gypsy music, is famous as an orchestral work, but it was originally written for piano four hands.
As a result, the duet version is also wonderfully compelling, and among them, Hungarian Dance No.
1 is exceptionally popular.
The appeal of this piece lies in its brilliance combined with numerous opportunities for technical display.
In terms of pure difficulty, it could easily be classified as advanced; in particular, it features an unusually large number of rapid passages.
In the MoodJoe Garland
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.
Friend Like Me from the movie AladdinAlan Menken
Friend Like Me from the Disney film Aladdin is hugely popular in Japan as well.
With the live-action reboot released a few years ago, many of you probably still remember it vividly.
The real charm of this piece is its jazzy melody.
It’s full of catchy phrases while also offering plenty of technical highlights; the player handling the main melody will likely struggle with some pretty big leaps on the keyboard.
There are lots of hand crossings too, making it a rewarding piece for piano duets.
Be sure to check it out.
[Piano Duet] Perfect for recital piano duets! A carefully selected list of brilliant, recommended pieces (41–50)
Czardas for Four HandsTabuchi Saeko
The piece known as Czardas for Four Hands is often considered for advanced players.
It’s frequently performed not only as a piano solo or duet, but also on instruments like the violin.
The key to this work is high-speed legato.
In duets, we tend to focus too much on the fingers, but in this piece the feet are even more important than the fingers.
Practice pedal technique that connects sounds while letting them ring, and for the accompaniment part, drill a rock-solid sense of rhythm.
It’s a crowd-pleasing piece that also builds valuable experience, so be sure to check it out.
A Town with an Ocean ViewHisaishi Joe
The piece “A Town With an Ocean View” that appears in the Studio Ghibli film Kiki’s Delivery Service.
When you think of Kiki’s Delivery Service, many people probably picture this work, don’t they? Its difficulty level is about mid-beginner.
While the main melody involves a bit of leaping on the keyboard, it’s basically a simple, easy-to-play arrangement.
The tempo marking is straightforward as well, so sight-reading should be easy.
As for the accompaniment, depending on the score you use, faster arpeggios may appear, making it feel a bit more challenging than the main melody.