Duotango

• Two pianos (original version). Composed in 2011. Commissioned by Claudine Orloff and Burkard Spinnler. Unpublished. Duration: 11m.

• Version for piano four hands. Written in 2020. Unpublished. Duration: 11m.

Duotango was written at the request of two fellow pianists who wanted to add to their repertoire an original work reflecting their current stylistic aspirations. As asked by the commissioners the tango is the central source of inspiration, but I treated it more by the spirit than by illustrative material. Duotango is a succession of nine short cells, each one axed on its specific character. It's like a puzzle, where each piece is defined by a precise shape, and fits to the others in order to create a detailed main view. This procedure is close to the one used in the Tulse Luper Suitcases. Duotango was created on March 25, 2011 by Claudine Orloff and Burkard Spinnler at the Eduardo del Pueyo Musical Center, Brussels.

The version for piano four hands was written in 2020 and supposed to be premiered in December of that year, but the concert was canceled due to Covid restrictions. The concert was finally postponed to December 7, 2023. As originally planned, I had the great pleasure of sharing the keyboard with the incredible Nao Momitani, at the Théâtre de Liège.