TRANSCONTINENTAL PIANO DUO REVIEWS
Recital and Master Class Reviews
Your sense of ensemble was truly amazing. You were able to hand off melodic lines with no sense of change in weight or color. I loved how you filled the hall with such a gorgeous, round tone. It was incredible to hear your dynamic range in the two piano works where you grew from smaller textures to thick, multi-voiced chords. I was particularly impressed by your ability to layer the voicing in such thick textured chords. I could always hear the melody line being clearly projected, even as it occasionally traveled to interior voices.
I also enjoyed the visual effects in your playing! From where I was sitting in the hall, the cross-handed passages made it appear that the primo player had two right hands – and it sounded that way, too, with perfectly synchronized sixteenth note passages! It was a spectacular program!
Dr. Elaina Burns ~ Clarke University and University of Dubuque, Iowa
The Transcontinental Piano Duo, comprised of pianists Janice Meyer Thompson and Elaine Greenfield, gave a musically inspiring performance Tuesday night at Point Loma Nazarene University. Thompson and Greenfield, who have performed together since 1990, exhibited great musicianship and versatility in their playing, from delicate phrasing and expressive lines to many moments of brilliance and excitement.
They opened with a sensitive interpretation of Myra Hess’s duo piano transcription of Bach’s Jesu, Joy of Man’Desiring. Their Schubert Rondo, D. 821, full of delicate nuances and singing lines, was at times playful and witty, at times quietly expressive. They followed with riveting performances of Dvorak’s Slavonic Dances, Barber’sHesitation-Tango, and Stravinsky’s Russian Dance from “Petrouchka.”
The second half of the program was all Ravel. First was the delightful and charming Mother Goose Suite for one piano, four hands. The duo closed the program with a brilliant and effective performance of Ravel’s La Valse, one of the two duo piano pieces on the program. This was definitely the climactic work of the evening. According to Robert Markow’s program notes, Ravel’s work depicts waltzing couples first emerging from the haze, then filling the ballroom full of splendor, finally swirling out of control and being overrun with “grinding dissonances” and “wildly erratic rhythms” that “rip apart the world of gay Vienna as it crumbles into dust and ruins.” It was an exciting finish to a beautifully performed program by the Transcontinental Duo.
Brenda Martin, Piano Professor ~ Point Loma Nazarene University, San Diego, CA
The Transcontinental Piano Duo recently presented a wonderful master class at Point Loma Nazarene University. We found them to be insightful, encouraging, and innovative. There was great energy in their presentation. They worked well as a team, building on each other’s ideas. The pacing was great, and each student received a number of helpful musical and technical suggestions that improved their playing. The Duo drew the audience in, making them part of the class. Our students left the class encouraged and inspired.
Brenda Martin, Piano Professor ~ Point Loma Nazarene University, San Diego, CA
.. The concert reawakened in me the pleasure of listening to great music, and watching the kind of display of physical prowess, of pianistic legerdemain, as the four hands weave in and out making their music. .. A pleasant surprise...it's worth a trek to find this CD It's great piano-playing, great sound, and lots of applause."
Review of Live Performance CD " Piano Four Hands"
Shelburne News, Shelburne, VT
"Greenfield's and Thompson's performance was well-matched, coloring the evocative movements expressively, for a performance that was simply delightful"
Jim Lowe ~ The Times Argus, Barre, VT