The following review was published about the concert by the Görög Sisters in Czech Republic, at the University of Ostrava, Faculty of fine Arts (Department of Keyboard Instruments), written by Doc. Eliška Novotná and kindly provided by prof René Adámek. We are extremely grateful to Prof. René Adámek for all his help and support.
In the evening of October 9, 2017, we had the opportunity to listen to a concert of the piano duo of the Görög Sisters. Our university’s Department of Keyboard Instruments included this event among the special concerts; it should be noted that the concert was extraordinary indeed. Concerts exclusively dedicated to music pieces for two pianos are not quite usual, but always a treat for the audience. Moreover, the way both of the young pianists from Serbia played was certainly exceptional.
At first sight, the concert program did not seem to be very compact (we heard two movements of Mozart’s Sonata K. 448; Bartók’s Seven Pieces for Two Pianos; one movement of S. Rachmaninov’s Fantasia Tableaux; E. H. Grieg’s Old Norwegian Romance and Ravel’s La Valse); however, the program lent us comprehensive insight into the breadth of the repertoire for a piano duo, too. The introductory music piece of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart showed a great understanding for classic structure, sparkling finger technique and also the bonus of playing without music sheets, just from memory. The pianists had to cope with different timbre of the instruments in the concert hall of the Faculty of Arts at Sokolská Avenue in Ostrava. Classical brightness sometimes revealed some minor technical difficulties which might have been caused by nervousness or lack of warming up in the very beginning. However, it was clear with the very first tones that underlying to the positivity of the duo of Görög Sisters, there was smooth, almost faultless teamwork and mutual interconnection.
Four-handed impressions from Ostrava, download PDF - Czech
Both sisters had an immensely close relationship to Béla Bartók with unrepeatable expression, rhythm and vitality. Both instruments were miraculously interconnected into one, regarding the sound in this piece of music. The music piece was interpreted quite clearly; it was settled into more compact position and graded up to the final Ostinato, which the audience was really excited about. Bartók’s “Seven Pieces” is a set of short characteristic parts. The second movement of Sergei Rachmaninov’s Opus 5 is a compact composition, but it is basically formed by a wide kaleidoscope of moods and musical ideas, too. Numerous musical dialogues were meant as the most powerful moment in the interpretation of both pianists; they interpreted these dialogues very sensitively, colourfully and with a sense for the whole composition. This music piece was upgraded to the breadth and power worthy of this great composer of Russian music of late Romanticism, although the memory of Bartók’s cycle interpretation was sometimes impressed by stronger dynamics.
The performance of the music pieces of Edward Hagerup Grieg and Maurice Ravel was certainly the absolute culmination point of the evening. The artists came back to play by heart, which brought better mutual communication and immersion in music, as well as benefit for the audience – because the somewhat disturbing turns of music sheets were eliminated. Both sisters were literally connected to each other, listening to music phrases and completing themselves with timbre and dynamics. They presented exciting technique and perfect idea of composition of both the music pieces. The audience rewarded them with enthusiastic and well-deserved applause.
Doc. Eliška Novotná
Department of Keyboard Instruments of Faculty of Arts at Ostrava University
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