ABOUT THE PIANO DUO
(Formerly named Dúo Hammel – Sánchez)

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Elena Hammel (from Puerto Rico) and Laura Sánchez (from Spain) met while completing their Master's in Piano Performance at the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin. Helped by the fact that they were the only Spanish-speaking, salsa-dancing pianists in Ireland, they quickly became great friends and, soon after, piano duo partners. From the first moment they sat down to play as an ensemble, they both knew that this indeed was their musical kismet.

Over the first three years, Laura and Elena feverishly built up and performed the repertoire for one piano four hands. They chose to focus on this genre before moving on to 2 pianos because they knew that being in such close proximity was the best way to fine-tune their connection to each other by unifying gestures, breathing, phrasing, timing, etc. A true balance and evenness of tone quality is best achieved when playing on the same instrument. And then there was also the issue of practicality: there are significantly fewer venues with two pianos available than with one.

Their performances generated immediate interest and their piano duo was soon being booked to also perform 2 piano recitals. Although it looks and sounds similar to 1 piano 4 hands, 2 piano performance is, in practice, quite different. Each piano generates a wall of sound which interferes with the pianists' ability to clearly distinguish what the other is doing nine feet away. Therefore, musical balance is more a factor of the affinity between the pianists than any kind of real-time auditory feedback. The years of dedication to one piano four hands had paid off as this previous "training" allowed a seamless transition from one piano to two.

Perhaps the most significant musical influence on Duo Scarbó has been the two years they were coached by the Hungarian pianist/teacher Ferenc Rados (better known as Andras Schiff's teacher). Rados was instrumental in helping the ensemble attain what they like to refer to as an "organic" vision of the score —the continuous flow of the music surging from its most fundamental rhythmic base— a quality in the Duo's playing that musicians such as Charles Rosen and Michael Colgrass have particularly praised.

Their frequently sold-out performances have taken them to both sides of the Atlantic and to the Pacific: from their 2007 New York City debut at Weill Recital Hall, symphony orchestra engagements, and participation at international music festivals, to educational concerts in intimate venues, and live radio and television guest appearances. Critics in both Europe and the US have called their duo "engaging", "brilliant", and "a marriage of true minds".

Duo Scarbó has also had a number of successes in the international competition route. Since 2001, they have been prize-winners in every international chamber music and piano duo competition they have participated in (USA, Spain, France, Italy...).

Duo Scarbó has also taken a particular interest in performing contemporary music works for duo piano, especially that of living Spanish composers. They have worked closely with José Luis Turina preparing his complete works for piano duo, and he has recently completed a new work for two pianos, Variaciones y Tema sobre el Tema con Variaciones "Ah, vous dirai-je, maman!" de W.A. Mozart, which is dedicated to the duo. Through its contemporary music performances Duo Scarbó has given the world premieres of numerous works by composers from both Spain and the Americas written especially for the Duo, and it has also performed Spanish and Puerto Rican premieres of major 20th Century works such as George Crumb's Celestial Mechanics and Bohuslav Martinu's Concerto for 2 Pianos and Orchestra.

The Duo's recording of one of José Luis Turina's works was also included in the CD-ROM "Tiempos de Música", an audiovisual reference publication sponsored by the Spanish Ministry of Culture.

During their performances, the Duo enjoys giving the audience a brief spoken introduction about the pieces they are performing, provided the performance venue and the organizers allow for this. Not only does it help remove the silent wall that tends to exist between pianists and audiences but it also actively draws the listeners into the musical experience before the music even starts.

Duo Scarbó has recorded two CDs (under the former Dúo Hammel — Sánchez name). The first is of music for 1 piano 4 hands by Stravinsky, Schubert, Corigliano and Ravel and the second, 176 Keys to Europe, is of early 20th Century works for 2 pianos by Debussy, Infante, Milhaud, Lutoslawski and Rachmaninoff. Both are available for purchase here.