The Piano | Duet

This physical proximity was so striking that critics of the era sometimes referred to duet partners as "four-handed monsters," viewing the practice with a mix of fascination and moral suspicion.

Before recordings existed, piano duets were the only way for the average person to hear massive orchestral works like Beethoven’s symphonies at home. The Piano Duet

If you want to hear the pinnacle of this genre, these works are considered essential: This physical proximity was so striking that critics

An interesting feature of the piano duet, specifically "piano four-hands" (two players on one instrument), is its secret history as a 19th-century "social lubricant" and the primary way people "listened" to music before the invention of the phonograph. The "Social Lubricant" of the 19th Century The Piano Duet