EVENT HORIZON for two pianos

I have been watching YouTube videos of the brothers Arthur and Lucas Jussen for some time, in awe of their symbiotic musicianship and deep understanding of the music they perform. I particularly admire their musical integrity and the absence of musical affectations.

After completing two concertos in which the piano features prominently I felt an urge to write something for two pianos but without any illusion that they would take the bait. As the piano is my personal instrument, ideas for the work began bubbling up before I could secure a performance. I am familiar with quite a few piano duets and duos, not least Schubert’s Fantasy and the Rachmaninov Suites, Mozart’s concerto for two pianos and orchestra, Bartok’s Sonata for two pianos and percussion, not to mention Boulez’s Structures or Stockhausen’s Mantra… but also arrangements such as Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, Hungarian Dances by Brahms etc. I am not sure what I gained from that ‘knowledge’ or familiarity, but let’s say they gave me a ‘feel’ for the genre.

As the structure of the music is constantly evolving and doesn’t follow a classical format it seemed to me that Event Horizon really is a fantasy. The title refers to a stage in my life in which so much hope and aspiration seems to lead to a black hole, including my own existence.