Duo Caron is a

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

group who transcribe and perform great

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

l works for various piano formations.

History

Born in

Rimouski Rimouski ( ; ) is a city in Quebec, Canada. Rimouski is located in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, at the mouth of the Rimouski River. It has a population of 48,935 (as of 2021). Rimouski, whose motto is ''Legi patrum fidelis'' (Faithful to ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada, sibling

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

s Josee and Martin Caron have lived in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

for several years. They started collaborating under the name Duo Caron in 1990. In 1994, thanks to the unique nature of the transcriptions of masterful works and the quality of the high-level interpretations, the duo received an internship grant from the Quebec-Wallonia-Brussels Agency for Youth AQWBJ, for a promotional tour in French-speaking Belgium. Following this recognition, the duo obtained a series of concert engagements, recordings and federal grants such as ''Musicaction''. These performances earned him rave reviews. However, after the recording of Mendelssohn, Martin Caron decided to leave the duo and devote himself exclusively to composition and teaching, a decision taken by mutual agreement between sibling. Since 2020, the duo Caron has brought together pianists Carmen Picard and Josee Caron. The team's mandate remains the same, namely the interpretation of their own arrangements of orchestral works for two pianos and for

piano duet According to the ''Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', there are two kinds of piano duet: " ieces of musicfor two players at one instrument, and those in which each of the two pianists has an instrument to themselves." In American usage th ...

. Their thematic album (2023), described by The Music Scene as ''impeccable ensemble playing'', brings together different styles of 20th century Suites.

Premieres

Alan Belkin's ''Petite Suite'' for two pianos, commissioned by the Duo Caron, was premiered by Duo Caron in Montreal's Claude-Champagne Concert Hall. In 1998, the Quebec International Duo-Piano Festival commissioned to Martin Caron a

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned jazz, popular music, popular and classical music. Among his best-known works are the songs "Swan ...

transcription for two pianos eight hands, " Strike up the Band", premiered at the Gala Concert, ''pour terminer l'événement de façon spectaculaire'', such as Mr. Arthur Kaptainis pointed out: ::

« The grand finale was Strike Up The Band, the lively Gershwin tune, as transcribed by Martin Caron and played at two pianos by the Carons with Morel and Nemish. It was pure fun, a fitting tribute to the composer in his centenary year.

Duo Caron's recordings include an album of

post-Romantic Post-romanticism or Postromanticism refers to a range of cultural endeavors and attitudes emerging in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, after the period of Romanticism. In literature The period of post-romanticism in poetry is ...

works and another of works by

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...

, about which Heléna Bowkun wrote : ::

« Orchestral transcriptions for piano duo may not be everybody’s cup of tea �� The brave and entrepreneurial duo Caron demonstrates that, when such arrangements are well played, they can be very effective. ��The pianists must be congratulated for their fine articulation throughout this entire disc. Things are always clear—never pounded out—and played with a lively, sparkling sound. Listeners who approach the album for what it is. as opposed to what it cannot be (a real symphony orchestra), will find it succeeds very well.

Released in 2009, the recording ''British Music for Piano Four Hands'' includes two new arrangements by Martin Caron of

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

's works. ''L’Avantage'' noted "''Précision remarquable''" about the interpretation of

William Walton Sir William Turner Walton (29 March 19028 March 1983) was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera. His best-known works include ''Façade'', the cantat ...

's ''Music for Children''. James Harrington from ''

American Record Guide The ''American Record Guide'' (''ARG'') is a classical music magazine. It has reviewed classical music recordings since 1935. History and profile The magazine was founded by Peter Hugh Reed in May 1935 as the ''American Music Lover''. It chan ...

'' qualified this recording as a "wonderful release": ::

« Canadian sister and brother Josee and Martin Caron, playing a gorgeous sounding Italian Fazioli piano in the Historic Chapel of the Bon-Pasteur in Montreal, offer an engaging program of British music for piano four hands. �� The very effective duet arrangements are by Martin Caron �� However you may feel about a pop composer being treated equally with more luminary names among British classical composers, I must admit that after a number of hearings of this wonderful release, it is the McCartney tunes that I catch myself humming. »

Again, in the March/April 2024 issue, Mr. Harrington mentions the high level of quality of Holst's transcriptions and interpretation for recording ''Modern Four-Hand Suites'': ::

« ��They, like Liszt so many years ago, aim for something more pianistic, yet still completely faithful to the composer’s original concept. ��»

Their recordings are broadcast on

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

, SRC
"Radio Classique" CJPXCKUA Radio Network
Edmonton, and RTBF Radi

Belgium.

Transcriptions by Josee Caron

For Piano Duet

Gustav Holst Gustav Theodore Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite ''The Planets'', he composed many other works across a range ...

(1874-1934): The Planets opus 32, Suite for large Orchestra ** I. ''Mars, the Bringer of War'' ** IV. ''Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity''

Transcriptions by Martin Caron

For Two Pianos‚ Four Hands

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include symphonie ...

(1809–1847): Symphony No 4 in A major ''Italian'' *

Modest Mussorgsky Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (; ; ; – ) was a Russian composer, one of the group known as "The Five (composers), The Five." He was an innovator of Music of Russia, Russian music in the Romantic music, Romantic period and strove to achieve a ...

(1839–1881): ''

Night on Bald Mountain ''Night on Bald Mountain'' (), also known as ''Night on the Bare Mountain'', is a series of compositions by Modest Mussorgsky (1839–1881). Inspired by Russian s:St. John's Eve (Gogol, unsourced), literary works and legend, Mussorgsky composed ...

''‚ symphonic poem *

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first Modernism (music), modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-centu ...

(1874–1951): ''

Verklärte Nacht ''Verklärte Nacht'' (''Transfigured Night''), Op. 4, is a string sextet in one movement composed by Arnold Schoenberg in 1899. Composed in just three weeks, it is considered his earliest important work. It was inspired by Richard Dehmel's p ...

'' op. 4 for string sextet ("Transfigured Night") *

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...

(1864–1949): ** ''

Don Juan Don Juan (), also known as Don Giovanni ( Italian), is a legendary fictional Spanish libertine who devotes his life to seducing women. The original version of the story of Don Juan appears in the 1630 play (''The Trickster of Seville and t ...

'' op, 20‚ symphonic poem ** ''

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'', symphonic poem ** ''

Metamorphosen ''Metamorphosen'', study for 23 solo strings (TrV 290, AV 142) is a composition by Richard Strauss for ten violins, five violas, five cellos, and three double basses, typically lasting 25 to 30 minutes. It was composed during the closing months ...

'', study for 23 solo strings *

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popula ...

(1840–1893): Symphony No. 4 in F minor‚ op. 36 *

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

(1813–1883):

Overture Overture (from French ''ouverture'', "opening") is a music instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overtures which ...

from the

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (; "The Master-Singers of Nuremberg"), WWV 96, is a music drama, or opera, in three acts, by Richard Wagner. It is the longest opera commonly performed, taking nearly four and a half hours, not counting two breaks between acts, and is traditio ...

For Piano Duet

Sir Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

(1857–1934): Introduction and Allegro for Strings Op. 47 *

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams ( ; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

(1872–1958): Overture from the opera ''

The Wasps ''The Wasps'' () is the fourth in chronological order of the eleven surviving plays by Aristophanes. It was produced at the Lenaia festival in 422 BC, during Athens' short-lived respite from the Peloponnesian War and shortly before the death o ...

For Four Pianos‚ Eight Pianists

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and Conducting, conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a compos ...

(1873–1943): '' Isle of the Dead'' op. 29‚ symphonic poem *

(1840–1893): Symphony No. 4 in F minor‚ op. 36

For Two Pianos‚ Four Pianists

(1898–1937): "Strike up the Band"

Arrangements by Martin Caron

For Piano Duet

(1942- ?): ** '' A Leaf'' for piano solo ** ''Appaloosa-Meditation''‚ orchestral suite

Discography

* 1992 - ''Transcriptions for Two Pianos Four Hands''
''Société Nouvelle d’Enregistrement''
SNE-582-CD) * 1995 - ''Tchaikovsky for Four Hands'' (

ATMA Classique ATMA Classique is an independent classical record label based in Montreal, and welcomes artists from Quebec, across Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territorie ...

, ACD 2-2102) * 2009 - ''British Music for Piano Four Hands''
''XXI-21 Productions Inc.''
« XXI-21 Productions Inc.'' »
from

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

. Retrieved April 18, 2023. XXI-CD 2 1603) * 2012 - ''Mendelssohn‚ Transcriptions for 4 hands''
''Société Métropolitaine du Disque Inc./Espace 21''
SMD 225-1) * 2023 - ''Modern Four-Hand Suites''
''Société Métropolitaine du Disque Inc./Espace 21''
SMD 312-1)

Footnotes

Citations

References

''Transcriptions - Josée et Martin Caron, pianos''
from

Arnold Schönberg Center The Arnold Schönberg Center, established in 1998 in Vienna, is a repository of Arnold Schönberg's archival legacy and a cultural center that is open to the public. Activities Archive and library, exhibitions, concerts, lectures, workshops and ...

: pour deux pianos quatre mains = for two pianos four hands.''
entry in

McGill University Library McGill University Library is the library system of McGill University in Montreal, Montréal, Quebec, Québec, Canada. It comprises #Branch libraries, 13 branch libraries, located on the downtown Montreal and Macdonald Campus, Macdonald campuses, ...

.
''Transcriptions pour deux pianos, quatre mains''
entry in BAnQ Catalogue''

Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec The (; ; abbr. BAnQ) is a Quebec government agency which manages the province's legal deposit system, national archives, and national library. Located at the Grande Bibliothèque in Montreal, the BAnQ was created by the merging of the Biblioth ...

''.
''Transcriptions : pour deux pianos quatre mains = for two pianos four hands''
entry in LAC's Library Catalogue

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; ) is the federal institution tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is the 16th largest library in the world. T ...

.
''Tchaïkovsky 4 mains = Tchaïkovsky 4 hands''
entry in

University of Maryland Libraries The University of Maryland Libraries is the largest university library system in the Washington D.C.–Baltimore area. The system includes eight libraries: six are located on the University of Maryland, College Park, College Park campus, while ...

.
''Tchaïkovsky 4 mains = Tchaïkovsky 4 hands''
entry in

University of Alberta Library The University of Alberta Library is the library system of the University of Alberta. The University of Alberta Library has 10 branches and divisions at the University of Alberta's Edmonton campuses and at University of Alberta Augustana Campus. ...

.
4 mains= hands''
entry in

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

, Retrieved March 15, 2012.
''Tchaïkovski, 4 mains = 4 hands''
entry in BAnQ Catalogue''

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4 mains 4 hands''
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''British music for piano four hands''
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Apple Music Apple Music is an audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users can select music to stream to their device on-demand, or listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the sister internet radio stations Apple Musi ...

. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
''British music for piano four hands''
entry in BAnQ Catalogue ''

''.
music for piano four hands''
entry in Columbia University Libraries (CLIO).
''British music for piano four hands / McCartney, Vaughan Williams, Walton, Elgar.''
entry in University of Pennsylvania (PennLibrairies).
''Mendelssohn - Transcriptions pour 4 mains = Transcriptions for 4 hands''
entry in BAnQ Catalogue ''

''.
''Mendelssohn Transcriptions pour 4 mains Transcriptions for 4 hands''
entry in

.
''Felix Mendelssohn: Transcriptions pour 4 Mains.''
entry in

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

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''Suites modernes pour quatre mains - Modern Four-Hand Suites''
entry in

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''Suites modernes pour quatre mains - Modern Four-Hand Suites''
entry in BAnQ Catalogue ''

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''Suites modernes pour quatre mains - Modern Four-Hand Suites''
entry in LAC's Library Catalogue

External links

''L'Art du duo de piano''
from The Music Scene by Julie Berardino (French Language), Vol. 16 no 8, p. 26. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
Our artists through the years (French language)
Article from Archived 2013-06-28 at

archive.today archive.today (formerly archive.is) is a web archiving website that saves snapshots on demand. It has support for JavaScript-heavy sites such as Google Maps and Twitter. Archive.today records two snapshots: one replicates the original webpa ...

. Retrieved September 5, 2024. {{Authority control Musical groups established in 1990 Canadian classical music groups Musical groups from Montreal

Caron A caron or háček ( ), is a diacritic mark () placed over certain letters in the orthography of some languages, to indicate a change of the related letter's pronunciation. Typographers tend to use the term ''caron'', while linguists prefer ...

Canadian musical duos 1990 establishments in Quebec