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I have an excellent duet/duo partner. He's the better pianist of the two. But we never stick to a certain part (primo or secondo). We look at the piece and decide which part we want. In one duo piece that we're playing now, Shostakovich's Concertino, we switch parts for the last page and no one's the wiser. Our teacher didn't even know that we were doing it, until we told her. Playing with another musician is so much fun....but that's another thread!

EI,

I feel for you. I've been in the same situation, and ended up switching duet partners at the last minute.

Duets can be a lot of fun when they're played with partners that do their work. The last time I played some duets was back about 30 years ago. We did the Diabelli Melodious Pieces, which are a lot of fun.

John

I am working with two duet partners at the moment. One is a relatively slow learner who has difficulty mastering new material and has, therefore, a very small repertoire. As a result she has minimal performance experience, and performances often bring on severe cases of nerves. However, she is an extremely dedicated, diligent, and hard-working individual, and I am enjoying working with her because she is working to prepare her part, and she so wants to do well.

The other is a woman who has a larger repertoire, a little more performance experience, and is more at ease with the prospect of performing in public. She learns pieces more quickly than the other partner. I enjoy working with her because, she too, works hard at being prepared and after only one rehearsal together, I realize that working with her is going to be just plain fun! The fun is helped by the fact that we have started by working on the Mozskowski Spanish Dances, Op 12; not difficult, but charming works that are fun to play.

I have two different partners, and each brings something positive, though different, to my duet-playing experience. I will perform different works with each of them at Summer School this year, all going well.

Regards,