Skip to main content

Art News

Four hands, one piano

It’s a wonder how one piano keyboard can accommodate four hands, especially those of such accomplished virtuosi as Steven and Stijn Kolacny. But these two brothers have honed their joint skills from a very early age, and their extraordinary talent was fully on display at a recent recital at the IDB Cultural Center. Champions of contemporary Flemish composers, their IDB performance included a piece by Westerlinck, as well as selections from Schubert, Ravel, Brahms, Satie and Dvorak.

A youthful vocation

One of the premiere musical groups in Washington, D.C., the Washington Chamber Symphony String Ensemble, played to a full house at an IDB performance in September. The 35-member orchestra, whose repertoire includes works that it has commissioned and premiered, makes a special effort to reach young people, who make up a third of its annual audience of 15,000.

For guitar lovers

Aficionados of the classical guitar had a rare treat in October when not one, but four masters of the plucked string performed at the IDB. The group, called Entre-Quatre, hails from Asturias, Spain, where it has achieved a considerable following of contemporary chamber music devotees. The group has premiered more than 30 compositions created especially for their unusual instrumentation. Their performance of works by six Spanish composers met with an enthusiastic response from the IDB audience.

Jump back to top