Piano Duo “Du & Sim” To Perform In San Jose

Le Petit Trianon Theatre and Steinway Society The Bay Area announce the booking engagement of Piano Duo “Du & Sim” for a performance on Saturday, April 19th at 7:00pm at Le Petit Trianon Theatre in downtown San Jose, California. This is a rare opportunity to enjoy a magnificent live concert by a piano duo team of two brilliant pianists who have been praised for their “unbelievably seamless” collaboration in 4-hand as well as 2-piano performances. Come witness and experience the power, beauty, and magic of two!

Steinway Society is a non-profit volunteer based organization whose mission is “To promote excellence in piano performance and music education in the Bay Area." As the Society enters its 9th season, the “Du & Sim” performance is a special addition to its six-concert 2002-2003 Season. Barbara Day Turner, Chair of the Steinway Society Artistic Committee states, “Steinway Society could not resist the opportunity to present these remarkable and talented artists. Their flair for together playing 4-hand (1-piano) and 2-piano works will be a special treat for the audience as they play little known piano-duo music worthy of exposure and appreciation."

Chinese pianist Ning-Wu Du and Korean-American pianist Helen Sim are both first prize winners of major international piano competitions. Their solo recitals and concerto performances with orchestras have spanned the world. The husband and wife team from New York met while both studying at the Juilliard School. After having tried out some duo pieces for fun, they discovered a special flair for playing together and a wealth of little-known piano-duo music worthy of exposure and appreciation. They formed the piano duo “Du & Sim” in 2000 and in the same year, made their enthusiastically received debut at New York’s Carnegie Recital hall. In 2001, the IBLA Grand Prize International Competition in Italy awarded them the “Most Distinguished Musicians” title. Their duo performance at Lincoln Center, New York, March 2002 was praised for its “pyrotechnics” and “passion” by the press.

“Du & Sim” will perform 4-hand (1-piano) works: Brahms’ Hungarian Dances and arrangement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 and 2-piano works: Rachmaninov’s Suite No. 2, Mihaud’s “Scaramouche” Suite, and Gershwin’s Preludes.

This is the second Bay Area appearance for “Du & Sim”. Their sold-out first performance at San Jose State University Concert Hall last November was a great success. One music teacher noted “It is hard to imagine better playing. It was truly a superb performance, and one that will be remembered for a long time”.

The showcase concert will be audio and video recorded live to produce commercial quality CD’s and VHS/DVD’s.
Le Petit Trianon Theatre, www.trianontheatre.com , is located in downtown San Jose at 72 North 5th Street. Tickets are priced at $35.00 general and $25.00 for Students and Seniors 65 and over, and will include complimentary refreshments at a post concert “meet the artist reception” and intermission. A limited number of tickets will be sold to the public on a first come first serve basis. For tickets and information please call (408) 246-4200 or contact the Steinway Society website at www.steinwaythebayarea.com.