Celebrating Our 80th Season 2026-27
Photo: Masterlight Photography
Duality
Saturday 21 November 2026, 7.30pm
Duality: Emma Abbate & Julian Perkins
One piano, four hands
From Mozartian sparkle to fairy-tale magic and jazz-inspired fun
“The duo plays with infectious verve, arresting synchronicity, lovely tone and supple phrasing.” — Fanfare
Bawtree Hall, Hazelwood School, Oxted
Tickets £30 | Under 26s free
Free parking | Interval drinks
There is something uniquely exciting about seeing two pianists share a single keyboard. With four hands, twenty fingers and barely an inch to spare, the performers must move with extraordinary precision while creating the breadth, colour and richness of a much larger ensemble.
Emma Abbate and Julian Perkins perform together as Duality, one of Britain’s most accomplished piano-duet partnerships. Their natural rapport, warmth and sense of fun make them ideal guides to a programme filled with elegant classics, enchanting stories, lively dances and touches of jazz.
Programme Highlights
The concert opens with the lively elegance of a Johann Christian Bach duet, followed by Mozart’s magnificent Sonata in C major, K. 521. Mozart wrote some of his most brilliant and joyful keyboard music for four hands, and this sonata allows both performers to shine as equal partners. Expect sparkling exchanges, graceful lyricism and a wonderfully buoyant finale.
Peter Warlock’s ever-popular Capriol Suite takes its inspiration from Renaissance dances. Its six short movements range from stately and tender to earthy and exuberant, ending with the thrilling Mattachins, or Sword Dance.
After the interval, Schumann’s Kinderball presents a miniature children’s ball, complete with a polonaise, waltz, minuet and other characterful dances. It is followed by one of the evening’s most magical works, Ravel’s Ma mère l’Oye – Mother Goose. Inspired by familiar fairy tales, its music conjures Sleeping Beauty, Tom Thumb, an exotic pagoda, Beauty and the Beast and, finally, an enchanted garden.
The evening ends with Iain Farrington’s Chit Chat, a witty contemporary suite infused with jazz harmonies and infectious rhythms. Its movements — Pep Talk, Clean Blues and Breezy Banter — capture the energy and character of animated conversation, bringing the concert to a lively and good-humoured close.
The Artists
Pianists Emma Abbate and Julian Perkins formed Duality out of a shared enthusiasm for the rich repertoire written for four hands at one keyboard. They have appeared at the Royal Opera House, St George’s Bristol, Sinfonia Smith Square, Hatchlands Park and Edinburgh’s Russell Collection, as well as performing for the Mozart Society of America. Both have been elected Associates of the Royal Academy of Music in recognition of their ‘significant contribution’ to the music profession.
Their recordings include Mozart’s complete keyboard-duet sonatas, Weber’s complete keyboard duets, a collection of twentieth-century British works and Summer Dreams, devoted to music by Amy Beach, Edward MacDowell and Samuel Barber. Their albums have received five-star reviews from BBC Music Magazine and Het Nieuwsblad.
“They play as one, with dedication and shared pleasure.” — Classical Source
Photo: Masterlight Photography
Emma Abbate is a distinguished chamber musician and accompanist who has performed at Wigmore Hall, the Southbank Centre, the Royal Opera House and the Aldeburgh Festival, as well as at festivals and concert societies across Europe and the United States. She is a professor at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and a staff coach at the Royal Opera House.
Julian Perkins enjoys a varied career as a pianist, harpsichordist, conductor and artistic director. As a keyboard player, he has often performed at the Salzburg Festival and appeared as a soloist with ensembles including the Bayerisches Staatsorchester, Florilegium, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Orchestra of The Sixteen and Royal Northern Sinfonia. Active as a recitalist, Julian frequently performs with renowned singers and instrumentalists, including his wife, Emma Abbate.
He is Artistic Director of Portland Baroque Orchestra and Founding Artistic Director of Cambridge Handel Opera and Sounds Baroque.
What to expect
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An intimate hall with an excellent acoustic
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A relaxed and welcoming atmosphere
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A visually fascinating performance
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Free parking on site
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Interval drinks
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No dress code
Full programme
Johann Christian Bach
Duet in F major, Op. 18 No. 6 [10’]
Allegro – Rondo: Allegro
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Sonata for piano for four-hands in C major, K. 521 [22’]
Allegro – Andante – Rondo: Allegretto
Peter Warlock
Capriol Suite [10’]
Basse-Danse – Pavane – Tordion – Bransles – Pieds-en-l'air – Mattachins (Sword Dance)
INTERVAL
Robert Schumann
Kinderball, 6 leichte Tanzstücke, Op. 130 [15’]
Polonaise – Walzer – Menuett – Ecossaise – Française – Ringelreihe
Maurice Ravel
Ma mère l'Oye [15’]
Pavane de la Belle au Bois dormant – Petit Poucet – Laideronnette, Impératrice des Pagodes –
Les entretiens de la Belle et de la Bête – Le jardin féerique
Iain Farrington
Chit Chat [10’]
Pep Talk – Clean Blues – Breezy Banter
Bawtree Hall, Hazelwood School, Oxted
Tickets £30 | Under 26s free
Free parking | Interval drinks
At a glance
Date: Saturday 21 November 2026
Time: 7.30pm, doors close 7.25pm
Venue: Bawtree Hall, Hazelwood School, Oxted, RH8 0QU
Tickets: £30
Under 26s: Free
Parking: Free on site
Concert running time: Approximately 2 hours
Interval: Yes