4 hands are better than 2

By Lani Willis

January 25, 1996

What has four hands and 88 keys?

The answer — UH professor Paul Lyddon and his wife, Kaoru Tajima, performing duos on a single piano.

Just back from an encore presentation in Oldenburg, Germany, the husband-and-wife pair performs a four-hands recital tonight and Friday in the Atherton Performing Arts Studio.

The couple was invited back to Germany for the second time for performances in December and may be making another tour through Cologne, Munich and Wurzburg in 1997.

Lyddon and Tajima have also concertized on the Mainland and in Japan.

The duo has been making music together since Tajima moved from Japan to Hawaii in 1983.

Lyddon has been with the UH music department for twenty years. Tajima teaches privately.

The Lyddons are regulars at the Atherton Performing Arts Studio.

"We have played there four or five times in the last several years," Lyddon said. "But it's been over a year since we've given a recital there."

The husband-and-wife duo perform works for four hands at one piano.

"There is much more written for four hands (on) one piano than four hands (on) two pianos," Lyddon said.

Giving a recital of this nature poses special problems to the performers.

"It's completely different than giving a solo recital," Lyddon said. "You have to be even more careful in your preparation."

"You not only have to be aware of what you're doing, you have to also be aware of what your partner is doing. Unless people are extremely compatible, playing four hands is difficult to do."

"First, we have to practice individually, and then we practice together, " Tajima added.

"When you prepare for a solo recital, it takes a tremendous amount of energy to memorize your pieces.

Unlike pianists performing solo recitals, piano duos are allowed to use music on stage since their performances are considered to be chamber music.

"It still takes a lot of energy, but the preparation is more relaxed," Tajima explained. "It's much more fun — you're not alone."

"There is a different type of difficulty in performance. In a solo recital, if you make a mistake you can cover it up. If you make a mistake in a duo, you have to be very, very strong because it's kind of contagious," Tajima said.

According to Nordwest Zeitung, a German newspaper, these difficulties are more than overcome.

The paper's review of the couple's Dec. 18 performance (translated by UH professor Richard Trimillos) states: "The playing of the married couple revealed...a splendid vocabulary of touch that was as senstitive as it was powerful, a technical control, and a mastery of form."

Lyddon said he considers the LaBecque Sisters (Katia and Marielle) the greatest piano duo in the world, "though there aren't terribly many piano duos, " he said.

"They've been playing together since they were kids," Lyddon said. "I saw them live, and it was just as good as their recordings."

"We have grown accustomed to the perfection of recordings, and expect the same perfection in live performances. When you perform live, it's another step in difficulty. You only have one chance."

The duo performs on Jan. 26 and 27 at 7:30 p.m. in the Atherton Performing Arts Studio at Hawaii Public Radio.

Their program includes Ludwig Van Beethoven's "Three Marches," Op. 45, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Sonata in F Major," and "Rondo in A Major" and "Allegro in A Minor, 'Lebenssturme,'" by Franz Schubert.

Tickets are $15, and auditors are encouraged to call and reserve tickets as seating is limited.