Barbara and Gerhardt Surhstedt
September 19, 2003
Piano duettists Barbara and Gerhardt Suhrstedt are one of America's few touring one-piano, four-hand teams. Since their 1982 New York debut, they have performed in 40 states, in Canada, and in Russia. The Suhrstedts have been featured on the Grand Teton, Wildflower, Garth Newel, Piccolo Spoleto, and Gina Bachauer International Piano Festivals. During their four Russian tours since 1998, the Suhrstedt duo have performed at St. Petersburg's historic Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory and have given three concerts at the Grand Palace at Peterhof (a 400-room summer palace of the Romanov Tsars). In May of 2002, Barbara and Gerhardt were part of a five member international jury for the third Igor R. Stravinsky Competition for Young Pianists, sponsored by the Stravinsky School of Music and Art in Lomonosov.
The Suhrstedts have received much critical acclaim for their multimedia presentations Slava: The Glory of the Arts in Tsarist Russia and Four Hands Fantastique: French Music, Art, and Poetry from 1860Ð1920. In collaboration with soprano Kay Raplenovich, the Suhrstedt duo presents Four Hands and a Voice, by George!, a program which features music of George Gershwin and his contemporaries. The duo have released two recordings: A Four-Hand Feast and Dances for Duettists. Barbara and Gerhardt Suhrstedt live in Boston.
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