The Inner Line: Music for Piano 4 Hands

Stephen Emmerson taught piano at the Queensland Conservatorium in Brisbane and Bernard Lanskey at the Guildhall School of Music in London, yet the two still met regularly to give piano four-hand concerts.

Stephen Emmerson piano
Bernard Lanskey piano

Johannes Brahms composer
Andrew Schultz composer
Franz Schubert composer

Their programme on this recording features two of the key works in this repertoire: the Brahms Variations and the Schubert Fantasie, with a set of dances by each composer, and a work written for this duo by Queensland composer Andrew Schultz, who was then working at the Guildhall School of Music in London.

12 Variations was written to complement the other works on this CD. Its subtitle (‘Gesangvoll mit innigster Empfindung’ – ‘Song-like, with inner feeling’) refers to Beethoven, who gave that same instruction to the theme and variations which conclude his Piano Sonata Op. 109.

Artists

Johannes Brahms

Johannes Brahms (1833–1897) was a German composer and pianist of the Romantic period. His music for piano, chamber ensemble, orchestra, and voice remains central to the concert repertoire.

Stephen Emmerson

Stephen Emmerson is an Australian pianist and teacher based in Brisbane, on the staff of the Queensland Conservatorium since 1987. His performing life centres on solo piano and fortepiano and, above all, chamber music.

Andrew Schultz

Andrew Schultz, a graduate of the Universities of Queensland and London, has received numerous awards and commissions for chamber, orchestral and vocal works, and is Emeritus Professor of Music at UNSW Sydney.

Bernard Lanskey

Bernard Lanskey is a pianist whose teaching career has included senior roles at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and as dean of the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music in Singapore.

Franz Schubert

Franz Schubert (1797–1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. In only thirty-one years he left a vast body of work, including over six hundred Lieder, and remains among the most frequently performed composers.

Tracks

Variations on a Theme by Schumann, Op. 23 Johannes Brahms 17:22

Four Ländler, D. 814 Franz Schubert

Ländler 1 :53
Ländler 2 :57
Ländler 3 & 4 2:09
12 Variations Andrew Schultz 13:18

Walzer, Op. 39 Johannes Brahms

Nos. 1 & 2 2:02
No. 3 :44
No. 15 1:13
No. 16 1:01
Fantasie in F Minor, D. 940 Franz Schubert 20:12

Performers

Stephen Emmerson · piano
Bernard Lanskey · piano

Where to listen

The Inner Line: Music for Piano 4 Hands is available for streaming through Apple Music. It can also be purchased through the iTunes Music Store.

The Inner Line: Music for Piano 4 Hands is available as a CD. It can be purchased online through Buywell Music or the Australian Music Centre which both offer online ordering.