Carmen Fantasy - Angelo Piano Duo & Riga Piano Duo

This video is a live performance from the final concert of the 2008 Milton & Peggy Salkind International Piano Duo Festival. The Angelo Piano Duo (Catherine & Anthony Angelo) & The Riga Piano Duo (Nora Novik & Raffi Kharajanyan) perform "Fantasy on Themes from Bizet's Carmen" for 2 pianos & 8 hands by Mack Wilberg. This performance featured the Grotrian Duo Grand piano. For more information on Sfmf and the Salkind International Piano Duo Festival visit: http://www.sfmf.org/

The Angelo Piano Duo
An Australian and American ensemble based in San Francisco, the Angelo Duo is known for concerts that feature an eclectic mix of musical styles. Alumni of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM), Catherine and Anthony met at the Music and Arts Institute in San Francisco. The duo was developed and refined at SFCM under the direction of Milton and Peggy Salkind. The Angelo Duo's international career includes performances in Australia, England, Italy, Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, and the United States. The Angelos have toured six times in Russia and other Eastern European countries. Influenced by the artistic and cultural experiences of performing at international piano duo festivals in Europe and Russia, the Angelo Duo founded the San Francisco International Music Festival organization (Sfmf) in 2003. In 2004, Catherine and Anthony were the recipients of the Mill Valley Art Commission's Milley Award for Achievement in the Musical Arts.

The Riga Piano Duo
A Latvian and Armenian duo based in Riga, Latvia, Nora Novik and Raffi Kharajanyan achieved legendary fame throughout their forty-year artistic career, and their names have become synonymous with piano duo performances. The Riga Piano Duo toured extensively in Europe, Russia, Israel, Asia, Eastern Europe and the Baltic States and gave their first performances in the U.S. at the 2007 and 2008 Salkind Piano Duo Festivals. In the summer of 2009, Nora Novik died suddenly; she lives on in many of the Riga Duo recordings, in the inspiration of her many students and colleagues, and in the generous spirit that we hold in our hearts.