Structural communication in piano duos: Musical compatibility and individual differences in interpretation

Ensemble performance involves each member contributing to a shared interpretation of the piece. In commercial recordings of piano duo performances, this study examined how individual differences in interpretation between each duo affect the rating of salience of particular events (accents), as well as the continuous ratings of phrasing and tension. An example comparing performances of Mozart’s Sonata K. 448 Mvt. 3 and Sonata K. 521 Mvt. 2 by duos Argerich/Kissin and Haebler/Hoffman is shown, looking at significant differences in the ratings of events between the two. Differences were more evident between ratings of particular events in the K. 448 extract, which may serve to explain some of the variance seen between the average phrasing profiles.