review

Recent Press /  by Elizabeth Roe

Throughout the past several months, Elizabeth and her piano duo partner Greg Anderson have performed all over the globe, from a world heritage temple in Kyoto, Japan to ten breathtaking cities across New Zealand. Highlights include a sold-out Kennedy Center debut, an appearance on Performance Today with Fred Child, working with the talented young students of the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra, and winning Club Cumming's illustrious Yaaaaaaas Award. To quote William Cowper, “Variety is the very spice of life..." Indeed!

A selection of reviews:

Washington Post:

Dazzling… transcendental… While each is a virtuoso powerhouse pianist in his and her own right, what sets the pair apart is an ability to make emotional and spiritual connections with their audiences.

The Press (Christchurch):

I am struggling for superlatives to describe what was an outstanding evening's entertainment, a smorgasbord of dazzling pianistic virtuosity, musicianship and stagecraft, all bundled up in an irresistible package by two dynamic young performers.

Performance Today:

[Anderson & Roe] have redefined what is possible for a piano duo. They have not just totally assured technical chops, but also a flair for dramatic storytelling both musically and visually.

The Wave:

Listening to their recordings you would assume that the music has been edited with layer upon layer of different tracks, but it’s hasn’t. Only by seeing them live in performance can you fully appreciate the extent of the attention to detail these two performers have put into their arrangements. In fact, it feels like you are witnessing an entire orchestra.

DMSReviewBlog:

Elizabeth Joy Roe and Greg Anderson took the stage and proceeded to stomp, clap, slap and play their piano beasts like lion tamers. Their videos are visually interesting and exciting, but it didn’t prepare me with the phenomenon of their live performance.

Hartford Courant:

Passionate intensity! Anderson & Roe were given wave after wave of enthusiastic applause, and the evening felt young and inspired.

DCMetroArts:

[Anderson & Roe] follow no template other than their own inspiration.

Mamanawatu Standard:

If you were looking for an ensemble that could bring the world of chamber music to a new and younger audience, you couldn't ask for much more than that which Greg Anderson and Elizabeth Joy Roe offered at the Globe.

Classical Sonoma:

Dynamic and mesmerizing... stunning! The full hall went crazy with stomping and yelling and clapping for more.

Otago Daily News:

A full house at the Glenroy Auditorium was blown away by the sheer virtuosity and rapturous engagement with the music exhibited by pianists Greg Anderson and Elizabeth Joy Roe.

New Zealand Herald:

[Anderson & Roe are] keenly aware of maximizing the impact of the concert experience.

Middle C:

…a compelling and invigorating mix of gravitas and glitter! [Anderson & Roe] throw themselves entirely into each piece, [making] sure the concert was primarily about the music, rather than about them. Spell-binding… sensuous! There were several encores afterwards, which had the audience clapping and bravo-ing for more, the pair generous in response, and leaving us replete with a sense of occasion.

Noted:

Anderson and Roe are a supercharged and virtuosic duo. Their performance style is highly theatrical, with an intense, almost erotic involvement between them.

GoldStar:

Fun, sexy, exciting… fiery rock ‘n’ roll showmanship...

Vail Daily:

[With Anderson & Roe], nothing is off limits.

New Music Video + Spring Press /  by Elizabeth Roe

The Anderson & Roe Piano Duo recently released a new music video, featuring their minimalistic cover of Daft Punk's "Lose Yourself to Dance" and filmed last year at the Moonlight Rollerway in Los Angeles (check out the blog here):

Lose Yourself to Dance: Chaconne for Two Pianos GREG ANDERSON and ELIZABETH JOY ROE are revolutionizing the piano duo experience for the 21st century.

The first quarter of 2017 has been filled with exciting concerts, travels, and events, from the opening concert of the PyeongChang Winter Music Festival in South Korea to the duo's UK orchestral debut with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. (For regular tour photos/updates, follow Anderson & Roe on Instagram.)

Latest press coverage:

THE KOREA HERALD: Risque four-hands piano fires up winter-weary souls

Partnership does not do justice in describing the electrifying performance by the Anderson & Roe piano duo. Pianists Greg Anderson and Elizabeth Joy Roe showed the magic that can happen when two musicians perform with one soul. 
In a program that included a classical Mozart piece arranged into ragtime and the Beatle’s “Let It Be” arranged to “push” the gospel element of the pop favorite, the duo showed in fully display the explosive power of two pianos played together. Rachmaninoff’s “The Night ... the Love” from Fantaisie-Tableaux was dreamy in its evocative romanticism as the two pianists gazed into each other’s eyes across their pianos.

The highlight of the evening was the performance of Piazzolla’s “Oblivion” and “Libertango” played by four hands on one piano. In a sensually charged performance, the two pianists shared the keys, performing a sultry tango between their hands and arms. Manipulating the piano, fingers reaching into the innards of the grand piano, to produce the effect of pizzicato on the violin, the duo’s performance of the Piazzolla pieces were visually mesmerizing. 

KOREA TIMES: Warm music to go with Winter Games

What followed the intermission was a young, volcanic piano duo ― Greg Anderson and Elizabeth Joy Roe, virtuosi who met at Julliard and who now tour the world presenting a torrent of genres. A rapturous "Ave Maria" by Shubert, a near honky-tonk rendition of "Let It Be" by the Beatles and a driving tango were among the works as the audience kept demanding they play on. The performance (they almost sat in each other's laps) was muscular with Ms. Roe's long dark ponytail and sinuous arms flying around the dueling Steinways. 

CARNEGIE HALL BLOG: Happy Birthday, Ensemble Connect!

NEIU INDEPENDENT: The best of both worlds

AIKEN STANDARD: Piano duo elevates talent at Joye in Aiken master class

GOOD NEWS LIVERPOOL: Review: Anderson & Roe And Christian Lindberg With The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic

SUPERSTAR piano duo Greg Anderson and Elizabeth Joy Roe practically blew the roof off the Liverpool Phil’s Music Room in a recital they gave on Monday. On Thursday they returned to join the orchestra on the main stage in a performance of the Concerto for Two Pianos by Francis Poulenc, along with conductor Christian Lindberg.
Anderson and Roe are tremendously charismatic and insanely talented, and the Poulenc concerto was a great piece to demonstrate some of their stylistic range. Poulenc is noted for injecting a stiff dose of playfulness into his work, and parts of the two-piano concerto at times feel almost like music to a silent comedy film. But even in the same movement the mood changes to something far more languid and thoughtful, and the liquid playing from the pair of pianos nestled in an embrace on the forestage was simply exquisite. After a similarly reflective, shorter centre movement, the finale returns to spikier passages, eventually returning us via a reflection of the opening to a sharp and witty conclusion. Throughout they were accompanied with flair by the RLPO.
Demonstrating their showmanship and obvious love of playing, the duo then treated the audience to not one but two encores. Piazzola’s Libertango and the Beatles’ Let it Be, both in their own arrangements, giving us a glimpse of other aspects of their extensive repertoire of both material and performance methods.

WQXR BLOG: Watch Piano Duo's Roller Disco Cover of Daft Punk's 'Lose Yourself to Dance'

BROADWAY WORLD: 75 Talented Young Artists Set for YoungArts' Week-Long NYC Intensive

Washington Post review, radio & more /  by Elizabeth Roe

October continued to be jam-packed, with concerts spanning the United States. Elizabeth had another concerto collaboration with conductor Michael Butterman, giving a repeat performance of the Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini and the Poulenc Double Concerto (with piano duo partner Greg Anderson), this time with the Shreveport Symphony. The Anderson & Roe Piano Duo also joined Maestro Butterman for a preview interview with Louisiana's Red River Radio.

During Anderson & Roe's visit to Colorado earlier in October, they stopped by Colorado Public Radio's studio for an interview and live performance; watch below:

Anderson & Roe closed out the month with two concerts (in Washington, DC, and New York City) celebrating Halloween, centering on their own fiercely virtuosic arrangement of Danse Macabre. Anne Midgette, classical music critic at the Washington Post, reviewed the National Gallery recital, proclaiming:

Anderson and Roe {...] are the very model of complete 21st-century musicians. They fuse classical and pop music into a blend of high artistry and skillful entertainment; they write informative program notes; they talk to the audience from the stage, passing the mic back and forth. That they are crack pianists goes without saying.

Read the rest of the review here.

***FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: Elizabeth's recording of the complete Field Nocturnes is up for Grammy Award consideration on the 2017 ballot. Members of the Recording Academy: please vote!