Not your 'sleep-inducing' classical music concert
- Anderson %26 Roe Piano Duo
- Where%3A Rogers Music Center%2C Willamette University%2C 900 State St.
- When%3A 7%3A30 p.m. Wednesday%2C April 1
- Cost%3A See bottom of story
Bloody knuckles, "Star Wars," intertwined bodies and burning pianos. When you imagine a classical music concert, these things probably don't come to mind.
If you think classical music is stoic and benign, or passé and irrelevant, the Anderson & Roe Piano Duo aims to change that.
The critically acclaimed and Emmy-nominated pianists, who play together at the same piano, have been challenging notions about classical music for a dozen years. Part of the duo's mission statement, which is viewable on its website, is "to free the world from the constraints of sleep-inducing concerts."
"We both have a vision for classical music's role in society. We aim to make classical music as relevant and as powerful as we can," Greg Anderson said. "It's so easy to think of four hands at a piano as domesticated, but that doesn't work on the grand concert stage."
The music
Mid-Valley residents will have the opportunity to experience one of Anderson & Roe's bold, creative and energized performances when Willamette University's Grace Goudy Distinguished Artists Series features the duo on Wednesday, April 1. The performance will include Mozart, Maurice Ravel, Radiohead, György Ligeti and more. Yes, Radiohead.
"You can't tell what to expect at an Anderson & Roe concert. We like to throw curve balls at the audience," Anderson said. "We're going to aim to showcase the variety of life ... We're playing Mozart and Bach, very traditional composers, but there will be surprises and delights to follow."
Elizabeth Joy Roe, the other half of the duo, said, "We're hoping to open people's eyes to new ways of hearing the music that they love."
The duo takes traditional classical works and pop tunes and transforms them into a classical, avant-garde and modernist style. Their latest album, "The Art of Bach," was released in January. They have adapted works as different as Igor Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring," John Williams' "Star Wars" score and Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean."
"We love interesting, unexpected juxtapositions. We think it keeps the music fresh, revolutionary and aim to honor the spirit of the original work," Roe said. "Our program is reflective of the current trend on Spotify or an iPhone play list. We'll have someone who is Top 40 next to an indie band."
Jean-David Coen, a Goudy series co-director and artist in residence at Willamette University, said, "What makes them extraordinarily exceptional to me is they're not only putting out a new vision, but they have the artistic integrity and brilliance to back it up."
The video
Anderson and Roe met during college orientation at The Juilliard School. He was from Lake Elmo, Minnesota, and she was from Chicago, Illinois.
"We both realized at a very early age that music was a calling," Roe said.
In Juilliard's intimate and creative atmosphere, they quickly became friends. In their music making, they had what Anderson described as "a chemistry and synchronicity."
"A lot of the ideas and the concepts that we had for our duo were already in motion," Roe said. "We had this playful and exciting aesthetic for what classical music could be."
They earned their bachelor's and master's degrees at Juilliard and set out to change classical music. One of their tools is YouTube,where their videos, which Roe described as "MTV-style videos of classical music," have had millions of hits.
"We create our music videos for the YouTube attention span, which isn't very long," Anderson said. "We find that it's helpful to accentuate the spirit of the music in certain ways ... like burning a piano."
Roe said, "If you're excited by the video, you have to check out the live show. We never know what is going to happen."
They don't burn pianos at live concerts, but they do maintain the dynamism and creativity of their videos.
The dance
Playing at the same piano with their arms and hands entwined, the duo's movements must be carefully tailored. "We use the choreography to bring out the spirit of the music," Anderson said. "We hope audiences will experience our hands as dancing."
If a song is a romance, their bodies and hands move differently than in a warlike anthem in which their hands battle. The accidental collision of their knuckles has resulted in actual blood.
"We gear ourselves toward wilder expressions of life. This ends up being dangerous, both emotionally and physically," Anderson said. "Once I bashed Liz in the eye with my elbow, and we had to ice it at intermission."
Even with black eyes and bloody knuckles, Anderson and Roe remain close friends. This helps, as they tour throughout the year in North America, Asia and Europe.
"We're not like J. Lo. We're not in first class and at the Four Seasons," Anderson said.
They are excited to return to Oregon. "We drove up the coast once," he said. "It was one of the most beautiful drives."
They are looking forward to trying new food venues, exploring the sites and meeting the Salem audience.
"There's an emotional investment from us as performers. We're passionate about the music and interact with the audience," Roe said. "We want to make it a substantive artistic experience. We have lots of fun onstage and want it to be fun for our audience."
TRastrelli@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 983-6030, facebook.com/RastrelliSJ and on Twitter @RastrelliSJ
If you go
Where: Rogers Music Center, Willamette University, 900 State St.
When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 1
Tickets: $23, $18 Willamette faculty and staff, $5 Willamette students, $12 Willamette I.C.L. students, and $8 students and children. Students, faculty and staff must present their school IDs. Purchase at Travel Salem, 181 High St. NE, or by calling (503) 581-4325, going to absolutelytix.com or at the door. At the performance, Oregon Trail Card holders can purchase tickets at the box office for $5.
Master Class with Anderson & Roe: 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, March 31, Rogers Music Center. Free and open to the public.
Information: (503) 370-6255 or willamette.edu/arts/goudyartistseries
Anderson & Roe's incomplete manifesto:andersonroe.com/program-notes