Christina & Michelle Naughton, piano duo

Saturday, December 5, 2020 | 8:00 pm

Chamber Arts Series

Duke Performances is excited to present our Virtual Fall season – The Show Must Go Online! High-quality, commissioned films featuring artists originally slated for in-person performances will premiere on Vimeo for ticket holders. Each film, shot following local safety protocols, is made in collaboration with an audio and video crew in each artist’s home city. 

General admission tickets are $10 per presentation and Duke Student tickets are available free of charge through the support of the Provost and the Vice Provost for the Arts at Duke University. Chamber Arts Series subscriptions, including all four concerts, are available at a discount of 25% off for $30. Before the premiere, ticket buyers will receive a unique Vimeo link to stream each performance online at the scheduled time. After the conclusion of the premiere, films will be available for viewing for 24 hours.

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There’s a long tradition of sibling piano duos, with inherited musical connections — the Labèques, the Pekinels, the Paratores — and Christina and Michelle Naughton are no different. The captivating identical twins are renowned for their technical mastery and “have to be heard to be believed” (The Washington Post). They bring a range of four-handed pieces to the Chamber Arts Series. With Mendelssohn’s stately Andante and Variations as the prelude, the pair launch into Poulenc’s Sonata for Four Hands, followed by Debussy’s En Blanc et Noir for Two Pianos. The Naughtons finish with Brahms’ stunning neoclassical-style Haydn Variations, imitating a whole symphony orchestra. With the sisters’ hands moving in dazzling speed, their unique power will be on full display.

— Freya Parr

Click to view the full program for this performance.

Program

"The two extraordinary musicians demonstrated uncanny harmoniousness and technical precision, even when expressing individual soulfulness and spontaneity."