By Denny Patterson
Internationally renowned husband and wife concert pianists and recording artists Catherine Lan and Tao Lin, known professionally as Duo Beaux Arts, will join the South Florida Symphony Orchestra (SFSO) for its Masterworks IV series.
This will be their first time performing on SFSO’s mainstage.
“We’re absolutely, incredibly excited to play with such a fine orchestra with Maestra Alfonso and to present such an exciting piece,” Lin says. “It’s not often that a dual piano team has an opportunity to play double concertos with an orchestra just because, logistically, it can be tricky to bring two quality instruments onto the same stage. We’re definitely looking forward to it.”
During the COVID-19 shutdown, the duo were regular performers during the SFSO’s virtual Intermission Music Series, which was presented for free.
For Masterworks IV, Lan and Lin will play Mozart’s Concerto for Two Pianos in E-flat Major, one of the limited number of works for two or more solo instruments with orchestra.
“The interesting thing about this work is that there’s actually not a lot of historical information on it,” Lin explains. “There is no consensus on when it was written, but it is speculated that it was written around the year 1777. Also, it is speculated that it was actually written by Mozart’s very, very talented sister, Maria Anna. She was four years older than him, and it has been said that she was even more musically talented than her brother, which is absolutely mind boggling and difficult to imagine. Through their correspondence, it appeared that Mozart really idolized her, and by all accounts, she was an excellent pianist and harpsichordist.
“Very recently, and again, this is pure speculation, I read an article from The Guardian a couple weeks ago claiming that Mozart might have taken over some of his sister’s compositions and put his own name on it,” he continues. “The only sad part is that we are not able to really judge the great musical talent of Maria Anna because none of her compositions survive, but we do know that she did compose because Mozart praised her compositions in their correspondence. Most likely, this piece was meant for them to play together. It’s a work in three movements, and the first and second movements are festival and virtuosic, while the third movement is typically lyrical and aristocratic.”
Known for their adrenalized performances, Duo Beaux Arts was formed in 2008 and they have shared their passion for music across the world. Lan started studying piano music at a very young age.
“I started at the age of three,” she says. “As a young child, it was not much fun practicing hours and hours a day, but during my teenages years, maybe around when I was 14, that’s when the turning point was. By that time, I really appreciated the beauty of music and just fell in love.”
Lin’s story is quite similar to his wife’s.
“I started when I was about four years old, and in a way, I had no choice in terms of the instrument because both my parents taught piano at the conservatory in Shanghai,” he says. “They basically parked me in front of the piano to see if I would somehow take a liking to the instrument. They felt that I might have had some connection to music itself because, my mom loves to tell this story, I was apparently weeping when she was practicing a piece. She felt that the music touched me in some ways, so they wanted to explore that further. Just like Catherine, it was difficult to sit down and practice everyday while younger, but around my teenage years, I think there was a turning point where music started to mean a lot to me.”
Lin and Lan first met at a music competition in Davie, Florida, and got married in 2008, the same year they formed Duo Beaux Arts.
“We have a similar way of interpreting music, so it’s always nice to work with someone who sees similar ideas about the music and ways to perform together,” Lin says. “It’s communication.”
“We have similar musical instincts,” Lan adds. “Also, the repertoire itself is wonderful both for piano duet music, which is four hands at one piano, and piano duo, which involves two pianos, like this particular concerto.”
As for long-term goals, the duo simply hopes to maintain a long lasting career doing what they love and bringing joy to listeners. In May 2022, they will be performing at the Romanza Festivale in St. Augustine, Florida combining a program of traditional music with several world premieres by a resident composer. After that, they will be touring throughout the southern states, as well as playing in Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and Vermont.
To stay up-to-date with Lan and Lin, visit DuoBeauxArts.com, or visit their respective websites, CatherineLan.com and TaoLinPianist.com. Masterworks IV will be performed at The Parker on March 23, 2022 at 7:30PM. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit SouthFloridaSymphony.org, or call (954) 522-8445.
