NEW YORK, NY.- A piano duo concert titled “A Feminine Voice,” dedicated to works by women composers, was presented at Klavierhaus in New York City on March 28. The piano duo Nan Duo, formed by pianists Jianan Xu and Nan Hu, offered an evening of four-hand repertoire that illuminated the distinctive musical voices of female composers from the Romantic era, drawing an engaged audience of classical music enthusiasts.

Centered on the theme of “Women’s Voices,” the program brought together four-hand piano works by three representative composers spanning the 19th and early 20th centuries. The concert opened with Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel’s Walzer, a piece marked by elegance and delicacy, that reveals the composer’s refined lyrical sensibility. This was followed by Three Pieces for Piano Four-Hands, a compact yet expressive set that moves from the lightness of Allegretto to the drive of Allegro molto, before settling into the graceful Allegretto grazioso. Together, the works demonstrate a nuanced balance between structural clarity and emotional contrast.

The central portion of the program featured Summer Fantasies, Op. 47, by American composer Amy Beach. Comprising six character pieces, the suite traverses a range of moods—from the lively, whimsical The Brownies to the gentle calm of Good Night. Through sensitive touch and finely tuned ensemble playing, Xu and Hu shaped a vivid sound world that emphasized the music’s narrative charm and tonal richness.

The concert concluded with Six Romantic Pieces, Op. 55, by French composer Cécile Chaminade. Blending dance rhythms with exotic color, works such as Idylle arabe and Danse hindoue reflect the stylistic diversity of late Romantic music. The final piece, Rigaudon, brought the evening to an energetic close, its lively rhythms delivering a sense of culmination and release.

Presented entirely in the four-hand piano format, the concert underscored both the technical demands and expressive possibilities of the genre. More than a test of precision, four-hand performance invites an intimate form of musical dialogue—one that Xu and Hu navigated with clarity and cohesion. Their performance demonstrated not only technical command but also a shared interpretive vision, balancing individual expression within a unified musical voice.

Years of collaboration have shaped Nan Duo’s distinctive artistic identity. Both pianists bring strong technical foundations and a thoughtful engagement with musical structure and style. In Romantic repertoire especially, their attention to voicing and internal balance allows the music’s layered textures to emerge with clarity, while their coordinated phrasing lends a natural sense of flow and continuity.



With its focus on women composers, “A Feminine Voice” carries particular resonance in today’s concert landscape. By presenting a carefully curated program of works by female composers, the performance expands traditional repertoire while inviting renewed consideration of women’s contributions to music history.

This concert marks an important moment in Nan Duo’s ongoing New York performance series. Looking ahead, the duo is expected to continue exploring diverse thematic programs, further extending the expressive possibilities of piano duet and four-hand performance.