duo b!z'art – four hands on one piano.

Preview by Steve Cooke

Rochdale Music Society has been promoting concerts of live music of all kinds since 1980 in venues throughout the borough of Rochdale.

It promises to continue to do so as long as there are performers and audiences to get together to enjoy the delights of experiencing live music.

The Concert Series 2024-25 which is now under way continues on Saturday, 2 November, at 7.30pm in St. Michael’s Church, Bury and Rochdale Old Road, with a programme featuring four hands playing on one piano.

The hands are those of the two pianists who make up the DUO B!Z’ART (a combination of letters from BIZet and MozART making a title that is pronounced ‘bizarre’). They are André Roe and Geoffrey Baptiste who formed a partnership in music after they finished their studies under Evgeny Moguilevsky in 2004.

They offer a variety of attractive programmes with contrasting themes. On this occasion the theme will be ‘Ode to Life’, and the music to be played is an exciting and colourful mixture of French and Russian works: Bizet’s ‘Children's games’, Rachmaninov’s Suite op.11, Debussy’s 6 Epigraphes antiques, Fauré’s Dolly Suite and the Sinfonietta by Kapustin.

duo b!z'art are André Roe and Geoffrey Baptiste

Endowed with a strong artistic personality, motivated by a constant search for cohesion and precision, this duo of pianists on 1 and 2 pianos (or rather a single person with 20 fingers?) is out of the ordinary and déjà vu...

Passionate and committed musicians, Geoffrey Baptiste and André Roe like to share their love of music wherever they can take it, with great simplicity and complicity with the public.

Every year, they make numerous tours across Europe (Scandinavia, the British Isles, the Baltic Republics, Slovenia, Croatia,...) as well as in China.

Influenced by their musical tastes ranging from romanticism to 20th century music, their concerts revolve around strong and original themes (An American in Paris, Aboard the Orient Express, Tales and Legends...) combining undisputed masterpieces with unjustly forgotten works.

Alongside these recitals, they also offer musical performances where the concert is lived as a "complete" experience, combining music, theatre and visual projection, during which they ensure that the spectator lives a passionate artistic story.

In addition, they attach great importance to sharing their passion with the young and regularly propose educational concerts for children, whether in partnership with cultural institutions (cultural centres, theatres, festivals, etc.) or directly in schools.

The duo b!z'art was founded in 2004 by André and Geoffrey after their studies, having met in the class of Professor Evgeny Moguilevsky at the Royal Conservatoire of Brussels.

Tickets can be bought at the door on the night and paid for in cash or by cheque. Adults £14 (no concessions), Students £5, Children £1 and Disabled with a carer £10.