Duo Caron

Duo Caron is a classical music group who transcribe and perform great orchestral works for various piano formations.

History
Born in Rimouski, Quebec, Canada, sibling pianists Josee and Martin Caron have lived in Montreal for several years. They started collaborating under the name Duo Caron in 1990.

In 1994, thanks to the unique nature of the transcriptions of masterful works and the quality of the high-level interpretations, the duo received an internship grant from the Quebec-Wallonia-Brussels Agency for Youth AQWBJ, for a promotional tour in French-speaking Belgium.

Following this recognition, the duo obtained a series of concert engagements, recordings and federal grants such as Musicaction. These performances earned him rave reviews.

Since 2020, the duo Caron has brought together pianists Carmen Picard and Josee Caron. The team's mandate remains the same, namely the interpretation of their own arrangements of orchestral works for two pianos and for piano duet. Their thematic album (2023) brings together different styles of 20th century Suites.

Premieres
Alan Belkin's Petite Suite for two pianos, commissioned by the Duo Caron, was premiered by Duo Caron in Montreal's Claude-Champagne Concert Hall.

In 1998, the Quebec International Duo-Piano Festival commissioned to Martin Caron a George Gershwin transcription for two pianos eight hands, "Strike up the Band", premiered at the Gala Concert, pour terminer l'événement de façon spectaculaire, such as Mr. Arthur Kaptainis pointed out:


 *  « The grand finale was Strike Up The Band, the lively Gershwin tune, as transcribed by Martin Caron and played at two pianos by the Carons with Morel and Nemish. It was pure fun, a fitting tribute to the composer in his centenary year.

Duo Caron's recordings include an album of post-Romantic works and another of works by Tchaikovsky, about which Heléna Bowkun wrote :


 *  « Orchestral transcriptions for piano duo may not be everybody’s cup of tea […] The brave and entrepreneurial duo Caron demonstrates that, when such arrangements are well played, they can be very effective. […] The pianists must be congratulated for their fine articulation throughout this entire disc. Things are always clear—never pounded out—and played with a lively, sparkling sound. Listeners who approach the album for what it is. as opposed to what it cannot be (a real symphony orchestra), will find it succeeds very well.

Released in 2009, the recording British Music for Piano Four Hands includes two new arrangements by Martin Caron of Paul McCartney's works. L’Avantage noted "Précision remarquable " about the interpretation of William Walton's Music for Children. James Harrington from American Record Guide qualified this recording as a "wonderful release":


 *  « Canadian sister and brother Josee and Martin Caron, playing a gorgeous sounding Italian Fazioli piano in the Historic Chapel of the Bon-Pasteur in Montreal, offer an engaging program of British music for piano four hands. […]. The very effective duet arrangements are by Martin Caron […]. However you may feel about a pop composer being treated equally with more luminary names among British classical composers, I must admit that after a number of hearings of this wonderful release, it is the McCartney tunes that I catch myself humming. »

Again, in the March/April 2024 issue, Mr. Harrington mentions the high level of quality of Holst's transcriptions and interpretation for recording Modern Four-Hand Suites:
 *  « […] They, like Liszt so many years ago, aim for something more pianistic, yet still completely faithful to the composer’s original concept. […] »

Their recordings are broadcast on CBC, SRC, "Radio Classique" CJPX, CKUA Radio Network Edmonton, and RTBF Radio "Musiq’3" Belgium.

For Piano Duet

 * Gustav Holst (1874-1934): The Planets opus 32, Suite for large Orchestra
 * I. Mars, the Bringer of War
 * IV. Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity

For Two Pianos‚ Four Hands

 * Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809–1847): Symphony No 4 in A major Italian
 * Modest Mussorgsky (1839–1881): Night on Bald Mountain‚ symphonic poem
 * Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951): Verklärte Nacht op. 4 for string sextet ("Transfigured Night")
 * Richard Strauss (1864–1949):
 * Don Juan op, 20‚ symphonic poem
 * Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks, symphonic poem
 * Metamorphosen, study for 23 solo strings
 * Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893): Symphony No. 4 in F minor‚ op. 36
 * Richard Wagner (1813–1883): Overture from the opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg

For Piano Duet

 * Sir Edward Elgar (1857–1934): Introduction and Allegro for Strings Op. 47
 * Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958): Overture from the opera The Wasps

For Four Pianos‚ Eight Pianists

 * Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943): Isle of the Dead op. 29‚ symphonic poem
 * Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893): Symphony No. 4 in F minor‚ op. 36

For Two Pianos‚ Four Pianists

 * George Gershwin (1898–1937): "Strike up the Band"

For Piano Duet

 * Paul McCartney (1942- ?):
 * A Leaf for piano solo
 * Appaloosa-Meditation‚ orchestral suite

Discography

 * 1992 - Transcriptions for Two Pianos Four Hands (Société Nouvelle d’Enregistrement, SNE-582-CD)
 * 1995 - Tchaikovsky for Four Hands (ATMA Classique, ACD 2-2102)
 * 2009 - British Music for Piano Four Hands (XXI-21 Productions Inc., XXI-CD 2 1603)
 * 2012 - Mendelssohn‚ Transcriptions for 4 hands (Société Métropolitaine du Disque Inc./Espace 21, SMD 225-1)
 * 2023 - Modern Four-Hand Suites (Société Métropolitaine du Disque Inc./Espace 21, SMD 312-1)