Interview with another married couple piano duo!
By Scott
This week’s YouTube video is our interview with the Neeman Piano Duo, currently based in Australia. Edward and Stephanie Neeman are both highly skilled and experienced pianists on an international level, and Clare and I have been inspired by their playing and their arrangements since we first watched their videos many years ago. We have played several of their 4-hand arrangements, including an incredibly difficult and colorful Tchaikovsky Waltz of the Flowers and Pas de deux from The Nutcracker Suite, and a lighter and very pretty arrangement of Some Enchanted Evening from the musical South Pacific. It was a really fun interview!
We cover many topics in the interview, including:
Neemans’ relationship story
Neeman Piano Duo origins
How Edward proposed
Edward’s arrangement of Some Enchanted Evening
Stephanie performing and finishing doctorate during pregancy
Graduate studies in Cincinnati while raising a child
American vs. Australian accents
Stephanie “No Last Name”
Edward’s and Stephanie’s roles in the Neeman Piano Duo
Edward’s affinity for complexity
Waltz of the Flowers arrangement
Video/audio editing
Edward’s early training and competition experience
Stephanie’s early training and competition experience
Decision to study in the US
Importance of competitions
Surprise questions for Scott about arranging
Writing original compositions for piano duo
Teaching their son piano
More about Edward’s arrangements
Advice for young people deciding on a music career
See our interview here!
To learn more about Edward and Stephanie, check out their website and YouTube channel!