Reports are appearing of the death of Aloys Kontarsky, surviving half of the celebrated German piano duo. He was 86 and had been struggling in the aftermath of a stroke.
His brother Alphons died in 2010.
The duo recorded extensively for DG and other labels.
A chamber music play by Mauricio Kagel with the mime Rolf Scharre and the brothers Alfons and Aloys Kontarsky. Munich. 1964. Photograph by Franz Hubmann/Lebrecht
Bad news. Their recording of the Hungarian Dances is a treasure and a must-have in all collections.
The youngest brother, Bernhard Kontarsky, is, I hope, still with us.
Their 1977 rendering of
Bartók: Sonata For 2 Pianos & Percussion (with Christoph Caskel, Heinz König)
Stravinsky: Concerto For 2 Solo Pianos
Stravinsky: Sonata For 2 Pianos
belongs to the finest recordings of these pieces.
(Deutsche Grammophon 437 027-2)
Sad. I heard them live only once. I will treasure my vinyl disks of them even more. Their ensemble was second to none. Their performances had grand shape. The DGG sound was big but round.
I knew them in the 70’s–my husband was a student of Caskel’s–a couple of years later they came to the Bay area to perform–Aloys was absolutely charming, and so talented.