Six of the Wildest Piano Duels in Music History
by Emily E. Hogstadt , Interlude Audiences can never resist a duel. For hundreds of years, audiences have enjoyed watching confrontations between virtuoso pianists that showcase both their technical prowess and competitive spirits. © wshu.org Today we’re looking at six of the most famous piano duels in the history of classical music, from the time Mozart was pitted against a rival on Christmas Eve in a Viennese palace to the time Liszt and his greatest rival trying to settle the question of who was best in a sparkling Romantic Era Paris salon. Let’s get started! Bach vs. Marchand (1717) In 1717, when Bach ’s work travels took him through Dresden, he unknowingly walked into a veritable snake’s pit of musical intrigue. An irascible musician named Louis Marchand, who had left (or possibly been fired) the French royal court, was visiting Dresden at the same time that Bach was. J.S. Bach © ClassicFM Dresden-based musician J.B. Volumier feared that Marchand ...