If you’ve ever been in a band, you know the struggles of loading gear in and out of a venue.
Pedals are missing, the singer doesn’t help, or there is an endless amount of winding stairs that you must carry a massive amp up and down.
But most have never had to figure out a way to take one grand piano, let alone two on the road with them. The Bergmann Duo has taken on this challenge.
“The great thing about it is we know the instruments that we are going to be playing on from concert to concert and the audience will have this wonderful sonic pleasure to hear two grand pianos in their venues,” said Elizabeth Bergmann.
She pointed out that duos of the ‘50s and ‘60s used to do the same thing, but they didn’t have a professional mover like they do.
Elizabeth met husband Marcel Bergmann when they were both studying music in Germany. Eventually the two pianists were married and have been travelling the world performing, recording and teaching.
They are directors of concerts at Langley Community Music School and also teach there. They recently became new associate directors of White Rock Concerts and will eventually take over George Zukerman’s role as artistic director when he retires in the next few years.
Needless to say, the Bergmanns have a lot on their plate.
“We don’t know the word ‘balance’,” said Elizabeth with a laugh. “I think we’ve just realized that our balance is whatever is at that moment in time we have to deal with. It actually is a wonderful life because you can never get bored and can never say that you don’t know what to do, because there is always something.”
That idea of excitement is something that is transferred into their live show with what Elizabeth described as an element of improvisation in each performance.
No two performances are the same when it comes to the Bergmanns.
“We don’t always know what were going to do or what is gong to come up when you’re dealing with that kind of music,” she explained. “ Ideally, when you have been playing together for so long you can trust one another to be spontaneous in those moments. That always gives a feeling of freshness to the piece even though you have played it many times.”
You can catch the Bergmann Duo on their grand pianos as part of the Bragg Creek Performing Arts season Saturday, Oct. 25. Tickets are available at braggcreekperformingarts.com.
