Víctor and Luis del Valle Piano duo

El Correo de Andalucía. Teatro de la Maestranza / Del Valle brothers, four-handed magic

Juan José Roldán
January 25 / 2022

"The pianists from Malaga returned to the Maestranza Theater to offer a recital in which they masterfully combined sleight of hand with exquisite expressiveness.

The del Valle brothers started with a circumstantial work by Schubert, a sonata allegro of high flying and considerable sophistication in which they were able to show off agility combined with a remarkable sense of lyricism and expressiveness. From the same year... the Fantasy D940... Víctor and Luis performed a generous interpretation of the piece, with an extremely stylized articulation, with frequent retardandi and eloquent and lengthy silences each time the main theme was re-exposed, and a global sense of the aesthetic and the melancholy that is truly overwhelming.

With the work of John Corigliano, Claroscuro, they alternated the performance of two pianos with a piano for four hands... they managed to transmit that sensation of light, its shadows and sparkles in a pure display of virtuosity and with an extraordinary coordination, also visible in the glances of complicity and harmony that were uttered. Already at two pianos they displayed a deep emotion in Mother Goose... the brothers adapted to its different characters, combining delicate and dazzling tones in a moving vision with all the colors and characters treated without affectation or artifice, until reaching the climax with a sweet and at the same time passionate end in the Enchanted Garden. The waltz afterwards was quite a cathartic experience, in its original version... A sumptuous and tremendous whirlwind, advancing in volatile episodes and culminating in pure destruction of the very essence of quintessential Viennese dance."

Diario de Sevilla. Teatro de la Maestranza / Choreography for two pianists

Pablo J.Vayón
January 24 / 2022

"They could act as if they were playing without lowering a key and the show would already be fascinating. The brothers Víctor and Luis del Valle create authentic choreographies with their movements, whether in the physical intimacy that sharing the same piano gives or in the distance of using two at the same time... their rapport, coordination and coupling in both the visual and sound part of their work is completely stunning... I don't remember anything at this point...

...the Fantasia in F minor, perhaps the most famous work ever written for four hands, was a true celebration of melody, embellished with phrasing details (some curious retentions, lengthened silences, rubatos...) that played to delay the harmonic resolutions, with what is always expressive about it...

...presenting in Mother Goose (Ma mère l'oye) a sound fragility that reached its limits in the Enchanted Garden, with pianissimi that seemed truly played by the fairies (as if Mendelssohn were behind them blowing)..."

VALLADOLID / The 30th anniversary of the OSCyL, a musical party

Ritmo
José M. Morate Moyano
27.09.2021

"...Mozart came with his demanding score from all points of view. But this time with a Duo that was splendid. Already in their 1st entry after the cheerful orchestral presentation, they showed finesse in sound, total coupling at the level of union and continuity demanded by the score that does not pose I and II, but rather an authentic couple; the double cadence was perfect, graceful and musical.

...the oboes sang their very expressive lament, an omen of the Duo's enormous sensitivity in taking up the theme and later alternating it with the orchestra in magical moments. The Rondo, so rich and brilliant, showed the precision of the Duo, sounding the 4 hands as only 2, with a lively and perfect last cadence as in the initial Allegro. The reception was explosive in long and repeated applause for everyone."

VALLADOLID / "A wonderful concert"

Tribuna Valladolid
27.09.2021

Jesús López Cobos Symphony Hall of the Miguel Delibes Cultural Center. 30th anniversary of the Castilla y León Symphony Orchestra (OSCyL). Conductor, Pablo Gonzalez. Soloists, Victor and Luis del Valle

"...And it is in that silence when the brothers Víctor and Luis del Valle appear and something wonderful happens when the first bars of Mozart's Concerto for two pianos and orchestra are heard. It happens that the public witnesses the "light of understanding " of the Del Valle brothers, how they talk to each other, look at each other, listen to each other and how they challenge the listener to discover the humanity and humor that Mozart's music possesses, its pain and its extreme truth."

MADRID / "The three moments' night"

Blas Matamoro
21/10/2020

Madrid. Auditorio Nacional. 20-X-2020. XXV Series Great Performers Scherzo. Del Valle Duo. Schubert, Corigliano y Ravel.

"... we [the concert goers] were ecstatic. We once again saw that we continue living sweet and golden years for musical performance in Spain. The umpteenth test was the concert of two pianos and four-hand piano offered by Víctor and Luis del Valle: a couple of gallant young men, bullfighters, insolent and confident who wasted - if art is not always waste - talent, technical solidity, instrumental brilliance, study and cult domination of times and styles. "