Official release date: 26.08.16

Since 2008, Antoine Francoise and Robin Green have relentlessly promoted the art of piano duo. Their substantial repertoire for piano duo/duet ranges from Mozart to Ravel to Kurtág. With a shared passion of the contemporary music repertoire, Antoine as a pianist-composer and Robin as a pianist-conductor started their collaboration with a performance of George Crumb’s ‘Music for a summer’s evening’. Since then, the duo has been responsible for over 50 world premieres, including pieces by Vlad Maistorovici, Christian Mason, Alissa Firsova, Hanspeter Kyburtz, Ruaidhri Mannion and Gavin Higgins.

The duo has also developed a strong relationship with Stockhausen’s 70minute masterpiece ‘Mantra’, performing the piece in the UK, Switzerland and France. Antoine and Robin are the 1st prize winners of the Nicati Competition in Switzerland (2011) and the Royal Overseas league competition for Chamber music in London (2013). They were runners up prize winners in the 2015 International Franz Schubert piano duo competition in Czech Republic. The Francoise-Green piano duo has performed recitals at Wigmore hall, Kings Place, St David’s Hall and the Purcell Room. Their festival appearances include the Davos Young Artist Festival, IRCAM’s Manifeste festi- val, Biennale Bern, Les Jardins Musicaux festival, ’Occupy the pianos’ festival, the Brighton International festival the Vale of Glamorgan festival, the Lake District International music festival and the Edinburgh fringe festival.

Dedicated chamber musicians, they have collaborated with the Aurora Orchestra, Cavaleri Quartet, Rolf Hind and Richard Uttley. Past highlights include a complete Beethoven symphony cycle, performances of the Poulenc and Mozart concertos, and performances of Saint-Saens Carnival of the Animals. Former recipients of the Leverhulme Junior Fellowship in Chamber Music at the Royal College of Music, Antoine and Robin met as students of Yonty Solomon and Andrew Ball. Complimenting their studies, the duo has participated in masterclasses with Stephen Kovacevich, Ferenc Rados and Dénes Várjon, with whom they studied at the Prussia Cove International Musicians Seminar.