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Keys to the Stars — A Unique Experience (pages 16-17)
Peter Barthel

Key Words
Science & Art, Music

The International Year of Astronomy 2009 saw the birth of a remarkable arts and science collaboration, between a piano duo and an astronomer. Since 2009, the Dutch Grieg Piano Duo, consisting of the professional pianists Elles van der Heiden and Siebert Nix, and the author have performed together in their project Keys to the Stars. The astronomer accompanies the fourhand piano music played by the Duo with an astronomical video, projected onto a large screen behind the grand piano. The trio has performed compositions by the Estonian composer Urmas Sisask (born in 1960) and Franz Schubert (1797–1828) in several concert halls in the Netherlands during 2009 and 2010 with great success.