Hungarian guitar duo Katona Twins will appear in Key West for an Impromptu Concert performance at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 25, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 401 Duval St. The concert will be the fourth of the 2018 Impromptu Concert season, which is celebrating the centennial of the late composer Leonard Bernstein, a frequent visitor to Key West.

This music act, comprised of Péter and Zoltán Katona, has been described as “the classical world’s best-known guitar duo.” These identical twins were born in Budapest, Hungary, where they began their music education at the age of 10. Their teacher had noticed that the boys had a talent for clapping-back complicated rhythms, and so their mother requested they change to a special school where, besides general subjects, they also received daily music instruction.

During communist times in Eastern Europe, politically influential composer and pedagogue Zoltán Kodály convinced the Hungarian government that learning music was important and beneficial for the development and education of children – and ultimately for the betterment of the country.

Since only classical guitar education was available, the Katonas quickly learned to love the warm sound and challenging repertoire of this instrument.

Since that time the twins have studied both individually and as a guitar duo at the Bela Bartok Conservatory in Budapest, the Academy of Music in Kassel, Germany and the University of Music and Performing Arts in Frankfurt. In 1995 they entered the Royal Academy of Music in London from which they graduated with the highest award.

During their studies, teachers introduced the two students to Julian Bream and John Williams. The wide repertoire of the duo ranges from Bach and Mozart to Piazzolla’s tango music and their own arrangements of pop classics.

Their performances often include concertos for two guitars and orchestra by Rodrigo, Vivaldi, Piazzolla and Tedesco while several composers have written and dedicated their works to them. In 1998 Katona Duo won the Concert Artists Guild Competition in New York, which was followed by a tour of the United States including their Carnegie Hall debut.

The artists were awarded the prestigious Borletti-Buitoni prize, the first for guitarists in the trust’s history. The twins also were Resident Artists of San Francisco Performances from 2007 to 2011. Both Péter and Zoltán are now German citizens living in Liverpool, where the celebrated duo continues to play together with renowned musicians such as Yo-Yo Ma, pianist Kathryn Stott and world-class ensembles such as the BBC Concert Orchestra and the London Sinfonia.

At their Key West performance, Katona Twins also plan to perform selections from “West Side Story,” by Bernstein; “Dance of the Miller,” by Manuel de Falla; “Mallorca, by Isaac Albeniz Asturias; excerpts from “Tango Suite,” by Astor Piazzolla; “The Brothers Karamazov,” by Bronislaw Kaper; a Beatles medley; and more.

Tickets for the concert cost $20, and are available at www.keystix.com, or at the door on the afternoon of the event. Cash, checks, or credit/debit cards accepted. Students admitted free. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
For more information visit www.keywestimpromptu.org