Anagnoson & Kinton are recognized today as one of the world’s finest piano duos. With over 1000 performances throughout the duo’s 40-year history, their astonishing performances have been repeatedly met with great critical acclaim across North America, Europe, China, and Russia. In addition to traditional recitals, the duo has commissioned numerous compositions, expanding the boundaries of piano-duo idiom. Respected scholars and performers, Anagnoson & Kinton’s musicianship defines the art of true ensemble playing.
They first met as students at the Aspen Music Festival and in 1976, decided to include a two piano recital in their season schedules. When they first sat together to rehearse the Brahms Sonata in F Minor, what was instantly apparent was an extraordinary musical chemistry. This connection was so unusual that in the ensuing months the likes of Gina Bachauer and Eugene List heard them and, each recognizing that this pair had something quite exceptional, encouraged them to dedicate themselves to a career as a piano duo team.
Anagnoson & Kinton took their advice and in the following seasons, their flair for duo playing was repeatedly met with critical acclaim in debut recitals in such cities as London, The Hague, New York, and Boston. Since that time, the duo has performed with orchestras and in recitals across North America, Europe, China, and Russia.
The duo has commissioned numerous compositions and their collaboration with other artistic genres has expanded the boundaries of piano-duo presentation. They have performed Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring to the innovative choreography of John Alleyne alongside Ballet BC. In addition, they premiered Into the Labyrinth – a multi-genre work by Ray Luedeke, featuring staging by Tom Diamond and narration by actor Colin Fox.
As chamber musicians, Anagnoson & Kinton have performed the Bartók Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion numerous times, including many performances with Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) Principal Timpanist David Kent and TSO Principal Percussionist John Rudolph. They have also collaborated with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, Elora Festival Singers, Elmer Iseler Singers, and the Vancouver Cantata Singers, and are regular participants in summer festivals such as the Festival of the Sound and The Elora Festival.
Both are recognized scholars. James Anagnoson is Dean of The Glenn Gould School, where he is also on the piano faculty. He is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and received his Master’s Degree from The Juilliard School. Leslie Kinton is Professor of Piano at Western University. Both his Master of Music and Ph.D. in music theory are from the University of Toronto.
The duo has ten acclaimed recordings including a special release titled Stages, which celebrated their milestone 30th season. Their most recent album, Piano Titans, was released by the Opening Day label, and features works by Clementi, Beethoven and Schubert. As John Terauds of www.musicaltoronto.com said of the recording “The duo plays it with both strength and grace, with beautifully wrought phrases and nicely balanced dialogue. The Schubert Fantasie, which represents a third of this hour-long album, can be savoured over and over again.”
Like most outstanding ensembles, Anagnoson & Kinton are greater than the sum of their parts. In the words of Richard Todd in The Ottawa Citizen, “Anagnoson and Kinton’s playing is everything that duo-piano playing should be…the unanimity of those fingers would continue to astonish.”
Anagnoson & Kinton are represented by Andrew Kwan Artists Management Inc.