“I remember many years ago that there were a pair of pianists who played the song Exodus. Can you find me their names?” Some of the more mature library staff also remembered the pair and that their initials were F & T, but nothing more.
The online search for the words “dual pianists played Exodus” brought immediate results. The Wikipedia article, Ferrante & Teicher [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrante_%26_Teicher] gave us the names, as well as a link to their official website, www.ferranteandteicher.com. The site noted that their careers spanned five decades, they performed in over 5,400 concerts attended by over 18 million people, recorded 150 original record albums, received 22 gold and platinum record awards and sold more than 90 million recordings. The biographical information given at AllMusic.com, states that they met and began to perform together while students at Julliard (School of Music).
Also noted in the Wikipedia article was an interesting bit of trivia about the duo; in the 1950s the two students practiced in the home of Constance Neidhart Tallarico “pianist who studied at the Peabody Conservatory” and was grandmother of Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler [Walk This Way: The Autobiography of Aerosmith by Aerosmith with Stephen Davis, pp. 19-20.] A copy of this book, as well as CDs of the pair’s music are available through the Clevnet shared catalog.
For answers to your questions, visit the Newton Falls Public Library, 204 S. Canal Street, Newton Falls or phone 330-872-1282. For information about all the free library programs or hours, visit our website at www.newtonfalls.org or our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/NewtonFallsLibrary.
