20 fingers are better than 10

The sound tends to be fuller because there are 20 fingers — instead of 10 — racing across the piano. Michael Baron and Renato Premezzi will perform a free four-hand piano concert at San Marco Catholic Church’s Parish Hall on Sunday.

A piano duet is when two pianists sit at one piano and use the full length of the keyboard, a rare event.

“It is challenging to play this way in that we are very close to each other and our hands are often scrambling to find notes that are so close to each other’s hands,” Baron said. “It can get very clumsy up there but the music must never sound that way.”

Baron said pedaling is also more of a challenge because one person needs to pedal for two people.

The two have been playing together as a piano team for more than 25 years and have covered most of the standard piano duet literature as well as many unusual pieces.

Baron and Premezzi will discuss the amount of pieces written for this medium and the pieces they are playing during the performance.

Despite living in different states, the pianists have been playing together for so long that it’s second nature for them. They also tour throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia and jointly co-direct the Corsi Internazionali di Musica summer music festival at the University of Urbino, Italy. More information can be found at www.urbino.beadlam.us.

An award-winning concert pianist, Baron performs more than 50 concerts each year, including annual tours of Europe and engagements throughout the United States. Equally at home as a recitalist, a soloist with orchestra, and a chamber musician, Baron commands a diverse repertoire, ranging from Baroque compositions to world premieres of contemporary pieces. Baron received his doctorate in piano performance from The Ohio State University where he studied with Earl Wild. He also worked extensively in Italy with pianist Orazio Frugoni.

Baron was recently been appointed associate professor of music at Florida Gulf Coast University where he heads the keyboard area.

Premezzi was the recipient of scholarships at the Eastman and Juilliard Schools of Music. He received a Bachelor of Science and Masters of Science degrees from Juilliard and was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship for Italy. He has studied with Isidor Philipp, Beveridge Webster, Orazio Frugoni and Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli.

Permezzi has appeared as soloist with many major orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic and the Santa Cecilia Orchestra of Rome. He is professor of music at Beloit College and is visiting artist at the Madison (WI) School of Music.

The concert is part of a series of Classical Piano Concerts sponsored by the Steinway Piano Society and the Ron R. and Mary Jane Schneider Family Foundation. There will be a free-will donation taken to benefit the Steinway Piano Society Scholarship Fund (benefiting young pianists) and San Marco Catholic Church.

“We will be presenting music of Mozart, Ravel, Dvorak, Schubert, and Liszt,” Baron said. “I think there will be interesting and entertaining music there for everyone in the audience.”

Free piano concert

• When: 2:30 p.m. Sunday

• Where: San Marco Catholic Church’s Parish Hall, 851 San Marco Road

• Call: 394-5181