Alan Rusbridger on the joys of four-hand piano

One of the few social activities not yet prohibited under lockdown laws is four-handed piano playing.

I don’t mean sitting side-by-side at one keyboard. That would risk infection and, if snitched on, the possibility of sharing a prison cell with Piers Corbyn. No, the four hands must be divided equally across two pianos, and the instruments must be end-to-end. Safely isolated in this manner — perhaps three or four metres apart — the ivories can be tickled for as long as you want.

I’ve been a devoted four-hand piano player all my life — due entirely to the limitations of the two I was born with. On one keyboard I insist on playing secondo, which usually involves laying down an approximate wash of sound while the primo player dazzles with melodic showmanship. Secondo is a place of relative anonymity, which suits me fine.

There’s a sizeable repertoire of music written for this combination, from Mozart to Kurtag.