Album Notes

Duo Pianists Noel Lester and Nancy Roldan formed their partnership in 1977 when they were both graduate students at the Peabody Conservatory of Music. Their musical and personal rapport were evident from the very beginning and, even while pursuing individual careers of internation distinction, they have maintained a commitment to their duo. As partners, their performances highlights include recitals at the Kennedy Center, Peabody Conservatory of Music, numerous colleges, universities concert series throughout the United States, and several recordings. They have premiered works by Carlos Guastavino, Tom Benjamin, Brian Dykstra, and Russell Nadel. This recording is a compilation of highlights from their 30-year performing career; some are from live performances and some are re-releases of previously recorded material.

Read more about Nancy Roldan at www.nancyroldan.com and read more about Noel Lester at http://www.hood.edu/academics/noel.cfm

"Fine communication, tight dynamic control and excellent flexibility of phrasing." The Washington Post

"A full spectrum of tenderness, pathos and a blaze of bravura playing." The Annapolis Evening Capital

"Lester and Roldan are admirable, playing with enthusiasm, excellent technique and unity." American Record Guide

"The pair played with the kind of precision that let even the intricate passages of the Rachmaninoff shine through clearly." Richmond (VA) News-Leader

“Musicality and tenderness flow from both of you in interpretations ... the ideal interpreters of those little works of mine.” — Carlos Gustavino

“Having been piano partners for many years, Roldán and Lester have evolved into an impressive pianistic force. They happy result of their intimate expressive connection are exquisitely shaped phrases and infinitely subtle tonal hues. They move together so seamlessly that their individual expressive impulses are indistinguishable, one from the other.” — Jan Holly, The Gazette (MD)

"A gemütlich feeling premeated a recent recital by the Roldán-Lester Duo, and the fact that they have performed and recorded together for thirty years was certainly a contributing factor! It comes as no surprise, with such multifaceted backgrounds, that these performers showed flexibility, balance, and seasoned musicianship. All in all, it was a full and rewarding evening...Here’s to thirty more years! Rorianne Schrade, New York Concert Review, Spring 2008