HOCKET’s And the River — A Monumental Duo-Piano Concerto Now Captured on Record

The acclaimed piano duo HOCKET — Sarah Gibson and Thomas Kotcheff — present the album release of And the River, a concerto by Donald Crockett for duo-pianists and chamber orchestra that is both a vibrant celebration of their artistry and a poignant tribute to two cherished figures in the contemporary classical music world: Pulitzer Prize–winning composer Steven Stucky and, in this recording, the late Sarah Gibson herself.

Composed in 2016, shortly after Stucky’s passing, And the River unfolds over twenty minutes as a musical journey through time, memory, and color. The work draws its title from Thomas Wolfe’s novel Of Time and the River, whose words evoke the artist’s calling to “snare the spirits of mankind in nets of magic.” The “river” serves as a powerful metaphor for the flow of time, carrying musical fragments that evoke different eras and emotional landscapes. At the heart of the concerto lies a musical kernel from Stucky’s The Stars and the Roses (2013), a brief but potent motif that shapes the entire composition.

HOCKET’s performance is a tour-de-force of pianistic versatility. The duo moves fluidly between the grand piano (four-hands), plucking and creating harmonics inside the instrument, and performing on two toy grand pianos. The choreographed progression across the stage is mirrored by a kaleidoscope of sound from an antiphonal pair of percussionists — wielding flower pots, tuned cowbells, log drums, and more — alongside a compact chamber orchestra of woodwinds, brass, and strings.

This recording, now released for the first time, stands as a testament to HOCKET’s fearless creativity and deep musical bond. It is also a memorial to Sarah Gibson, who passed away in July 2024. Her artistry, joy, and generosity are forever embedded in the music and in the hearts of those who knew her.