Guitar and piano: it is a combination that you do not encounter daily in the concert hall, and for which there is still no abundance of repertoire today. The On The Edge Duo, formed by guitarist Francesco Di Giandomenico and pianist Fabio Afrune, moreover chooses to play exclusively music by living composers within that instrumentation. Their cd On the Edge thus becomes not only an introduction to a remarkable duo, but also to composers who each in their own way explore the possibilities of guitar and piano. Following the cd, we spoke with Francesco Di Giandomenico about the creation of the album, the collaborations with the composers and the personal story behind the title.
Two instruments, one sound
The recording sounds clear and transparent, with a good balance between both instruments. That balance is also audible in the musicianship itself. Neither musician places himself prominently in the foreground. They give each other their moments, but also complement each other. This does not create a relationship between soloist and accompanist, but a true dialogue in which the two instruments sometimes come face to face and at other times merge almost imperceptibly with each other.
Di Giandomenico and Afrune confirm that this starting point was consciously chosen: "For us, balance begins with an idea of sound: the duo has its own, recognizable identity. The fusion of the timbres of the two instruments creates something new, rather than simply placing guitar and piano side by side." According to him, this idea guides everything, from practicing individual parts to analyzing the score and rehearsing together: "Each of us is aware that his instrument is part of a larger whole with which it is constantly interacting."
What makes the two instruments so attractive to the duo is precisely their difference: "We are fascinated by how different the two instruments are, and by the possibility of exploring unknown sound balances. What at first glance seems like a difficulty can become an opportunity to discover a new perspective." As an example, he mentions acoustic asymmetry: the piano has a broad dynamic range and much projection, while the guitar sounds more naturally subdued: "By carefully weighing the weight and intensity of both instruments against each other, we can achieve a dynamic range that is considerably broader than what each instrument alone could provide. The same applies to timbre, articulation, resonance and register use."
A mirror of the world
The choice of repertoire is not random: when compiling it, the duo was inspired by Schopenhauer's idea that music can in a sense reflect the world. Di Giandomenico sees in this cd an image of the time in which we live: fragmented and contradictory, but with unexpected points of contact between what at first glance seems far apart. The duo therefore deliberately did not seek stylistic unity, but rather a program in which different musical languages can complement each other and in which the contrasts themselves gain meaning.
With Snippers by Annette Kruisbrink, the tone is set immediately. The music does not begin cautiously: it is aggressive and energetic. Short musical ideas shoot back and forth between piano and guitar, with both instruments continuously challenging each other. It is an opening that immediately draws you into the story of this cd.
Di Giandomenico met Kruisbrink a few years ago at the Nordhorn Guitar Festival in Germany: "She is a remarkably prolific composer whose music has a magnetic quality: it draws the listener along and guides him through complex, unexpected territory. This is especially felt in Snippers. The piece seems to unfold in cinematic images that follow one another, sometimes overlap, sometimes expand, thus creating an atmosphere that is both dreamy and dystopian." The duo deliberately chose the piece as an opener because, according to Di Giandomenico, it captures "something essential of the album," "with its contrasts and unexpected connections."
How do Di Giandomenico and Afrune manage those lightning-fast character changes? "During individual practice and rehearsals, we work on a shared sense of breathing. That takes time: it grows not only from our musical sensitivity, but also from listening to how a sound originates and resonates on each instrument." That shared breath, he explains, is precisely what guides them through the sudden shifts in Snippers, without losing the continuity of the piece.
What is particularly striking is that this curiosity does not wane. On the contrary: from Snippers to the last note, you keep listening, something that is not self-evident at a recital with exclusively contemporary music. Kruisbrink's compact work does exactly what a good opening should do: it makes you curious about what follows.
Tailor-made Commissions
William Bland chooses two very different characters in Kindred Spirits. Dragon is rhythmically vital and colorful, with strong motor energy, while Pastorale offers an almost opposite experience: the movement becomes calmer and the music takes on a more meditative and lyrical character. The contrast works well and shows how flexibly both instruments can be employed.
This contrast is partly the result of intensive dialogue between composer and performers: "William Bland and I talked extensively, especially about Dragon, as we searched for the violent, wild sound he had in mind. It was an enormously stimulating exchange and the beginning of an artistic relationship that continues to this day." This collaboration also led the duo to delve deeper into Bland's six sonatas for guitar and piano, dedicated to David Starobin: a repertoire that remains partly unpublished and in which the music achieves such intensity, beauty and depth that the complete cycle can be considered an absolute masterwork and a milestone within the repertoire for this combination.
Adrian Andrei's Six danses de Transylvanie also brings a new atmosphere. The six short movements depart from the musical tradition of Transylvania, but receive a distinctly contemporary sound world. The music constantly shifts in mood, and both musicians convincingly shape these different characters. The more exuberant dances have something earthy and direct, while the Rondes display a more restrained character. The piano regularly takes on a percussive function, while the guitar can sing, whisper, or provide rhythmic counterweight.
Remarkably, this piece arose almost as a form of mind reading: "When we approached Adrian Andrei, we already knew some of his compositions and hoped he would write something close to the spirit of Bartók's dances. We hadn't told him that, yet after just a few days he sent us exactly the music we had imagined."
The conclusion is Giorgio Mirto's Introduction & Bridge of Lights. The calm, melodious introduction forms a beautiful transition to a work in which the duo's qualities perhaps emerge most subtly. The piano is light and bright, with subtle shades of light, while the guitar flows smoothly into it. Grand effects are not needed here: the music unfolds gradually and thus takes on something contemplative.
Here too, an intimate conversation preceded the composition. Bridge of Lights originally formed part of the triptych Three Sacred Pieces, but the duo felt that the piece deserved a life of its own, preceded by an introduction: "One evening Giorgio asked me how I imagined that introduction. I described something dreamlike, transparent, floating, ethereal and crystal clear. When he sent me the piece some time later, I heard exactly that image back, transformed into music. It was a truly surprising moment." After the liveliness and rhythmic energy of several preceding works, this feels like a natural return to the intimacy of the two instruments.
Quieting
With Steve Goss' Intermezzi, space for quieting follows. These six short pieces form a refined cycle in which sound, resonance, and the relationship between movement and stillness are central. Particularly Serenade and Lament appeal through their intimacy and lyrical quality. Ballad seems to break through that quieting: the piece sounds rougher and earthier and sets you as a listener back on solid ground for a moment. These contrasts give the cycle a nice tension.
For this cycle, Goss draws from Schubert's songs, extracting fragments or atmospheres and, in his own words, developing them in "unexpected ways." For the duo, this calls for a restrained, sometimes almost sparse playing style in which each element must carry its full weight: "We work with subtle shifts in timing and with the expressive means of both instruments – timbre, resonance, and legato – to bring out the different characters." If one part had to be singled out, Di Giandomenico and Afrune choose precisely Ballad: "With very few notes, Goss creates an expansive and layered sound world. That duality – simplicity as the foundation of complexity – fascinates us enormously."
A Title with Personal Significance
On the Edge is the name of both the duo and the cd, and according to Di Giandomenico and Afrune, this title carries a double meaning: "The title reflects our conviction that different perspectives can reveal different possibilities. In that sense, a boundary has a double meaning: it is a limitation, but it can also be a starting point from which you can envision new perspectives and horizons. The title thus carries an idea of transcendence – of reaching beyond what is already fixed."
Behind the album lies a personal story. The cd is dedicated to Giovanni Di Giandomenico, the father of the guitarist, who fell ill suddenly in 2025 and died just over a month later. This happened precisely during the period when Francesco and Fabio Afrune were intensively engaged in revising the pieces and preparing for the recording: "For me, the loss of my father and the music on this album became intertwined." When Doberman Musique proposed February as the release month – the month in which his father was born – that coincidence felt almost like a confirmation of that connection. The album was ultimately released on February 20, his father's birthday: "When I look back on how these events came together, I can almost sense what Sartre called 'the strict chain of circumstances'."
What the duo hopes listeners will take away from the album is ultimately twofold: "A sense of the beauty and fascination of the music that we were fortunate to record, and alongside that, a dual feeling: the discovery of something new, through the world premieres, and the recognition of something familiar. Despite their different musical languages, these works are in some way a reflection of the time and the life we lead."
At the Edge of the Familiar
What ultimately makes this recording special is that it does not present an unusual instrumental combination as a curiosity, but as a fully-fledged sound world. Guitar and piano prove to be able not only to complement each other, but also to continuously evoke new relationships. The composers each have their own voice and the works a clear personality. These are not epigones and also not compositions that are primarily interested in being interesting because they deliberately sound strange or difficult – the diversity and richness of sound hold the attention without the album reducing itself to a single recognizable style or aesthetic.
From the turbulent opening with Snippers to the quieter moments in Goss and Mirto, there is always something to discover, without losing the coherence of the program. In this way, the cd truly fulfills the mirror with which this story began: fragmented and varied, and precisely through that, an authentic image of the time in which we live. That after Snippers you also genuinely want to keep listening all the way through, is perhaps the best compliment this cd can receive.
