Richard Simm
2pianovirtuoso.com started its life while pianist Richard Simm was Visiting Associate Professor of Piano at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the USA. Noticing how frequently piano arrangements of classical orchestral repertoire fell short of capturing the spirit and color of the originals, he realized that the medium of two pianos might be ideally suited for the recreation of those qualities, as well as providing two-piano teams with some exciting new repertoire. After a little research, it seemed quite clear that the 2-piano field was specialized enough for a small company to fulfill its needs adequately, and so 2pianovirtuoso.com was born.
As a first step Simm began work on Enescu’s wild, virtuosic Rumanian Rhapsody No 1. From the start he avoided creating two-piano versions which were in any way simplified. On the contrary, he was determined to ensure that nothing significant would be missing from these new transcriptions, whether a rapid piccolo embellishment, a sonorous double bass line, or even a group of percussion instruments. The Rumanian Rhapsody was accepted for publication by Belwin/CPP in Florida, after which they published many other arrangements of his, later under the auspices of Warner Bros Publications and, more recently, Alfred Music. sheetmusicplus.com and sheetmusicdirect.com also have many of Simm's transcriptions digitally available for listening and downloading.
