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Katzenjammer, the Four Hands on One
Piano Music & Comedy Duo
Katzenjammer are a British piano musical comedy duo
comprising Steven Worbey and Kevin Farrell. The word
Katzenjammer is German, meaning "discordant sound" and is
also sometimes used to indicate a general state of depression or
bewilderment. It's sometimes used in reference to a hangover. The literal
translation is "cat's wail."
History
Katzenjammer was conceived in Summer 2003 over
several bottles of Chardonnay[1]
by Royal College of Music graduates Worbey and Farrell. Their
unique performance twist of both playing the same piano at the same
time was, in part, due to the simple financial constraints of
student life. The luxury of two pianos (and even two piano stools)
being beyond their means.[1]
The Katzenjammer act has been compared to Victor Borge[2],
as the pair often use their own comic compositions as well as
parody a wide range of musical styles from The Spice Girls to Ragtime. A key part of their live show is a
projected close-up image of the piano keyboard so the audience can
see the tangle of hands and arms during their performance.
Their first recorded performance as
Katzenjammer was in 2004 at St John's Chapel, London[3],
an old church near the Houses of Parliament now used as a venue for
classical music. From these modest beginnings, the duo have played
the Royal Opera House, the Royal Festival Hall and Blackpool Grand
Theatre and also appear regularly on the QE2 and Queen Mary 2[1].
They have also twice appeared to critical acclaim[2][4]
at the world-famous Edinburgh Festival
Fringe.
Kevin
Farrell
After graduating from the Royal College of Music in 1992,
Farrell went on to work on the Emmy award winning show Concerto
with Dudley Moore.
He toured with the English National Ballet and was
then commissioned to write the music for the Jiving Lindy Hoppers'
jazz ballet, Jungles of the Cities. As a composer he has
written a children's ballet The Water Babies and the music
for the notorious play The Dead Monkey starring David Soul[5].
He has also written music for over 80 documentaries and 4 feature
films including Death of a Son starring Lynn Redgrave and
Never Play with the Dead. He has regularly appeared on Liberty Radio, LBC radio and BBC London.
Steven
Worbey
Worbey studied piano performance at the Royal
College of Music between 1990 and 1995 with Phyllis Sellick
and Yonty Solomon. During this time he won a scholarship to study at Post-graduate level with the pianist Peter Katin (with whom
he performed in a series of piano duet concerts at the Fairfield
Halls, Croydon). Since
graduating, Steven toured extensively throughout the UK giving
piano recitals and chamber music concerts. Having always been
interested in theatre, Steven has appeared in various theatre and
television roles, including When Pigs Fly (Arts Theatre) and
You Couldn't Make it Up[6]
(2002
Edinburgh Festival Fringe). He is also the voice of Pod in the
children's cartoon Pod's Mission for the BBC.
Trivia
- Farrell & Worbey have a pet dog named Margaret, who
featured in a silent-movie parody called Margaret come
home[7]
shown during some of their theatre performances in 2006.
- Katzenjammer is the surname of Tamsin Greig's character "Fran" in the
British sitcom Black Books that ran on Channel 4 in the UK for
three seasons between 2000 and 2004.
- Californian Stoner
rock band Kyuss were
originally called Katzenjammer before changing their name to Sons
of Kyuss and then again to Kyuss. The band also have a song named
Katzenjammer.
References
- ^ a
b
c
Wiltshire Times &
Chippenham News, Four hands on a piano. URL last
accessed on 2007-04-08.
- ^ a
b
Broadway Baby,
Katzenjammer are Bitter and Sweet. URL last accessed on
2007-04-08.
- ^ Broadway Baby, Steven
Worbey Profile. URL last accessed on 2007-04-08.
- ^ Broadway Baby,
Entertainment that has real talent. URL last accessed on
2007-04-08.
- ^ Broadway Baby, Kevin
Farrell Profile. URL last accessed on 2007-04-08.
- ^ Fringe Report,
Verdict: Powerful exposure of insincerity and truth. URL
last accessed on 2007-04-08.
- ^ You Tube, Margaret
come home. URL last accessed on 2007-04-08.
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