In this time of streaming and downloads, where many of us are lamenting the (possibly exaggerated) decline of the CD let alone of the LP, it feels harder than ever to imagine that the piano duet (four hands on one piano) was one of the primary ways to consume music in a domestic setting.

And yet this was the case. “To be sure,” writes Erin Helyard in his excellent note to this delightful new recording of 19th-century piano duets, “people still occasionally scratched their way through string quartets, and songs and choral works were also important, but the real bulk of musical activity at home was for two performers at one pianoforte.”

This recital by Australian keyboardists Stephanie McCallum and Erin Helyard follows on from their Four Hands for France recording of piano four hands music by French Romantic composers including Fauré, Bizet, Debussy, and Ravel. Featuring a judicious mixture of “diverting pieces for amateur players and serious works by serious composers or performers”, Four Hands at Home showcases original works and transcriptions by Moscheles, Wagner,...