Arthur Ferrante (September 7, 1921, New York City – September 19, 2009), and Louis Teicher (August 24, 1924, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania – August 3, 2008) met while studying at the Juilliard School of Music in New York in 1930. Musical prodigies, they began performing as a piano duo while still in school. After graduating, they both joined the Juilliard faculty.
In 1947, they launched a full-time concert career, at first playing nightclubs, then quickly moving up to playing classical music with orchestral backing. Steven Tyler of Aerosmith relates the story that in the 1950s the two students practiced in the home of his grandmother Constance Neidhart Tallarico. Between 1950 and 1980, they were a major American "easy listening" act, and scored four big U.S. hits: "Theme From The Apartment" (Pop #10), "Theme From Exodus" (Pop #2), "Tonight" (Pop #8), and "Midnight Cowboy" (Pop #10). They performed and recorded regularly with pops orchestras popular standards by George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers and others. In 1973, they did the Hollywood Radio Theater theme for the Rod Serling radio drama series, The Zero Hour.
The duo also experimented with prepared pianos, adding paper, sticks, rubber, wood blocks, metal bars, chains, glass, mallets, and other found objects to piano string beds. In this way they were able to produce a variety of bizarre sounds that sometimes resembled percussion instruments, and at other times resulted in special effects that sounded as if they were electronically synthesized.
Both men were initiated as honorary members of Tau Kappa Epsilon at Central State University (now University of Central Oklahoma) while on tour.
Ferrante and Teicher ceased performing in 1989 and retired to Longboat Key and Siesta Key, respectively, close to each other on the west coast of Florida. They continued to play together occasionally at a local piano store.
CDs of their music, some of it not previously released, have continued to appear.
Louis Teicher died of a heart attack in August 2008, three weeks before his 84th birthday. Arthur Ferrante died of natural causes on September 19, 2009 at the age of 88 (he had once said he wanted to live one year for each piano key). Arthur is survived by his wife, Jena; his daughter, Brenda Eberhardt; and two granddaughters.
Mississippi Boogie/African Echoes (1952) Joe Davis Records
Piano Playhouse (1952) MGM E209
Hi-Fireworks (1953) Columbia CL-573
Can-Can & Me & Juliet (1954) Columbia CL-6264
Continental Holiday (1954) Columbia CL-6291
Xmas Hi-Fivories (1954) Westminster WL-3044
Rhapsody (1955) Urania URA-78011
Rachmaninoff Two-Piano Suites (1955) Westminster XWN-18059
Original Variations for Two Pianos (1955) Westminster XWN-18169
Ravel/Debussy (1955) Westminster XWN-18219
Encores! (1955) Westminster XWN-18786
Postcards From Paris (1955) Westminster WP-6001
Adventure In Carols (1955) Westminster WP-6021
Soundblast (1956) Westminster WP-6041 (Re-released as Soundproof WPS-107 using the 1958 Soundproof cover )
Heavenly Sounds In Hi-Fi (1957) ABC ABCS-221 (Re-released in 1966 under the title Heavenly Sounds of Ferrante & Teicher, ABCS-555)
Soundproof (1958) Westminster WP-6014
Ferrante & Teicher With Percussion (1958) ABCS-248 (Re-released in 1966 under the title Temptation, ABCS-561)
Blast Off (1959) ABCS-285 (Overdubbed with strings and re-released in 1966 under the title We've Got Rhythm, ABCS-556)
Play Light Classics (1959) ABCS-313
Themes From Broadway Shows (1959) ABCS-336
Dream Concerto (1960) UAS-6103
Dynamic Twin Pianos (1960) WWS-8504
The World's Greatest Themes (1960) UAS-6121
Latin Pianos (1960) UAS-6135
Golden Piano Hits (1961) WWS-8505
Broadway To Hollywood (1961) Columbia CS 8407
Goodbye Again OST (1961) UAS-5091
Love Themes (1961) WWS-8514
West Side Story (1961) UAS-6166
Tonight! (1961) UAS-6171
Golden Themes From Motion Pictures (1962) UAS-6210
Pianos In Paradise (1962) UAS-6230
Snowbound (1962) UAS-6233
The Keys To Her Apartment (1962) UAS-6247
Love Themes From Cleopatra (1963) UAS-6290
Holiday For Pianos (1963) UAS-6298
Concert For Lovers (1963) UAS-6315
Exotic Love themes (1963) UAS-6340
Fifty Fabulous Favorites (1964)UAS-6343
My Fair Lady (1964) UAS-6361
The Enchanted World of Ferrante & Teicher (1964) UAS-6375
The People's Choice (1964) UAS-6385
Springtime (1964) UAS-6406
By Popular Demand (1965) UAS-6416
Only The Best (1965) UAS-6434
A Rage To Live OST (1965) UAS-5130
The Ferrante & Teicher Concert-Part 1 (1965) UAS-6444
The Ferrante & Teicher Concert-Part 2 (1965) UAS-6475
For Lovers Of All Ages (1966) UAS-6483
You Asked For It!(1966) UAS-6526
We Wish You A Merry Christmas (1966) UAS-6536
The Twin Piano Magic Volume 2 (1966) ABC-Paramount 559
The piano artistry (1967) S 21004 - Unart (Canada)
Our Golden Favorites (1967) UAS-6556
A Man & A Woman (1967) UAS-6572
In the Heat Of The Night (1967) UAS-6624
Live For Life (1967) UAS-6632
The Painted Desert (1968) UAS-6636
A Bouquet Of Hits (1968) UAS-6659
Love In The Generation Gap (1968) UAS-6671
Listen To the Movies With Ferrante & Teicher (1969) UAS-6701
Midnight Cowboy (1969) UAS-6725
Getting Together (1970) UAS-5501
Love Is A Soft Touch (1970) UAS-6771
The Best Of Ferrante & Teicher (1970) UAS-73
The Music Lovers (1971) UAS-6792
It's Too Late (1971) UAS-5531
Fiddler On The Roof (1972) UAS-5552
Play The Hit Themes (1972) UAS-5588
Salute Nashville (1972) UAS-5645
Hear And Now (1973) UA-LA018F
The Roaring Twenties (1973) UA-LA072F
Killing Me Softly (1974) UA-LA118F
Dial "M" For Music (1974) UA-LA195F
The Very Best Of Ferrante & Teicher (1974) UA-LA379E
Greatest Love Themes of the 20th Century (1975) UA-LA101-G2
In A Soulful Mood (1975) UA-LA227G
Beautiful, Beautiful (1975) UA-LA316G
Body & Soul (1975) UA-LA360G
The Carpenters Songbook (1976) UA-LA490G
Fill the World With Love (1976) UA-LA547G
Spirit Of "'76" (1976) UA-LA573G
Piano Portraits (1977) UA-LA585G
Feelings (1977) UA-LA662G
Rocky & Other Knockouts (1977) UA-LA782G
Star Wars (1978) UA-LA855G
You Light Up My Life (1978) UA-LA908G
Supermen (1979) UA-LA941G
Classical Disco (1979) UA-LA980G
30th Anniversary-On Stage (1984) Avant-Garde (Bainbridge) AVG-1001
A Few Of Our Favorites-On Stage (1985) Avant-Garde (Bainbridge) AVG-1002
American Fantasy-On Stage (1986) Avant-Garde (Bainbridge) AVG-1003
Dos Amigos (1988) Avant-Garde (Bainbridge) AVG-1004
40th Anniversary-On Stage (1992) Avant-Garde (Intersound) AVG-1005
All-Time Great Motion Picture Themes (1993) 0777-7-98823-2
The Ernie Kovacs Record Collection (1997) Varèse Sarabande – VSD-5789
The Ferrante & Teicher Collection (1998) Avant-Garde (Varèse Sarabande Vintage) AVG-1006
The Sound Of Music (2000) Avant-Garde/Varèse Sarabande Records AVG-1007
Denizens Of The Deep (2001) Avant-Garde /Varèse Sarabande Records 302 066 261 2
Can-Can and Me & Juliet/Continental Holiday (2001) Sony/Collectables Records CDL-CD-6692
Christmas Is So Special (2000) 724352905720
Great 1970's Motion Picture Themes (2001) 72435-30518-2
America Forever (2002) Avant-Garde/Varèse Sarabande Records 302 066 312 2
Filme, Die Man Nicht Vergisst United Artists Records
Great Motion Picture Themes United Artists Records 1960
Music To Read James Bond By United Artists Records 1965
Music To Read James Bond By Vol. 2 United Artists Records 1965
Dusty Fingers Volume One "Lady Love" Strictly Breaks Records 1997
Ultra-Lounge - Christmas Cocktails Part Two Capitol Records 1997
Ultra-Lounge Vol. 16 - Mondo Hollywood Capitol Records 1997
The Best Of Blue Juice Blue Note 2001
Hard To Find Orchestral Instrumentals II Eric Records 2003