Since launching their joint career as concert artists, the brothers have gained wide critical acclaim, with performances in prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York and Wigmore Hall in London. They have also performed in Beijing's Forbidden City. They have recorded five CDs to date, and in 2004 they became the first guitarists to win the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award.

'There are a lot more possibilities when you are a duo,' Peter Katona said.

The twins' technique is so refined and in synch that critics say they create the illusion of one guitar. 'Their needle-sharp unanimity of thought and attack is such that listening 'blind' one might wonder how one player could possibly have so many digits,' one reviewer wrote.

While some might say the twins have the advantage of a 'telepathic' understanding, Peter prefers a practical explanation for their close-knit artistry. 'We have a similar style of playing because we have had the same teachers, and we have heard each other playing our entire lives. It's like a husband and wife who know what the other person is going to say before they say it.'

For their Hong Kong debut, the Katona twins will play a characteristically diverse programme, featuring works by Bach, Rossini, Paco de Lucia, de Falla, Castelnuovo-Tedesco and Astor Piazzolla.

Peter Katona said they wanted to give audiences a unique listening experience. 'It's important that something special happens, that people are surprised,' he said. 'If you do that on one instrument, it can be very effective. But to do something on two instruments at the same time can have an even stronger effect.'

The concert is scheduled for March 22, 8pm, at City Hall