PIANISTS Helen and Eleanor Wong have much more in common than most sisters; perhaps even more than identical twins.
They share the same outgoing personality, have tremendous understanding and great fondness for each other and even the same interests in fashion, in addition to their remarkable musical talent. They are a fun-seeking duo as well, always cracking jokes between themselves.
''We are the closest among the seven children in our family,'' says older sister Helen, whose Chinese name is Wai-lun. All children in the Wong family know how to play the piano, but it was only Helen and Eleanor (Yee-lun) who ended up making a career out of piano teaching and performance.
Eleanor, 15 months younger than Helen, has 20 piano students under her wing at the Academy for Performing Arts. Calling herself a part-time housewife, she is a mother of three and wife of a financial professional.
Helen has three children as well, but moved to Palo Alto, near Stanford in California, five years ago. She returned a month ago, and has since been practising with her sister for their first joint concert in Hong Kong in two years. It will be staged this Sunday at the City Hall.
Finding the right partner for a piano duo is extremely difficult. ''There are only very few pairs around in this world,'' Helen says. ''The players must be able to figure out what's on the other's mind. It won't work, of course, if the two always have different opinions.'' Too close a relationship may not be desirable either. ''Husbands and wives who are both pianists can rarely play duos. Perhaps they are just too close to each other,'' says Eleanor. ''Helen and I are devoted to playing the piano, but we don't bother much about each other's personal matters.'' The sisters had their first piano lesson at six. While they were in their teens, they won awards in the duet (playing the same piano) and duo categories at the Hong Kong School Music Festival. Both then went to London for training at the Royal Academy of Music, winning a host of prizes and awards as outstanding music students during their years there.
Helen later obtained a Master's in piano performance from the University of Michigan. She spends most of her time now in the United States, where her husband is engaged in research work. But she prefers to be in the territory.