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Lucas Debargue | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1990-10-23)23 October 1990 (age 35) |
| Genres | Classical |
| Occupation | Pianist |
| Instrument | Piano |
| Labels | Sony Classical |
| Website | lucasdebargue |
Lucas Debargue (born 23 October 1990) is a French pianist and composer. He was awarded fourth prize at the XVInternational Tchaikovsky Competition.[1]
Lucas Debargue was born inParis, France, on 23 October 1990. He grew up in a family of non-musicians inCompiègne. His parents work in the medical field; his mother is a nurse and his father is a physiotherapist.[1][2] He took his first piano lessons at the music school inCompiègne at the age of 10 with teacher Christine Muenier.[3][4]
He stopped his piano studies at age 15,[5] as he became more interested in literature.[6] At 17, he moved to Paris to study for a degree in arts and literature atParis Diderot University, and stopped playing the piano for three years.[7]
In 2010, he was asked to play at the Fête de la Musique festival in Compiègne, and this marked his return to the keyboard. When he met the piano teacher Rena Shereshevskaya[8] who invited him to study with her at theÉcole Normale de Musique de Paris, he decided to become a professional musician and prepare for competitions, and graduated under her direction in 2016 with the school's highest recognition, the Prix Cortot.[2]
In 2015, Debargue was invited to the XVInternational Tchaikovsky Competition. Arriving there completely unknown, his very individual performances caused furore and attracted attention.[9] The second round was the breakthrough where his expressive performance and unexpected program– the little-playedNikolai Medtner Sonata No. 1 in F Minor andMaurice Ravel"Gaspard de la Nuit" was particularly impressive.[2] Debargue was awarded fourth prize at the XVInternational Tchaikovsky Competition and received the special prize of Moscow music critics.[9][10][3]
After his success, Debargue started his career quickly. In 2015 Debargue signed withSony Classical.[11] In current time he is AMC - Artists Management Company artist[12] with general manager Franco Panozzo and collaborates with Primavera Consulting.[13]
He is performing in concert halls likePhilharmonie de Paris,Carnegie Hall in New York,Wigmore Hall in London. theTheatre des Champs Elysées,Louis Vuitton Fondation in Paris, theConcertgebouw in Amsterdam,Musikverein Vienna,Konzerthaus Vienna, thePrinzregententheater in Munich,Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, theBerlin Philharmonie,Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Beijing National Centre for the Performing Arts,Shanghai Oriental Art Center, Wuhan Qintai Concert Hall,Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon,Victoria Hall in Geneva,Tonhalle in Zürich,L'Auditori in Barcelona,MüPa Budapest, theKonserthuset in Stockholm,National Philharmonic Warsaw,Odessa Philharmonic, Great Hall of theMoscow Conservatory, the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, theMariinsky Theatre Concert Hall, theSt Petersburg Philharmonic Hall, Zaryadye Concert Hall and many others. He is a regular artist at the festivals such asVerbier festival, Tsinandali festival,Festival de La Roque-d'Anthéron and Festival de Pâques d'Aix-en-Provence.
Debargue has collaborated with conductors likeLudovic Morlot,Lorenzo Viotti,Andrey Boreyko,Laurence Equilbey,Tarmo Peltokoski,Tugan Sokhiev, Sascha Goetzel,Bertrand de Billy,Roberto González-Monjas,Gabor Takacs-Nagy,Andras Keller,Maxim Emelyanychev,Eugene Tzigane, Christian Schumann,Stanislav Kochanovsky,Joshua Weilerstein,Leon Botstein,Valery Gergiev,Mikhail Pletnev,Vladimir Spivakov,Vladimir Jurowski and many others.
His chamber music partners include musicians likeGidon Kremer,Klaus Mäkelä,Janine Jansen,Martin Fröst,Renaud Capucon,Edgar Moreau,Lisa Batiashvili,Daniel Hope,Kristof Barati,Camille Thomas, Marc Bouchkov, Alexandra Conunova, David Castro-Balbi, Alexandre Castro-Balbi, Eva Zavaro,Jerome Pernoo, Adrien Boisseau, Quatuor Terpsycordes, andÉbène Quartet.[14] Debargue works regularly withKremerata Baltica. In 2019Gidon Kremer named him "Kremerata Baltica permanent guest".[15]
The collaboration withSony Classical has lasted for years and under this label Debargue has released numerous albums. In 2017 Debargue was awardedECHO Klassik prize.[16]
Since the beginning of his career, Debargue has continued composing alongside of performing. His oeuvre includes numerous chamber music pieces, such as Trio for violin, cello and piano,[17][18] Quatuor Symphonique for piano quartet,[19] Cello Sonata,[20] Violin Sonata,[21] String Quartet,[22] Piano Quintet. His works include many piano pieces, such as Toccata,[23] Scherzo, "Menuet Triste",[24] "2ème pièce pour piano: Prelude and Fugue in G Minor",[25] "3ème pièce pour piano: Barcarolle in F Minor",[26] Suite in D Minor[27][28] and Concertino for piano, string orchestra and drums.[29] He has also composed vocal music: songs on the words ofCharles Baudelaire.[30]
Lucas Debargue is interested in supporting French piano brands. He has a long-standing collaboration with French piano builder Stephen Paulello.[31] On Stephen Paulello's innovative Opus 102 Concert Grand, Debargue has given many concerts, including concerts at the Philharmonie de Paris.[32] On Opus 102 Concert Grand Debargue also recorded his latest album "Fauré: Complete Music for Solo Piano" for Sony Classical.[33]
In recent years, Debargue has been actively interested in talking about music and interacting on musical topics. With the release of his album "Fauré: Complete Music for Solo Piano" in 2024, Debargue also recorded a series of video interviews on the subject ofGabriel Fauré.[34][35][36] In 2025, he was a guest on video podcasts of French pianists, popular youtubers and influencers French Piano Guys– Aurélien Froissart[4] and Julien Cohen[2] and Etienne Guéreau.[37]
In 2017 a documentary directed by Martin Mirabel (Bel Air productions), "Lucas Debargue: To Music", was released. Documentary receivedInternational Classical Music Award for the best music documentary in year 2021[38] and was selected for theFIPA in Biarritz in 2018.[39][40]
Chamber Music
Piano solo
| Release date | Album | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 8 April 2016 | Scarlatti, Chopin, Liszt, Ravel | Sony Classical |
| 23 September 2016 | Bach, Beethoven, Medtner | Sony Classical |
| 27 October 2017 | Schubert, Szymanowski | Sony Classical |
| 4 October 2019 | Scarlatti 52 Sonatas | Sony Classical |
| 8 March 2024 | Fauré: Complete Music for Solo Piano | Sony Classical |
| Release date | Album | Partners | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 November 2017 | Messiaen : Quatuor pour la fin du temps | Martin Fröst, Janine Jansen, Torleif Thedéen | Sony Classical |
| 27 August 2021 | Zal - The Music of Miłosz Magin | Gidon Kremer, Kremerata Baltica | Sony Classical |
| 31 March 2023 | Mozart: Ecstasy & Abyss | Martin Fröst, Swedish Chamber Orchestra | Sony Classical |
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