Feb. 20-23: Boston Philharmonic Orchestra Presents Boston Debut of Sensational French Pianist Lucas Debargue

 

For Immediate Release
Contact: Katy Salomon | Morahan Arts and Media
katy@morahanartsandmedia.com | 863.660.2214

 
Boston Philharmonic Orchestra Presents the Boston Debut
of Sensational French Pianist Lucas Debargue

Kodály, Liszt, and Dvorák – February 20, 22 & 23

“There hasn’t been a foreign pianist who has caused such a stir since Glenn Gould’s 
arrival in Moscow in the midst of the Cold War, or Van Cliburn’s victory at the 
Tchaikovsky Competition.” – The Huffington Post

www.bostonphil.org 
 

Boston, MA (January 14, 2020) – The Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Maestro Benjamin Zander, continues its 41st season with Kodály, Liszt, and Dvorák on Thursday, February 20, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. in Sanders Theatre at Harvard University; Saturday, February 22, 2020 at 8:00 p.m. in Jordan Hall at the New England Conservatory; and Sunday, February 23, 2020 at 3:00 p.m. in Sanders Theatre. The program features acclaimed French pianist Lucas Debargue in his Boston debut performing Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2 paired with Kodály’s popular Dances Of Galánta and Dvorák’s rarely performed Symphony No. 7. All three works on the program were written within 140 miles of one another, a quality that gave the composers a lot in common, yet they still produced works with tremendous variety – creating masterpieces which exemplify their respective genres.

This concert series introduces Boston to the extraordinary pianist Lucas Debargue, who garnered international attention through his performance at the 15th International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. His latest album, Scarlatti: 52 Sonatas, was critically acclaimed internationally and named one of NPR’s “10 Classical Albums To Usher In The Next Decade” while The New York Times called it “simply lovely — an impressive, satisfying achievement.” Written in 1839-40 during his "virtuoso period," Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2 remained unperformed for ten years until Liszt revised it several times. Known for revising his compositions, he used the income from performances to buy back all his published music so that he could continue to make improvements to it.

Kodály’s Dances Of Galánta, inspired by the music of his hometown in Hungary, features the brilliant playing of BPO principal clarinetist, Rane Moore. Antonín Dvorák's Symphony No. 7 has been called “Dvorák's greatest symphony," by Dvorák expert John Clapham as well as Maestro Ben Zander. Inspired by Johannes Brahms’ Symphony No. 3, the piece debuted in 1885 at St. James’s Hall in London with Dvorák conducting.

The Thursday evening concert at Sanders Theatre is part of the orchestra’s Discovery Series. Mr. Zander speaks from the stage prior to each piece, introducing and explaining each of the works that will be performed, often with musical examples played by the orchestra. The Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon concerts are preceded by Mr. Zander’s Guide to the Music, an hour and fifteen minutes prior to concert start time. These talks offer an in-depth preview of the music on each program, which allows audience members to gain a deeper understanding of and appreciation for the pieces.

Program Information
Kodály, Liszt, and Dvorák

Thursday, February 20, 2020 at 7:00 p.m.
Discovery Series discussion of music takes place prior to performance of each piece.
Sunday, February 23, 2020 at 3:00 p.m.
Guide to the Music pre-concert talk takes place beginning at 1:45 p.m.
Sanders Theatre at Harvard University | 45 Quincy Street | Boston, MA 02138

Saturday, February 22, 2020 at 8:00 p.m.
Guide to the Music pre-concert talk takes place beginning at 6:45 p.m.
Jordan Hall at the New England Conservatory | 30 Gainsborough Street | Boston, MA 02115

Program:
Kodály – Dances Of Galánta
Liszt – Piano Concerto No. 2
      Lucas Debargue, piano
Dvorák – Symphony No. 7

Ticket Information
Tickets are available by visiting www.bostonphil.org or by calling 617-236-0999.

About Lucas Debargue
The uncommon talent of Lucas Debargue was revealed by his performances at the Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow in 2015. Though placed fourth at the final round, he was the only contestant across all disciplines to receive the coveted Moscow Music Critic's Prize as a pianist “whose incredible gift, artistic vision and creative freedom have impressed the critics as well as the audience.”

Following this breakthrough, Lucas was invited to play solo and with leading orchestras in the most prestigious venues: Theatre des Champs Elyse´es and Philharmonie in Paris; London's Wigmore Hall and Royal Festival Hall; Berlin Philharmonic and Prinzregententheater in Munich; Stockholm’s Konzerthuset; the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam; the Milan Conservatory; Carnegie Hall; Chicago Symphony Hall Kennedy Center in Washington; Maison de la Musique in Montreal, the Royal Conservatory of Toronto; the concert halls of Mexico City, Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei, Seoul; and of course the legendary Grand Hall of Tchaikovsky Conservatory and the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, the Mariinsky Concert Hall and the Shostakovich Philharmonic Hall in St. Petersburg.

Luccas Debargue regularly collaborates with Valery Gergiev, Mikhail Pletnev, Vladimir Jurowski, Andrey Boreyko, Yutaka Sado, Tugan Sokhiev, Vladimir Fedoseev, Bertrand de Billy, and Mirga Graz?inyte?-Tyla. His chamber music partners include Gidon Kremer, Janine Jansen, and Martin Frost.

In the 2019-20 season, Mr. Debargue will make his mainstage Carnegie Hall debut with the American Symphony Orchestra and Leon Botstein and his Boston debut with the Boston Philharmonic led by Benjamin Zander. He will also perform in Toronto and Montreal. A tour with the Russian National Orchestra and Maestro Pletnev will take him to the Middle East and Switzerland, while Berlin will welcome him back to the Konzerthaus with Shostakovich First Concerto and music by a living Russian composer, Leonid Desyatnikov.

Born in 1990, Mr. Debargue forged a highly unconventional path to success. He began to study music when he was 11, but soon switched to literature and graduated from Paris Diderot 7 University as a Bachelor of Arts. In his teens, he continued to explore piano repertoire on his own.

At the age of 20 Mr. Debargue decided to re-dedicate himself to the piano and started his professional training at the Paris Cortot Music School under the guidance of the celebrated piano teacher Rena Shereshevskaya. It was her vision and support that helped him make a commitment to music for life. In 2014, Mr. Debargue won the First Prize at the Gaillard International Piano Competition (France), which gave him the confidence to participate and, eventually, to become one of the prize winners in the Tchaikovsky Competition.

A performer of fierce integrity and dazzling communicative power, Lucas Debargue draws inspiration for his playing from literature, painting, cinema, jazz, and develops very personal interpretation of a carefully selected repertoire. Though the core piano repertoire is central to his career, he is also keen to present works by lesser-known composers like Nikolai Medtner, Nikolai Roslavets, or Milosz Magin.

He also composes and performs his own music. Orpheo di camera concertino for piano, drums and string orchestra was premiered with Kremerata Baltica in Latvia in 2017. A Piano Trio was created later that year under the auspices of the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris.

Sony recording artist, Lucas Debargue has released three solo albums with music of Scarlatti, Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Liszt, Ravel, Medtner and Szymanowsky. He collaborated with Janine Jansen, Martin Fro¨st, and Torleif Thede´en on a recording of Messian’s Quatuor pour la fin du Temps. The coming season will be marked by the release of Mr. Debargue’s monumental four-volume tribute to Scarlatti, containing 52 of his sonatas.

In 2017 Lucas Debaruge was awarded a prestigious German prize “ECHO Klassik”. In the same year, a documentary following the pianist right after his Tchaikovsky Competition break-through was released by Bel-Air Productions. Learn more at www.lucasdebargue.com.

About the Boston Philharmonic
The Boston Philharmonic, founded by Benjamin Zander in 1979, is comprised of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra (BPO), the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (BPYO), and its robust series of Crescendo Education and Community Engagement programs. The mission of the Boston Philharmonic is to share the vibrancy of classical music with new and existing audiences, aspiring to expand the limits of possibility to reinvigorate the classical music experience for audiences and players alike.

As one of Boston's premier orchestras and under the leadership of Maestro Zander, the BPO features student, professional, and amateur musicians who perform inspiring renditions of celebrated masterworks in Boston’s most storied concert halls. The BPYO offers year-long orchestral and leadership training at the highest level for talented musicians between the ages of 12 and 21, completely tuition-free. The Crescendo Education and Community Engagement programs provide high quality music education for children who would otherwise not have access, often serving the most disadvantaged, at-risk, and under-resourced children in the city.

About Benjamin Zander
For the past 50 years, Benjamin Zander has occupied a unique place as a master teacher, deeply insightful and probing interpreter, and as a profound source of inspiration for audiences, students, professional musicians, corporate leaders, politicians and more. He has persistently engaged most well-informed musical and public intellectuals in a quest for insight and understanding into the western musical canon and the underlying religious, social, and political issues that inspired its creation.

For 25 years, Zander has enjoyed a unique relationship with the Philharmonia Orchestra, recording a series of Beethoven and Mahler symphonies. High Fidelity named the recording of Mahler’s 6th as ‘the best classical recording,’ of 2002; the 3rd was awarded ‘Critic’s Choice’ by the German Record Critics’; The Mahler 9th, Mahler 2nd and Bruckner 5th recordings were nominated for Grammy Awards.

Zander enjoys an international career as a leadership speaker, with several keynote speeches at the World Economic Forum in Davos and at TED. The best-selling book, The Art of Possibility, co-authored with leading psychotherapist Rosamund Zander, has been translated into eighteen languages. 

Photo of Lucas Debargue at the top of the release by Xiomara Bender.

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