Sibling duo tell a story on two pianos, at the Abu Dhabi Festival
ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)The remarkable piano duo of Katia and Marielle Labèque have devised an original and innovative musical programme for the 2025 Abu Dhabi Festival.The French sisters will be performing at the Red Theater, The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi on Saadiyat Island, on Wednesday, April 16, at 7.30pm.The classical musicians have played with major international orchestras, with renowned conductors, with Baroque ensembles and have showcased an array of music from 20th and 21st century composers.The siblings are renowned for their musical synchronicity and energy, first gaining international acclaim for their recording of Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue", which sold over half a million copies.They are regular guests with the Berlin Philharmonic, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus, London Symphony, London Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, Dresden Staatskapelle, Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam and Vienna Philharmonic.They have worked with major composers including Thomas Adès, Louis Andriessen, Luciano Berio, Pierre Boulez, Bryce Dessner, Philip Glass, Osvaldo Golijov, György Ligeti and Olivier Messiaen.The Labèques founded their own label KML Recordings, which joined Deutsche Grammophon in 2016.They formed a special relationship with the composer Philip Glass, whose music begins and finishes their recital, "First In La Belle et la Bête", inspired by Jean Cocteau's film, and then in a work inspired by Cocteau again, his novel "Les Enfants Terribles".
In sync with the storytelling theme, the central work of their programme is Ravel's "Ma Mère l'Oye" (Mother Goose), with its exquisite fairytale episodes.
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