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[Herald Economy = Reporter Go Seung-hee] The word telepathy seems made for them. Two bodies move as one; four hands overlap as if they were two. When 88 keys become 176, the music opens into a seemingly boundless universe. They connect without words or even a glance.<\/p>\n
\u201cA piano duo is about sharing the stage with someone you love and respect. I\u2019ve never had the urge to pursue a solo career,\u201d the Lab\u00e8que sisters said.<\/p>\n
The Lab\u00e8que Duo, who have shared a keyboard for more than half a century, return to Korea. Sisters Katia Lab\u00e8que and Marielle Lab\u00e8que have existed as a single organism since they recorded their first album under conductor Olivier Messiaen in 1970.<\/p>\n
Their musical daring never stopped. Time and again they have chipped away at the rigid walls of classical music to claim new ground. Since that Messiaen recording more than five decades ago, their range has spanned Gershwin ragtime to Philip Glass minimalism and even collaborations with artists such as Thom Yorke and Madonna. On this visit they will perform works from Philip Glass\u2019s Jean Cocteau trilogy\u2014Orph\u00e9e, Beauty and the Beast, and Les Enfants Terribles.<\/p>\n
In a written interview ahead of the Korea concerts, the sisters called Philip Glass \u201cthe greatest living composer today and the last romantic composer of our time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople often label his music repetitive, but it\u2019s actually finely wrought, deeply expressive and romantic,\u201d Marielle said. \u201cRepetition doesn\u2019t mean playing the same phrase in exactly the same way each time. If you do that, the music won\u2019t live.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sisters first encountered Glass\u2019s music in 2008, when they were invited to a minimalism festival at King\u2019s Place in London. Katia recalled the shock of seeing the score: layered rhythms and frequent shifts made the pieces technically demanding. Five years later they recorded Glass\u2019s Four Movements for Two Pianos\u2014what Katia describes as their first real step into his world.<\/p>\n
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This production also features distinctive staging: two large pianos and a chandelier create an intimate, theatrical atmosphere. \u201cThey recreate the private worlds of the characters\u2014the bedroom in Les Enfants Terribles, the castle in Beauty and the Beast,\u201d Katia explained.<\/p>\n
Although the program is the same one that premiered in Paris this March, each performance is its own thing. \u201cEvery concert is a new adventure\u2014acoustics, audience response and the piano\u2019s voice change from hall to hall,\u201d Marielle said. \u201cMusic doesn\u2019t come together like instant coffee; it needs time to ripen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Their career reads like a remarkable saga. In the late 1960s, when Katia was 18 and Marielle 16, Katia pushed against the conservative culture at the Paris Conservatory to win permission to perform as a duo. The school, focused on training soloists, initially refused to recognize their work as chamber music. After persistent appeals, the sisters became the first in the conservatory\u2019s history to receive a degree in the piano-duo category. Recording with Messiaen marked a crucial early milestone. Finding someone who truly understood their music and wanting to stay together turned them into a shared destiny.<\/p>\n
Their seemingly perfect synchronicity, paradoxically, comes from difference. Marielle provides a solid, forceful bass; Katia favors dazzling flourishes in the upper register. They maintain independent artistic identities while forming a close partnership. \u201cWe sometimes have intense arguments, but that tension is the only way to create meaningful art,\u201d Katia said. \u201cContrast is necessary.\u201d Marielle added, \u201cOur differences are what have sustained the duo for so long.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never tried to play like Katia, and she\u2019s never tried to play like me. We\u2019re very different onstage and off. I think piano-duo music becomes more compelling when two distinct personalities come through together,\u201d Marielle said.<\/p>\n
They haven\u2019t performed in Korea for 18 years. For Marielle, Korea is a place of musical exchange. She said her husband, conductor Semyon Bychkov, told her that during a Czech Philharmonic tour last year he was deeply moved and inspired by Koreans\u2019 warm welcome\u2014the audience\u2019s youth and sophistication left a strong impression. She said she looks forward to meeting Korean audiences who bring deep understanding and affection for music.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Lab\u00e8que sisters, renowned piano duo, celebrate over 50 years of musical synergy, redefining classical music through innovative performances.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/cdn-union.tenbizt.com\/contents\/crawler-dev\/thumbnail\/2026\/04\/CP-2023-0083\/thumb-6e554ffc-03a5-47d1-8ec9-04360535e6e6.jpg","footnotes":""},"categories":[278101],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-258076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music"],"yoast_head":"\n