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The sibling duo of
Katia and Marielle Labèque are known for their dynamic performances of pieces composed specifically for duo piano and, even more so, for their own reinterpretations of various classical works. While they drew attention throughout the '70s for a repertoire that favored 20th century composers like
Berio and
Ligeti over
Mozart and
Schubert, they rose to international fame with their two-piano recording of
Gershwin's
Rhapsody in Blue in 1981. The sisters later expanded their instrumentation to include percussion on works by composers such as
Bernstein and
Ravel, and they have also recorded albums of jazz and Spanish song. In 2013, the
Labèques premiered
Philip Glass' Two Movements for Four Pianos with
Maki Namekawa and
Dennis Russell Davies, and in 2015, they premiered his Double Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra -- which was written for them -- with
Gustavo Dudamel and the
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. Their debut of Concerto for Two Pianos by
The National's
Bryce Dessner took place with the
London Philharmonic Orchestra in 2018.
Born in Bayonne in the French-Basque region near the Spanish border, the two
Labèque sisters began studying piano with their mother, an accomplished piano teacher, when they were three and five years of age. Madame Labèque was born in Tuscany, in Torre del Lago, Italy, where
Puccini's estate was located. The girls' father was a doctor from Landes.
Katia and
Marielle later entered the Paris Conservatoire, where both of them took First Prizes. Upon graduating in their mid-teens, the sisters took to performing contemporary works by
Berio,
Boulez, and
Messiaen, often defying the expectations of advisers and audiences alike. Their first recording was of
Messiaen's Visions de l'Amen, released by Erato in 1970, with liner notes by the composer. Subsequent recordings for Erato in the '70s included
Bartók's Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion and
Rachmaninov's Two Suites for Two Pianos, as well as works by
Hindemith and
Martinu, among others.
In 1980, the
Labèques reached a worldwide audience with the Philips Classics release
Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue; Piano Concerto in F. It sold over a half-million copies in 1981 and earned the burgeoning imprint its first gold record in France. Their other '80s recordings spanned the
Scott Joplin release Gladrags (1983), a version of
Gershwin's
American in Paris (1984), and
West Side Story Symphonic Dances and Songs (1989), which was arranged by
Irwin Kostal, orchestrator of the original
Bernstein work. The sisters' increased celebrity also brought collaborations with many of the world's leading conductors and orchestras, including the
London,
New York, and
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras.
In 1991, Sony issued Love of Colours, a set of jazz tunes that included pieces by
Thelonious Monk,
Chick Corea, and
John McLaughlin, who also arranged the album.
Katia has also recorded alone with
McLaughlin, including a version of
Michael Tilson Thomas' Duos for Guitar and Piano. Other releases by the
Labèques in the '90s included 1994's ¡España! (
Albéniz, Falla, and
Lecuona) and 1997's
The Debussy Album. Their participation in Piano Grand!: A Smithsonian Celebration, which also featured
Billy Joel,
Dave Brubeck, and several others, was televised and later released as a concert album by
Columbia in 2000.
Over the following decade, the sisters returned to composers such as
Gershwin (2001's I Got Rhythm) and
Ravel (2007's Ravel), and also explored Spanish song with Flamenco singer
Mayte Martin (2008's De Fuego y de Agua) and works by
Satie (2009's Erik Satie). They covered short pieces by over a dozen different composers on 2014's Sisters, issued by KML Recordings (not to be confused with a six-disc box set of the same name from Deutsche Grammophon in 2016), and 2016's
Invocations presented
Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring alongside
Debussy's Six Épigraphes Antiques. Their early-2018 Deutsche Grammophon release
Love Stories revisited West Side Story plus
David Chalmin's Star-Cross'd Lovers, a composition inspired by Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. That March, the sisters performed the world premiere of
Bryce Dessner's Concerto for Two Pianos with the
London Philharmonic Orchestra. Another
Labèque album, Amoria, followed in August 2018, this one focusing on Basque composers. Before the year was through, they appeared on a full-length tribute to composer
Moondog (
Moondog) and on
Dessner's El Chan, which included the first recording of his concerto alongside two additional original works for duo piano.
Still with Deutsche Grammophon,
Katia and Marielle Labèque returned in 2020 with
Les Enfants Terribles, featuring a custom arrangement of music from the opera by
Philip Glass. It was recorded in
Katia's home studio.