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Lucas Debargue

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Lucas Debargue is a French pianist and composer, born in Paris in 1990. He grew up in Compiègne in a family without musicians: his mother is a nurse and his father a physiotherapist. He had his first piano lesson at the age of ten. At fifteen he gave up the piano, because he had become more interested in literature. At seventeen he moved to Paris, where he studied literature and art. In 2010 he played again at the Fête de la Musique festival in Compiègne. He then met the piano teacher Rena Shereshevskaya, and from 2012 he studied with her at the École Normale de Musique de Paris. In that period he decided to become a professional musician.

Music and breakthrough

In 2015 he took part in the fifteenth International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, where as a complete unknown he caused great excitement with an idiosyncratic programme that included Nikolai Medtner's first sonata. He won fourth prize and signed with Sony Classical that same year. His recordings include Bach, Beethoven and Medtner from 2016, Quatuor pour la fin du temps from 2017, 52 Sonatas from 2019 and a complete edition of Fauré's solo piano music from 2024. He plays in halls such as the Philharmonie de Paris, Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall and the Concertgebouw.

Influence

Debargue shows that a late start and a detour through literature can lead to a personal sound. His playing is expressive and his programmes are often unexpected.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to his recording of Fauré's piano music and notice the soft touch and the long, flowing lines. Can you hear how each note is given its own colour?

Discography

Studio albums

Categories: Artists