Labèque Sisters Duo Piano Performance -- Review

Labèque Sisters Duo Piano Performance

Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco

April 7, 2014

I don't usually review musical performances, but I have to say something about the Labèque sisters' two piano concert last night at Davies Symphony Hall.  They were electrifying.  I have seen Vladimir Horowitz three times in concert, and many of the great contemporary pianists:  Richard Goode, Garrick Ohlsson, Martha Argerich, Murray Perahia, Andras Schiff, Zoltan Koscis, Krystian Zimerman, Paul Lewis, Pierre Aimard, Jeremy Denk, and many others, and I would have to place this performance last night among the most memorable and outstanding of all that I have seen and heard.  The Labèques, Katia and Marielle, play with great energy and vivaciousness.  They can range from bombastic to touchingly thoughtful and sensitive.

They played a lively program that I didn't expect to like, but they quickly won me over to riveting enthusiasm.  The program was interesting and well thought out.  The selections complemented each other very well and gave the whole concert a feeling of unity and balance.  Gershwin's Three Preludes (which I have played myself) were arranged very imaginatively and tastefully for two pianos by Irwin Kostal.  But what really grabbed hold of me were the Four Movements for Two Pianos by Philip Glass.  Until last night I had never heard anything by Philip Glass that I really liked, but this piece for two pianos is interesting, imaginative, and substantial.  I would like to hear it again, and it opened my mind to reconsider Philip Glass and to extend to him another chance.  The Labèques really understand the piece and are able to get it across in a way that draws the listener in to its varied moods and textures.  The Four Movements makes good use of the two pianos.  You really need both pianos to make the piece work and the Labèques understand that and their seamless integration gives the performance body and vitality that cannot help but engage the listener.  

The second half of the program was a rare treat in a classical concert:  a bold departure from conventional norms that was pulled off magnificently.  Selections from Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story were arranged for two pianos and percussion, once again by Irwin Kostal.  I was skeptical when I saw two sets of drums out on the stage with two grand pianos, and was ready for failure.  Boy, was I wrong!  It was a marvelous showpiece that was tempestuous, interesting, somber, cute, and above all, energetic and full of life.  The two percussionists, Gonzalo Grau and Raphael Séguinier, were superb virtuosos in their own right.  I think they all owe a lot to their arranger, Irwin Kostal, who was not even written up in the program.  This was a very imaginative, interesting arrangement of these pieces that worked very well for the Labèques and for the percussionists.  It had to have been arranged by someone who knew these performers well and drew upon their capabilities to the best effect.  The choice of percussion with two pianos was a bold move that required the percussion to hold its own as a complementary partner to two strong pianos.  The percussion was not simply used as accompaniment, but as a full participant and an integral part of the composition.  This rather tricky challenge was pulled off tastefully, even masterfully.  Both the piano and percussion have a tendency to dominate a musical passage and keeping these strong instruments in a pleasing balance was quite a respectable achievement by all of these performers.  It was a powerfully effective effort all the way through and justly brought the audience to its feet.  I hope they come back soon.  The Labèques are top flight performers, showpersons, virtuosos, and masters of taste and style.  I am definitely a confirmed fan from henceforth.