Renowned for being one of the longest standing and most acclaimed piano duos in the world, Katia and Marielle Labèque commenced their professional partnership in 1968. Their collaboration wasn’t strictly based on musical pursuits; Katia once mentioned that their duo didn’t emerge from a passion for duo-pianist repertory, which they weren’t familiar with at that time, but rather from their desire to avoid being separated.
Their versatility is notable, as they have performed exceptional compositions from the two-piano canon, including those of Bartók, Stravinsky, and Poulenc. They displayed a taste for contemporary music from the start of their career, embracing the works of living European avant-garde composers.
However, their engagement with Philip Glass’s work came later in their career. Katia, being the elder sister by two years, born in 1950, vividly remembers her astonishment after listening to his opera, Einstein on the Beach, from 1975. However, there were no significant interactions with his work until they had an opportunity to hear Maki Namekawa and Dennis Russell Davies playing Glass’s Four Movements for two pianos in 2008.
Katia elaborates, “We hadn’t participated in this music genre at all, because throughout the years, we were closely collaborating with Luciano Berio, György Ligeti, and Pierre Boulez, whose styles were drastically different. Consequently, until around 2011, we were somewhat estranged from what is known as the minimalist movement.”
In the year in question, their mutual friend Igor Toronyi-Lalic masterminded a triad of celebrations highlighting the achievements of minimalist composers at the well-known King’s Place in London. Katia confessed to him that their musical repertoire had not included minimalist pieces before, but she had been mesmerised by a duet performed on two pianos by Glass. Their programme of performances was indeed initiated by this exquisite piece. Icons of the minimalist music industry, such as Steve Reich and Philip Glass, were showcased at the festival which attracted an array of artistes, musicians and aficionados. Likewise, rock bands like Sonic Youth and Radiohead who owe their inspiration to the minimalist movement were invited alongside Aphex Twin.
The final day paid homage to European talents, including Arvo Pärt, albeit he is not connected to this movement, and Howard Skempton, a tremendous composer who still flies under the radar for most. Not forgetting Michael Nyman, widely recognised for birthing the term “minimalism” in the realm of music. A television broadcast from Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw had featured the Labèques playing Glass’s Four Movements. This led to their orchestration of his concerto’s unveiling in 2015 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and maestro Gustavo Dudamel. In Katia’s words, “that was the starting point.”
Katia Labèque, voicing their background devoid of minimalist style, remarked, “We had associated ourselves for years with Luciano Berio, György Ligeti, and Pierre Boulez.” They, however, managed to establish a robust bond with the composer. Katia reminisces him saying, “I desire your rendition of Les Enfants Terribles and I’ll forward the music sheet to you.” Keeping true to his word, the much-anticipated score arrived a day short of the global pandemic. As Katia discovered, this score was an incredible blessing, belonging to the trilogy of chamber operas Glass had innovatively re-scored to supplant the original film soundtracks of Jean Cocteau’s Orphée, La Belle et la Bête and Les Enfants Terribles.
Marielle shares, “Having the luxury of time during this tranquil phase was a blessing. We spent it immersed in music, revisiting Les Enfants Terribles, and appreciating opera. We were fortunate enough to truly delve into the narrative and notes we were working on.”
Katia interjects, “Philip’s generosity extends to his behaviour towards us, the artists interpreting his work. When asked for guidance, his responses often emphasise our creative liberty. He’d say ‘It’s your piece to shape now that I’ve composed it.’ He doesn’t demand anything specific of us. He’s receptive to modifications proposed because they sound superior. Philip’s open-mindedness is commendable.”
[How the traditional music realm continues to captivate the modern psyche]
Marielle continues, “Indeed, Philip is beloved among our musical circle owing to his affable nature. His book, Words Without Music, is phenomenal. During the lockdown, I had the leisure to read it both in French and English. I found that fascinating since some concepts in English were challenging for me to grasp.” The most recurrent adjective used in describing him is ‘joyous’. Katia adds, “Our first encounter felt as though we had known him for ages… seemingly forever.'”
Marielle fondly recalls, “He was hilarious. Despite being nearly 80, he whimsically spoke of our shared future, even punctuating the thought with fits of laughter acknowledging the irony of age, which I thought was very endearing.”
“I remember he disagreed with our decision to remain silent during a brief sequence in the composition,” Katia recalls. “He insisted we play instead, and began creating additional elements in an impressively tight span of just three days before the show. Truly, he is a wonderful person.”
In their musical journey, Katia and Marielle Labèque faced challenges when they first began to study Philip Glass’s writing style in 2010 due to its unconventional structure and patterns. Mastering the third segment of the Four Movements was especially difficult because they had to process the actor’s repetitive patterns, which they were unfamiliar with. As a result, they often lost count or became disoriented. Katia remembers the struggle of differentiating between her rhythmic pattern and Marielle’s, with fear of becoming monotonous.
At that time, the thought of giving up even crossed Katia’s mind. What’s ironic is that they managed to execute Boulez’s well-known intricate Structures unfalteringly. “The difference lay in the familiarity of the language.”, she said.
Marielle recalls Philip Glass, who was nearing 80 at the time, humorously musing about their future collaboration. Her perspective on working with the Four Movements was similar to Katia’s, initially misled by the deceptive simplicity of the score. However, the synchronisation of the music proved to be tough. If they lost rhythm, trying to regain it was a formidable task because rarely anything was congruent. Even while performing Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, they at least had the first beat in harmony.
When asked about their approach to musical expression, they paralleled the complexity to playing Ravel’s Mother Goose suite. Marielle highlighted even though it seemed straightforward on paper, performing it live challenged the dynamics of sound quality, tempo, and phrasing, and extracting the required magic from the piece. They had a similar pursuit with Philip, yielding to a symphony rather than an unvarying mechanical rhythm.
Conor Mitchell, the eminent composer of Riot Symphony, aspires for a member of Pussy Riot to attend his concert. Marielle’s attention is captured by the works of the Cocteau trilogy that is all set to be performed at the National Concert Hall. Marielle elaborates on the varying nature of characters across the three operas; Orphée transforms into La Belle et la Bête, taking on a more romantic tone and hence demanding a different play style. According to her, La Belle et la Bête presents more freedom to players in contrast to Les Enfants Terribles that has a greater dramatic essence. She finds their task is to bring out a myriad of characters to life, given that within each piece lie nine or ten sub parts, each with a distinct identity.
On another note, Katia mentions Philip often drawing parallels between his music and those of Schubert or Ravel. She expresses her disappointment over how Philip Glass’s works are often interpreted mechanically, which she considers to be a misinterpretation. She regards him as one of the last romantic composers of their era, emphasising on his importance of rubato, beauty, and phrasing in his music. Philip frequently instructs his pupils to play it like you would Schubert’s piece.
Finally, the Labèque sisters are set to perform Michael Riesman’s arrangement of Philip Glass’s Cocteau Trilogy for two pianos at the National Concert Hall on the 15th of June.