Katia Labèque

These nonconformist pianists boast a repertory from the eclectic to the unexpected. Daughters of Ada Cecchi, a former student of Marguerite Long, Katia and Marielle Labèque spent a childhood filled with music. Their repertoire includes a broad range of material, from Bach on period instruments to the 21st Century contemporary composers.

They have a stunning career throughout the world and have been guests of the most prestigious orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus, London Symphony, the Philharmonia, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Filarmonica della Scala, Philadelphia Orchestra, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Dresden Staatskapelle and Vienna Philharmonic. They have played under the direction of conductors such as Giovanni Antonini,Semyon Bychkov, Gustavo Dudamel, Charles Dutoit, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Zubin Mehta, Antonio Pappano, Sir Simon Rattle, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Leonard Slatkin,Michael Tilson Thomas, etc. They are regular guests at festivals, including Berlin, Blossom, the Hollywood Bowl, Lucerne, Ludwigsburg, Mozart Week Salzburg, Mostly Mozart New York, The Proms, Ravinia, Rheingau, Ruhr, Schleswig-Holstein, Tanglewood, and the Salzburg Easter and Pentecote Festivals.

Katia and Marielle Labèque have appeared with such Baroque groups as The English Baroque Soloists, Il Giardino Armonico, Musica Antiqua Köln, Venice Baroque Orchestra, and the GabrieliConsort &Players. For the Bach Centennial, their concert at the Vienna Musikverein with Il Giardino Armonico was televised worldwide by ORF and recorded on DVD.

Their first recording for Philips, of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, received a Gold Disc immediately after its release. Since then Katia and Marielle Labèque have made numerous recordings for Philips, Sony and EMI.

The aspiration to build a bridge crossing all aspects of contemporary creation has led Katia and Marielle Labèque to form their own label, KML Recordings.

In 2005 Katia and Marielle Labèque launched the KML Foundation, aimed at furthering research and developing awareness of the duo piano repertory through meetings between artists of all fields. One of their projects is a programme for children under the auspices of the Berlin Philharmonic Foundation’s program, brought into existence by Sir Simon Rattle.

In addition to the association, Katia and Marielle Labèque have enjoyed huge success performing with the Berlin Philharmonic at their closing Gala Concert at the Waldbühne, playing to a record audience of 33,000. This concert was broadcast on television worldwide.

They have recently created a new project with flamenco singer Mayte Martin, De Fuego y de Agua, and their CD is soon to be released.