Professor's concert | Philippe Cassard & Cédric Pescia
09.08.26 > 11:00

Philippe Cassard, piano

Cédric Pescia, piano

Piano duet

In this piano duet recital, two great artists share the same instrument in dialogue. Professors Philippe Cassard and Cédric Pescia explore together some of the finest works of the four-hand piano repertoire.

Among them, Mozart’s Sonata in F major, KV 497 stands out for its almost symphonic scale and the richness of its contrapuntal writing. The first movement opens with a highly expressive introduction, followed by a peaceful theme that gradually transforms into a more troubled atmosphere. The following Andante reveals a dialogue of remarkable subtlety, whose principal theme recalls that of the Horn Concerto KV 495. Finally, the rondo-sonata Allegretto evokes, through its virtuosity, the finale of a piano concerto.

Claude Debussy’s Six Ancient Epigraphs immerse the listener in oriental atmospheres that are both mysterious and sensual. Written in 1914, this cycle of miniatures largely reuses music from the Songs of Bilitis, composed thirteen years earlier on poems by Pierre Louÿs. Rooted in a modal, often pentatonic language, these pieces evoke an idealised vision of nature.

Further miniatures complete the programme, with excerpts from Johannes Brahms’s Liebeslieder-Walzer, in which each waltz delicately explores emotions inspired by love poems.

Finally, a summit of the piano duet repertoire, Franz Schubert’s Fantasy in F minor, D. 940 impresses through the mastery of its construction. Its four movements follow one another without interruption, from the melancholic impulses of the Allegro molto moderato to the dark final fugato.

Programme

W. A. Mozart, Sonata for Piano Four Hands in F major, KV 497
I. Adagio – Allegro di molto
II. Andante
III. Allegro

C. Debussy, Six Ancient Epigraphs

To Invoke Pan, God of the Summer Wind

For an Unnamed Tomb

So That the Night May Be Favourable

For the Dancer with Cymbals

For the Egyptian Woman

To Thank the Morning Rain

INTERMISSION

J. Brahms, Excerpts from Liebeslieder-Walzer, Op. 52a and Op. 65a

F. Schubert, Fantasy in F minor, D. 940
Allegro molto moderato — Largo — Allegro vivace — Tempo I