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Debargue LucasFrench pianist
Date of Birth: 23.10.1990
Country:  France |
Content:
Biography of Luke Debarge
Luke Debarge is a French pianist and the winner of the XV Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 2015. He was born in Paris, but his family soon moved to Villers-sur-Cuden in the Uaza department. His father is a physiotherapist, and his mother is a nurse. Luke's grandmother is Russian, the daughter of first wave white emigrants.
Early life and musical education
Luke's first introduction to music was through his father's CDs of Mozart's works and flute lessons at his local school. According to Luke himself, his parents did not support his musical pursuits, believing that his future should be focused on a concrete career. He began piano lessons at the age of 11 at his school in Compiegne after his parents' divorce. His teacher, Madame Muenier, recognized his talent and encouraged his passion for music without rushing him.
After completing his general education, Luke stopped studying music and moved to the capital, where he enrolled in the literature department at the University of Paris. He received an electronic piano from his father and began playing symphonies by Mozart and concertos by Bach by ear. He then took private lessons with various teachers. His attitude towards music changed after his performance at a concert organized by the mayor of Compiegne. At the request of the city, he played Saint-Saens' Toccata, Chopin's Prelude, and Liszt's Mephisto Waltz. As a result of the concert, he was admitted to the Paris Conservatory of Music and Dance in Jean-Francois Essa's class, but he primarily studied with Rina Shereshchevskaya, a student of Moscow Conservatory professor Lev Vlasenko, at the regional conservatory in Ruey-Malmeson and at the Paris Normal School of Music named after Alfred Cortot.
Professional achievements
In 2014, Luke Debarge won the Adilia Alieva International Piano Competition in Gaillard, France. In December 2014, he participated in the V International Piano Competition in Minsk but did not advance beyond the first round. In 2015, at the age of twenty-four, Luke Debarge received the Fourth Prize, diploma, and the Prize of the Association of Music Critics of Moscow at the XV Tchaikovsky International Competition. The official citation states: "The Prize of the Association of Music Critics of Moscow at the XV Tchaikovsky International Competition is awarded to a musician whose performances at the competition have become a remarkable artistic phenomenon, and whose unique talent, creative freedom, and beauty of musical interpretations have made a great impression on the audience and critics." The prize itself included a solo concert by the performer at the Chamber Hall of the Moscow International House of Music, which took place on December 21, 2015.
Interestingly, Luke had no experience performing with an orchestra before the Tchaikovsky Competition. He had to do it twice during the competition - in the second round with Mozart's concerto and in the final with concertos by Tchaikovsky and Liszt.
