The Lab que sisters, personally
- Source: Global Times
- [08:41 December 03 2010]
- Comments
Piano duo Katia (left) and Marielle Lab que.
By Xing Daiqi
One of the world's most recognized piano duos, French sisters Katia and Marielle Lab que will perform tomorrow in Beijing alongside the China Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of renowned Polish conductor Anthony Wit. In an exclusive interview, the Lab que sisters sat down with the Global Times to talk about their upcoming concert, their partnership and life on the move.
Lab ques vs. Mozarts
Successful sibling duos in classical music are rare. The most famous pair in history, Wolfgang Mozart and his sister Nannerl, didn't last long. As he set off in pursuit of his music career, Nannerl settled down into marriage.
Concerto No. 10 in E flat Major for Two Pianos was created by Mozart for his sister in 1779, right before he left Salzburg for Vienna.
With the striking passages divided evenly between the two pianos, the piece sees the orchestra a little quieter than in other Mozart concertos, leaving room for the soloists to explore.
"It's kind of a conversation between two people with different characters and different tone of voice and it's a beautiful piece," Marielle said.
"I think it's definitely a family piece," Katia added. "Mozart wrote it for his sister. It was a dialogue between brother and sister.
"Today for us it's between two sisters. I don't think Mozart was traveling and playing concerts with his sister the same way Marielle and I do, but the main idea is to share music with someone from your family."
Dressed casually in simple sweatshirts and jeans, the two sisters look alike and carry an air of quiet elegance and warmth. Although most in the musical world ask the pair what sets them apart from each other, they prefer to let their music speak for itself.
"There is always a difference between the reality of our internal world and the perception of the public," Katia explained.
Katia is more extroverted and talks at a faster speed, while Marielle is more reserved, resting her chin on her hand, complementing her sister as in their piano playing.
"It's better when people come to the concert, then they'll have an idea that we are different," Marielle smiled.
