Labeque sisters biography of nancy

French piano duo and sisters

The Labèque sisters, Katia (born 11 March 1950) and Marielle (born 6 March 1952), are an internationally recognised French piano duo.^[1]

Biography

Education and first performances

Katia and Marielle Labèque were born in Bayonne, on the southwest coast of France, near the Spanish border in Northern Basque Country.

Their father was a doctor, rugby football player, and music enthusiast who sang in the Bordeaux Opera choir. Their Italian mother, Ada Cecchi, a former student of Marguerite Long, was their first teacher; she began their lessons when they were three and five years old.^[2] After graduating in piano from the Conservatoire de Paris in 1968, the sisters began working on piano four hands and two pianos repertoire.

They recorded their first album, Les Visions de l'Amen of Olivier Messiaen,^[3] under the artistic direction of the composer, and continued to perform contemporary m