‘Debussy à la mer’: French music for piano duo

A Minokō House Concert with brothers Alistair and Colin Noble

Join us at 6:30 for a complimentary drink before the concert.

Concert start time 7:00. (Duration approx. 1 hour, no interval)

PROGRAM

A short selection of solo Gnossiennes and Gymnopedies by Satie commence and conclude the following program which features:

- Francis Poulenc - Sonate (quatre mains) (1903)

- Erik Satie - Trois morceaux en forme de poire (1914)

- Claude Debussy - Six épigraphes antiques (1918)

ABOUT THE CONCERT

This program of early twentieth century French piano music features Claude Debussy, known as the father of modern music, and his close friend Erik Satie, whose unconventional style was not at all similar to Debussy’s but was nonetheless a break away from Romanticism. The younger Francis Poulenc took a different path again developing a distinctive style that also departed from Impressionism and Romanticism.

A note about Debussy:

« If he had not been a composer, Claude Debussy would have become a sailor! His passion for the sea is clear in one of the most played and studied works in the world, La Mer! …

The sea was Debussy’s refuge

The young Achille-Claude Debussy came from a non-musical family. His first encounter of playing music was at his aunt’s in Cannes, where he discovered the piano … and the Mediterranean! As an adult, he realised that the sea is what he cherished above all else, and conjured its image into music. » Vialma Classical

Debussy à la plage - Department de la Musique (BnF)

ABOUT THE PERFORMERS

Colin Noble studied piano with Isobel Grigor, Pamela Page, and Larry Sitsky. He is active as a composer, teacher, and performer. He has recorded more than a dozen recital programs for ABC Classic FM, several in Alistair’s company, and his recordings of Debussy and Bach are available on Apple Music and Spotify. He has performed the piano music of Messiaen since the 1990s and wrote his PhD on this subject.

Alistair Noble is a pianist, composer, and musicologist. He is currently Head of the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences at the University of New England. His compositions have been performed, recorded and broadcast in Australia, Europe, and North America. His analytical research into the music of US composer Morton Feldman is published by Ashgate/Routledge.

As a duo, Colin and Alistair have a long history of performing classic repertoire as well as contemporary works.