Event Description

As an interpreter of Debussy’s work, French pianist Philippe Cassard has impeccable credentials, having recorded the composer’s complete piano works. He has also frequently partnered with singers such as Natalie Dessay, Stéphanie d’Oustrac and Canada’s own Donna Brown in recitals of French repertoire. MusicFest Vancouver reunites these deux bons amis in a recital of Debussy’s much admired settings of French texts. Debussy pushed back from being labeled “an impressionist” in music, and more clearly identified with the work of “symbolist” poets such as Paul Verlaine, Stéphane Mallarmé and Charles Baudelaire. From among Debussy’s much loved mélodies and song cycles, you’ll hear Ariettes oubliées, Fêtes Galantes, Deux Romances, and more.