The composer-pianist Lucas Debargue comes to La Jolla with his sharp creative intellect and astounding technical gifts. Born in 1990, Debargue forged a highly unconventional path to success. Having discovered classical music at the age of 10, the future musician began to feed his passion and curiosity with diverse artistic and intellectual experiences, which included advanced studies of literature and philosophy. The encounter with the celebrated piano teacher Rena Shereshevskaya proved a turning point: her vision and guidance inspired Debarge to make a life-long professional commitment to music. At age 25, he broke into the highest echelon of classical piano, winning the coveted Prize of the Moscow Music Critics’ Association at the Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow in 2015.

Debargue’s program tonight includes works by Scriabin, Ravel, and Fauré—as well as his own compositions—inspires me to look at the connection that all of these composers had with the musical culture of Paris; my presentation is titled “À la parisienne.”