Katia & Marielle Labèque - El Chan (2019) [Hi-Res]

New album dedicated entirely to American composer Bryce Dessner, founder and guitarist of the rock band The National, including his Concerto for two pianos with Orchestre de Paris conducted by Matthias Pintscher The album also includes the work El Chan for two pianos, and Haven for two guitars and two pianos. The album is dedicated to the film director Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarittú (The Revenant, Babel...), who created the album cover artwork.⠀

Arranged for two pianos and performed regularly by Katia and Marielle Labèque, El Chan is dedicated to Dessner’s friend and collaborator, film director Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu (The Revenant, Babel, Amores Perros, etc.) and his wife Maria Eladia Hagerman. The work is inspired by the mythical guardian spirit, ‘El Chan,’ of a pool of water nestled in the canyons close to Iñarritu and Hagerman’s hometown of San Miguel de Allende, in the stunning Mexican landscape, and which has been the source of popular legends for many centuries. Iñárritu in turn created the cover artwork for this new album.

Bryce Dessner’s Concerto for Two Pianos was written for Katia and Marielle Labèque after the three met during rehearsals with Los Angeles Phiharmonic several years ago and where they formed an immediate bond, both musically and personally. The work premiered with London Philharmonic Orchestra at London's Southbank Centre in April 2018 and has been performed internationally by orhcestras including Orchestre de Paris, Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra, Dresdner Philharmonie, Musica Nova in Helsinki as well as Netherlands Philharmonic. Its US première will take place with Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in September 2019.

Katia & Marielle Labeque, piano
Bryce Dessner, guitar
David Chalmin, guitar
Orchestre de Paris
Matthias Pintscher, conductor