Katia and Marielle Labèque, pianists

Who or what inspired you to pursue a career in music and who or what have been the most important influences on your musical life and career?

From the very beginning, it was our mother and the love of music in our home. Our father was passionate about opera and sang in the choir of the Opéra de Bordeaux, so music was simply part of everyday life. As our journey developed, we were fortunate to meet and work with extraordinary musicians and composers who shaped us profoundly: Olivier Messiaen, Luciano Berio, Miles Davis, Thom Yorke, Quincy Jones, Krystian Zimerman, Simon Rattle, Semyon Bychkov, Bryce Dessner and David Chalmin, among many others. 

What have been the greatest challenges of your career so far?

To remain alive and to continue having this strong desire to learn and continue playing. 

Which performances/recordings are you most proud of?

We are especially proud that our very first recording was made under the artistic guidance of Olivier Messiaen, who personally invited us to record Visions de l’Amen when we were 17 and 19 years old. Looking back, that was an extraordinary beginning. We are also proud of the many artistic adventures that followed: touring and collaborating with musicians such as Thom Yorke, Bryce Dessner and David Chalmin, commissioning new works, and constantly exploring connections between classical, contemporary, jazz and popular music. Our new project, “55”, is particularly meaningful because it brings together 55 years of recordings and reflects the many different musical worlds we have inhabited throughout our lives. For this new 3CD release on Deutsche Grammophon, we selected 30 historical tracks from our 1970-2024 archive and recorded 25 new tracks in 2025-2026. You guessed it: 55 tracks in total, to celebrate 55 years of our career! 

Which particular works/composers do you think you perform best?

We hope we perform all composers well! We simply feel closest to the music we are playing at that particular moment. The composers we perform regularly in concert become part of our musical language, and that familiarity allows us to explore them more deeply.

How do you make your repertoire choices from season to season?

It is difficult to describe because it is never a strategic process. We follow our curiosity. Sometimes we suddenly feel a strong desire to explore a composer, a period, a theme or a particular piece. Our programmes often emerge from intuition rather than planning.

Do you have a favourite concert venue to perform in and why?

There are several: the Philharmonie de Paris, the Musikverein in Vienna, Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. It’s always a combination of acoustics and instruments that is most important. Coincidence or not; we also very much love to spend time in those particular cities! 

What do you do off stage that provides inspiration on stage? 

We eat quite a lot of chocolate…

What is your most memorable concert experience?

Probably the concerts with very large audiences, such as the Waldbühne concerts with Simon Rattle or Schönbrunn with Semyon Bychkov. Those events are huge celebrations of classical music, bringing together people from all backgrounds and ages in one shared magical experience. 

As musicians, what is your definition of success?

Success means being able to move people and to connect with audiences from different cultures, generations and backgrounds. Music has the power to transcend boundaries. We can feel it when that happens in concerts, and that feels like success. 

What do you feel needs to be done to grow classical music’s audiences?

We need to bring music into new places, remain open to different repertoires and encourage creative programming. Above all, music education in schools is essential. Young people need opportunities to discover music, experience it live and make it part of their lives.

What’s the one thing in the music industry we’re not talking about which you think we should be?

We should be talking more about the impact of artificial intelligence on music. It is becoming increasingly difficult for young musicians to establish themselves in a world where music can be generated by machines. We should raise our voices against using Al for music. 

What advice would you give to young or aspiring musicians?

To keep trying. To trust their imagination and their instincts. No one can advise them better than themselves. 

What’s next?

We are looking forward to performing music from our “55” project in concerts across Europe and Brazil. The programme reflects many different aspects of our musical journey. Of course, we keep changing the programme all the time because there are simply too many wonderful possibilities! The 3CD version of “55” lasts over 3 hours, but unfortunately (or fortunately!) a concert cannot be that long….. 

Where would you like to be in 10 years?

Alive.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

To be able to continue doing what we do. 

What is your most treasured possession?

Nothing in particular, but of course our instruments are precious companions: Silbermann, Walter and Steinway pianos.

What is your present state of mind?

Happy.

Katia and Marielle Labèque’s “55” project (3CD / Digital Album / Vinyl) was released on June 12th. Their concert tour starts on June 28th in Spain continuing until June 2027, with concerts in Spain, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, Brazil and Italy. 

Fifty-five years after the release of their first recording, Katia and Marielle Labèque celebrate an extraordinary artistic journey with “55”, bringing together new recordings and archive selections spanning more than half a century. First released in 1970 under the artistic guidance of Olivier Messiaen, the Labèque sisters’ debut album marked the beginning of one of the most singular careers in contemporary music. “Visions de l’Amen was our very first recording. We were 17 and 19. Olivier Messiaen himself asked us to record it,” they recall.