Katia Labèque Quick Info | |
---|---|
Height | 5 ft 6 in |
Weight | 58 kg |
Date of Birth | March 11, 1950 |
Zodiac Sign | Pisces |
Boyfriend | David Chalmin |
Katia Labèque is a French pianist who is one half of the internationally acclaimed piano duo known as The Labèque Sisters, the other half being her younger sister Marielle Labèque. The pair has recorded numerous tracks as a duet and with other collaborators and has performed at musical concerts all around the world. A book about the sisters’ lives, titled Une Vie à Quatre Mains (A Life for Four Hands), was published in 2016.
Born Name
Katia Labèque
Nick Name
Katia
Sun Sign
Pisces
Born Place
Bayonne, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France
Residence
Rome, Lazio, Italy
Nationality
Education
Katia had graduated in piano from the renowned Conservatoire de Paris, a college of music and dance that was founded in 1795.
Occupation
Pianist
Family
- Father – Her father was a doctor, rugby player, and choir singer.
- Mother – Ada Cecchi
- Siblings – Marielle Labèque (Younger Sister) (Pianist)
Genre
Classical, Contemporary Classical, Jazz, Ragtime, Minimal Music, Baroque Music, Pop, Experimental Rock
Instruments
Piano
Labels
- KML Recordings
- EMI Group Limited
- Deutsche Grammophon
- Decca Records
- Sony Classical Records
- Philips Records
- EMI Classics
- Sony Masterworks
- Philips Classics Records
- Universal Music
- APEX
- Warner Classics
Build
Slim
Height
5 ft 6 in or 167.5 cm
Weight
58 kg or 128 lbs
Boyfriend / Spouse
Katia has dated –
- John McLaughlin – Katia was previously married to legendary English guitarist, bandleader, and music composer John McLaughlin. She was also a member of his band in the early 1980s.
- David Chalmin – Katia has been in a long-term relationship with French music composer, producer, and singer/guitarist of the band Triple Sun, David Chalmin.
Race / Ethnicity
White
She is of French descent on her father’s side and Italian descent on her mother’s side.
Hair Color
Dark Brown
Eye Color
Green
Sexual Orientation
Straight
Distinctive Features
- Slender frame
- Center-parted, shoulder-length, curly, frizzy hair
- Charming smile
- Radiant face
Katia Labèque Facts
- She had received her first lessons in piano from her mother Ada Cecchi (herself a former student of the legendary French pianist Marguerite Long) when she was just 5 years old.
- After her graduation from the Conservatoire de Paris, she and her younger sister Marielle had started working on piano four hands and two pianos repertoire. They had later recorded their first album titled Les Visions de l’Amen under the artistic direction of the iconic French music composer, organist, and ornithologist, Olivier Messiaen.
- They had later taken to the performance of contemporary music and had earned some reputation with it. However, they shot into the limelight in 1980 when their two-piano recording of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue had become an overnight success and had sold more than half a million copies.
- The sisters had performed in front of an audience of 33k people at the Waldbühne gala concert, the last concert of the 2005 season of the Berlin Philharmonic. In May 2016, at the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, they had performed with the Vienna Philharmonic for an audience of more than 100k people.
- In 2005, the duo had established a foundation known as Fondazione Katia e Marielle Labèque.
- Between 1970 and 1997, they used to record their tracks and albums under several major record labels. After this, they had stopped recording new tracks for about a decade after which they had founded their own classical music label, KML Recordings, in Italy.
Featured Image by Katia Labèque / Instagram