'Released via 'Sony Classical' - Internationally acclaimed pianist Lucas Debargue’s Gershwin Variations stands as an ambitious and unprecedented project, born from the desire to explore a radically different universe after recording Scarlatti sonatas and the complete solo piano works of Fauré. This double album is an ode to George Gershwin, an unclassifiable composer standing at the crossroads of classical music and jazz, whose singularity inspired Lucas Debargue to create a work equally impossible to categorise.

The album is divided into two parts, both equally ambitious and virtuosic, yet each with its own distinct identity. The first part, recorded at the Philharmonie de Paris on Stephen Paulello’s unique SP/287 piano, features some of Gershwin’s most iconic works, including the Concerto in F with the Orchestre de Paris conducted by Elim Chan, the Three Preludes for Piano, and a highly personal version of Rhapsody in Blue, enriched by the pianist’s own cadenzas.

The second part, recorded at the Paulello Studio, is entirely devoted to twelve virtuosic études composed by Lucas Debargue from Gershwin’s most popular songs, spanning all chromatic keys. This cycle represents the artist’s most ambitious creation of his career as a pianist to date, affirming a deep commitment to freedom and invention, while placing itself in the tradition of the great composers who wrote their own études. Lucas Debargue’s Gershwin Variations is a hybrid work reflecting the anti-conformist spirit and the American dream embodied by Gershwin. Lucas Debargue offers a bold and poetic reinterpretation in which counterpoint, shifting harmonies, and unconventional rhythms reveal the richness of Gershwin’s melodies. He invites listeners to rediscover a repertoire where popularity is never synonymous with triviality, and where music becomes a space for freedom, daring, and vitality.