Gershwin Variations

Released via Sony Classical, Lucas Debargue’s Gershwin Variations is a bold double album built from a desire to step into a new world after his recordings of Scarlatti and the complete solo piano works of Fauré.

This is Debargue’s ode to George Gershwin, a composer living at the meeting point of classical music and jazz. Part one, recorded at the Philharmonie de Paris on Stephen Paulello’s SP/287 piano, includes Concerto in F with the Orchestre de Paris and conductor Elim Chan, the Three Preludes for Piano, and a personal Rhapsody in Blue with Debargue’s own cadenzas.

Part two, recorded at the Paulello Studio, features twelve virtuosic études by Lucas Debargue, drawn from Gershwin’s most popular songs across all chromatic keys. Counterpoint, shifting harmonies, and unconventional rhythms bring fresh light to melodies that still feel full of freedom, daring, and vitality.