Duo Pleyel: queer concert
Discover queer composers during this edition of the Museum Pleyel Series. Together with young talent Emerald Rouse (14 years old) and soprano Lucie Chartin, various songs and pieces by queer composers will be performed.
Songs and pieces by various composers will be heard on the beautiful 1900 Blüthner. In addition, Duo Pleyel will bring their own harpsichord to play very old pieces.
Who or what is Duo Pleyel?
Duo Pleyel is named after their beautiful Pleyel piano from 1848. The duo consists of pianists Alexandra Nepomnyashchaya and Richard Egarr. Together, they have been dedicated for nine years to making the rich and captivating repertoire for piano four-hands accessible to a wider audience. They aim to offer varied programs, ranging from the earliest music of Johann Christian Bach and Mozart, and lesser-known early Romantics such as Hummel and Dussek, to the great popular works of Fauré, Debussy, Ravel, and Stravinsky from the twentieth century.
Which talent is performing during this concert? Emerald Rouse, she introduces herself:
I am Emerald Rouse, 14 years old, and I have been following the preparatory classical violin program at the Young Talent class of the Amsterdam Conservatory for almost three years.
I started playing the violin when I was about five years old. What was initially just a hobby has now become my passion. Alongside my musical education, I am in the third year of bilingual pre-university education at Farel College in Amersfoort. I combine school and music with great enthusiasm.
I have participated in various concerts and musical projects, such as the 2024 Christmas Music Gala for television and performances at the Concertgebouw, where I had the opportunity to give a solo performance with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, among others. Additionally, I have participated in the Dutch Violin Competition and the Muziekcirkel Driebergen competition. I won first prize at this last competition in 2022.
Furthermore, I have played in various string orchestras, including the Wladimir Consort in Bussum and the Young String Orchestra in Amsterdam. I found playing together with the Young Heroes project from Amsterdam to be a special experience. I have also played with Orquesta Reciclados Cateura from Paraguay.
I enjoy making music together, learning new things, and taking on challenges on the violin.
Which singer is singing? Lucie Chartin!
Soprano Lucie Chartin possesses a voice “as intoxicating as your favorite cream liqueur.” (Thank you, Mr. Reviewer. No objections here.)
She sang from Tokyo to São Paulo, collaborated with Václav Luks, Peter Whelan, Christian Curnyn, Richard Egarr, Daniël Reuss, Shunske Sato, Yannick Nézet-Séguin — and yes, there are more, but you get the idea. She performed with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, the Netherlands Bach Society, the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra... And then, between 2020 and 2022, a series of engagements — from a recital with the Academy of Ancient Music to a title role at Wigmore Hall — fell victim to the pandemic or were cancelled when she... well, stopped singing. As in: sheet music to the thrift store, dresses in the attic, a hand kiss, and gone.
And now, a child and a design studio later, she is back! Barely half a year after her first buzzing, she was immediately allowed on TV and in the Concertgebouw, so things are running smoothly for now. We'll just have to see where it all ends up. Right, enough about her. How are you?
