Published: November 10, 2009 12:24 pm      

French pianist performing Sunday

ADA — French pianist Hugues Leclère will perform at 3 p.m. Sunday at Ada Arts & Heritage Center, 400 S. Rennie.

The free concert is part of East Central University’s Concert Series and the Scissortail Arts Series and is sponsored by the ECU Music Department and the Oklahoma Arts Council.

In addition to his career as a concert performer, Leclère has taught at the Paris Conservatory (Conservatoire Supérieur de Paris) since 1995 and is the artistic director of the Nancyphonies Festival and the European Music Masterclasses in Nancy.

Since 2001 he has collaborated with the CCN Ballet National de Lorraine (especially Tchaikovsky and Bartok) and proposes various original shows which combine different artistic expressions.

An outstanding interpreter of Debussy, Ravel and their contemporaries, he confirms his full maturity in the German repertoire (Haydn, Beethoven, Brahms) which he performs solo or in chamber music.

His passion for Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven brought him to research the original sonority of classical instruments. Since 1997 he has had his own pianoforte with a clear sound perfect for the late 18th century masterpieces.

Leclère perfected his playing with Catherine Collard before entering the Paris National Conservatory (Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique) where he graduated with high honors in piano, music theory and chamber music.

He performs recitals across France and in the United States, Japan, China, Netherlands, Germany, Morocco, Belarus, Italy, Spain and Portugal and is invited to play with different orchestras.

An active participant in contemporary artistic life, Leclère works with many composers, contributing to commissions for new works.