PianoCité is a monthly concert series featuring the talented pianists currently living at the Cité internationale universitaire de Paris. Each concert is held in a different residence, allowing the audience to discover the diverse musical universes of the muscians, the architectural styles of the buildings, and the unique soul of the pianos on campus, including the FEU’s Steinway.
This year, the FEU is delighted to welcome pianist Leonor Mendes, a former resident of the Maison du Portugal – André de Gouveia, who will perform Debussy’s Études pour piano, and FEU piansit in residency Samuel Gaskin. This concert is a rare opportunity to hear these études in their entirety.
Earlier in the season, FEU resident pianists Edgar Jaber and Samuel Gaskin were invited to play at Maison Ile de France, and Ian Tomaz performed at Collège franco-britannique.
Pratical Information
Date Sunday, June 2nd | Time 5pm | Facebook Event
Program
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Études pour piano L.136,
Étude 1 “pour les cinq doigts d’après Monsieur Czerny”
Étude 2 “pour les tierces”
Étude 3 “pour les quartes”
Étude 4 “pour les sixtes”
Étude 5 “pour les octaves”
Étude 6 “pour les huit doigts”
Étude 7 “pour les degrés chromatiques”
Étude 8 “pour les agréments”
Étude 9 “pour les notes répétées”
Étude 10 “pour les sonorités opposées”
Étude 11 “pour les arpèges composés”
Étude 12 “pour les accords”
Leonor Mendes, piano
Improvisations
Samuel Gaskin, piano
About the Artist
Leonor Mendes began her musical studies at the age of 6 at the Academy of Music and Dance of Fundão, where, in 2015, she completed highschool in piano with the maximum mark, in the class of Tamara Antontseva. The same year she joined the University of Aveiro with a merit scholarship where she began to be guided by Professor Álvaro Teixeira-Lopes, concluding in 2018 with the “Municipality of Aveiro” Prize for the best finalist student of the Music Bachelors. Between 2018 and 2023 she studied at the École Normale de Musique de Paris Alfred Cortot, initially with Professor Guigla Katsarava and then with Msr. Michael Wladkowski, always with a scholarship. Here she obtained the “Diplôme d’exécution” unanimously from the jury in 2019, the “Diplôme Supérieur d’enseignement” in 2020, the “Diplôme Supérieur d’Exécution” in 2021, and more recently, in May 2023, the famous “Diplôme Supérieur de Concertiste” or “Artist’s Diploma” with distinction “Très bien”. She is now a student at the Haute École de Musique de Genève where she is doing a Masters in Musical Interpretation (Performance) in the class of Professor Sylviane Deferne. The young pianist has already won several prizes in national and international competitions. She has already performed in several venues in Portugal, including the Casa da Música and the Belém Cultural Center, but also in other countries such as Spain, Italy, France, Poland and Germany , giving concerts regularly at the Maison du Portugal – André de Gouveia, in Paris. She made her debut as a soloist at just 13 years old, accompanied by the MIMA orchestra and under the direction of Rogério Peixinho, and collaborated more recently with the Classical Orchestra of the University of Aveiro and Maestro André Fonseca . She also recorded Lyric Pieces by Grieg for Radio TSF in Portugal.
As a keyboardist and improviser, Samuel Gaskin is interested in music of many genres. He has played harpsichord with the San Antonio Symphony, as well as piano in a number of jazz and folk music groups. Winner of the 2016 University of Michigan Organ Competition, Samuel explores the sometimes contradictory relationship between improvisation and composition. As a composer, his recent creations include Domenican Nights, for flute and piano, and In Memoriam: Chick Corea, written for the Unheard-of Ensemble. He holds a Master’s Degree in organ performance from the University of North Texas. Recipient of a Fulbright scholarship for the 2022-23 academic year, Samuel continues his organ studies as part of a Prix de Perfectionnement at the Conservatoire à rayonnement régional de Versailles with Jean-Baptiste Robin, as well as independent studies with improviser/composer Thierry Escaich.