Leonora plays Déodat

Come and discover a singular composer, Déodat de Séverac (1872-1921), with the pianist Leonora Armellini. Born in Languedoc in south-western France, trained at the Toulouse Conservatoire and the Schola Cantorum in Paris, he contributed to the renewal of French music (and the avoidance of Wagnerian influence) by drawing on the traditional melodies of his native region. To highlight his position in the ebullient period of the Belle Époque, this programme also features pieces by Claude Debussy (with whom he has features in common). It ends with the Chants d'Espagne and the Champagne Valse by Isaac Albéniz, who shared Déodat de Séverac’s enthusiasm for the music of the Catalan region that straddles the border of France and Spain.