Duo Jatekok to open Le French May

Naïri Badal (left) and Adélaïde Panaget

TO kick off one of the largest cultural events in Asia, Hong Kong and Macau’s Le French May 2018 will present Duo Jatekok, who will perform tonight at the Military Club of Macau.

Duo Jatekok is in the city for the first time, and will open Le French May in Macau, following their recent performance in Kuala Lumpur.

The duo said that they had prepared a special repertoire for the local audience as they are set to play four hands at tonight’s opening and at a masterclass to be held at the University of Macau in the morning.

“We prepared something with Brazilian music and they can remember perhaps something like Portuguese [music] also. We are really happy to play French music because we specialize in this. So we’re really pleased to present all these pieces,” said Nairi Badal, one of the pianists.

This is the fourth time that Hong Kong and Macau’s Le French May is kicking off in the region, and is organized by the University of Macau’s Moon Chun Memorial College.

Following their performance in Macau today, the duo will be performing in Hong Kong this weekend as part of the festival, and then will be heading to Shenzhen and Dalian.

The duo spoke about their excitement to perform to a local audience later today at the Military Club of Macau, citing the different setting and ambience of the location, which will also allow them to interact more with the local audience.

Meanwhile, the duo aims to break the stigma of classical music as it is often perceived as a genre that only caters to the elites.

“For us it’s important to have all generations in the audience. So we try to break the image of classical music to make it reachable and not just for the elite,” Panaget shared.

“It’s important to speak about the music [that we play] because when the audience has an idea about the way of composing the pieces, and about us, it’s easier for them to hear and enjoy the music,” she added.

Panaget also remarked that the duo has been collaborating with different artists, actors and musicians including heavy metal band, Rammstein.

In Hong Kong, the duo will be collaborating with a sand artist, Hoi Chiu, while they tell a tale of Butterfly Lovers, a Chinese legend of a tragic love story. 

“It’s important to mix a lot of cultures. This way, we can have other audience [types come] and think that classical music is great,” said Panaget.

Echoing the same sentiments, Badal stressed that the duo aims to build bridges between classical music and other form of arts, breaking the culture of classical music.

“Some think that classical music can be strict but it’s not true. You just need to relax and open your ears and allow the performers to lead you through their music,” Badal noted.

It was a decade ago that Badal and Panaget formed their duo, after attending the National Superior Paris Conservatory.

Winning two major international piano duo competitions, the duo launched their second album two months ago titled “Les Boys” – a tribute to the American piano duet of Arthur Gold and Robert Fizdale, which features modern and classic repertoires.

The album will be available for sale at their performance today.