Duisburg
French keyboard music spanning five centuries unfolds across eight distinct concerts during the Lange Duisburger Claviernacht. From the ornate delicacy of the Baroque era to the bold harmonic landscapes of modern compositions, Folkwang Musiker*innen—both students and faculty—bring an extraordinary repertoire to life on historic and contemporary instruments. Each hour introduces a new thematic chapter and sonic world. Early sessions feature four-hand French piano works by Cécile Chaminade, Gabriel Fauré, Claude Debussy, and Francis Poulenc, followed by regal harpsichord performances celebrating François Couperin, Georg Friedrich Händel, Jean-Philippe Rameau, and Maurice Ravel. An insightful lecture-concert explores the eighteenth-century French practice of *Ravalement*—the art of rebuilding and expanding historical harpsichords. As the evening deepens, the atmosphere shifts into a convivial Salon de la musique, pairing piano masterpieces by Camille Saint-Saëns and Frédéric Chopin with wine and cheese. Late-night hours contrast early French harpsichord pioneers like Jacques Champion de Chambonnières, Louis Couperin, and Jean-Henri d’Anglebert with the modern sonorities of Olivier Messiaen and Tōru Takemitsu, culminating in a monumental two-piano finale of Igor Strawinsky's *Le Sacre du printemps*.
