Lucas Debargue: Beethoven, Gershwin & Liszt

Lucas Debargue plays Queen Elizabeth Hall on Sunday 18 April 2027, starting at 7pm. It's a solo piano recital that runs about an hour and 45 minutes, and it's part of the Southbank Centre's Classical Season for Spring/Summer 2027.

The programme brings together Scarlatti, Beethoven and Liszt, with one addition that marks Debargue as a composer as well as a pianist: his own variations on Gershwin's Summertime. That's the one piece of the night he's written himself, and it sits alongside the better-known names. The recital is described as one of imagination, drama and transformation, where familiar music takes unexpected turns.

Debargue is known for a very personal reading of a carefully selected repertoire, and he draws on literature, painting, jazz and cinema to shape how he approaches it. That mix comes through in the programme, which spans from the Baroque clarity of Scarlatti through the weight of Beethoven and the virtuosity of Liszt, and then lands on Gershwin, a jazz standard turned into something of his own. It's a wide reach for one evening, and the hour-and-three-quarter runtime gives it plenty of room to breathe.

Standard entry starts from £24, with concessions available. The recital is part of the Southbank Centre's Classical Season for Spring/Summer 2027, and there's a multi-buy discount if you're booking several concerts from that season. Age guidance is for ages 7 and up, and under-12s need to be accompanied by an adult.