Lucas Debargue Plays Camille Saint-Saëns’ Egyptian Piano Concerto

The 5th Piano Concerto was given the nickname Egyptian because it was composed during the composer’s stay in Luxor. Saint-Saëns, who was constantly travelling until his late years, mainly uses Egyptian, but also broader travel impressions here. In fact, this work contains not only oriental sounds inspired by Egypt, but also Far Eastern sounds in the second movement. The French pianist Lucas Debargue apparently came out of nowhere, had no piano of his own, taught himself how to play. Then he became a star at the feared Tchaikovsky Competition in 2015. Since then he has played all over the world.