The Gershwin Variations by internationally renowned pianist Lucas Debargue present themselves as an ambitious and unprecedented project, born from the desire to explore a radically different universe after recording Scarlatti’s sonatas and the complete works of Fauré. This double album is an ode to George Gershwin, an unclassifiable composer situated on the border between classical music and jazz, whose singularity inspired Lucas to create in turn a work impossible to categorize. The album is structured in two parts, each as grand and virtuosic as the other... each with its own distinct singularities. The first, recorded at the Philharmonie de Paris on Stephen Paulello’s unique SP/287 piano, presents emblematic works by Gershwin, including the Concerto in F with the Orchestre de Paris under the direction of Elim Chan, the three piano preludes, and a personal version of Rhapsody in Blue enriched by the pianist’s cadenzas. The second part, recorded in the Paulello studio, is entirely devoted to twelve virtuosic études composed by Lucas from Gershwin’s most popular songs, spanning all chromatic keys. This cycle represents, to date, the most ambitious creation of his career as a pianist, affirming a desire for freedom and invention, and belongs to the tradition of the great composers who wrote their own études. The Gershwin Variations are neither a classical record nor a jazz record, but a hybrid work, reflecting the nonconformist spirit and the American dream embodied by Gershwin. Lucas thus offers a bold and poetic reinterpretation, where counterpoint, shifting harmonies and unusual rhythms reveal the richness of Gershwin’s melodies. He invites the listener to rediscover a repertoire where popularity is never synonymous with triviality, and where music becomes a space of freedom, audacity and vitality.