The French Cultural Center is delighted to partner with the Boston Athenæum and the Consulate General of France in Boston to present an imaginative and varied performance by Les Amis de Vinteuil, an ensemble composed of gifted pianists Anne-Lise Gastaldi and David Saudubray and actor and theater educator Camille Deveranantes. Based on Gastaldi and Saudubray’s 2015 record L’Oreille de Proust (The Ear of Proust), the performance will feature four-hand piano arrangements typical of 19th-century French salons interwoven with excerpts from the author’s works, reflecting the musical tastes of an influential creative milieu.

L’Oreille de Proust weaves together themes in the author’s writings and offers a sense of the music he enjoyed. Music is one of the central themes of In Search of Lost Time, which Proust wrote throughout the First World War. L’Oreille de Proust is a unique and thoughtful tribute to Marcel Proust and is presented in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the United States’ entry into World War I as an ally to France.