Encore! An All-French Piano Matinée

The Piano That Brought Us Home
An All-French Piano Matinée
Archie Chen & Rhona Gouldson-Chen

Two pianists, one intimate all-French matinée. Spokane husband-and-wife duo Archie Chen and Rhona Gouldson-Chen play Debussy, Fauré, Poulenc, Ravel, and Yann Tiersen — solo piano and four hands — on the historic grand piano that now lives at Hamilton Studio.

The program travels from the French salon to the cinematic France of Amélie: Debussy’s light, Fauré’s tenderness, Poulenc’s wit, Ravel’s jewelled precision, and the melancholy lyricism of Yann Tiersen. In four-hands playing there is no soloist and no accompanist, just one instrument and two people breathing together.

The piano itself has a story. According to Chen, it is the same Young Chang grand that appeared on his family’s lawn when he was fourteen, quietly arranged by a circle of Spokane music lovers who had noticed a gifted boy. Years later, it has found a permanent home at Hamilton Studio, where all of Spokane can hear it sing.

Encore! is the second concert in The Living Piano series at Hamilton Studio, following Emerald Keys.

Sunday, November 1, 2026 · 3:00 p.m. (doors 2:30 p.m.)
Hamilton Studio Listening Room, 1427 W. Dean Ave., Spokane, WA 99201
Approximately 90 minutes, no intermission
Tickets: $40 at hamilton.live