About the Play:

Winner of the 2001 Governor General's Award for French-language drama (Canadian equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize).

The Concise Köchel (English version of Le petit Köchel) is a full-length drama by Normand Chaurette, translated by Linda Gaboriau. Two sisters, both concert pianists, share the same house. Two musicologists arrive. The sisters wish to discuss something hidden in their basement – someone has strayed from their score, someone has improvised, the hands of the clock need to be turned back.

The Concise Köchel looks at the demands art places on the artist. A lifetime's devotion to the music of Mozart conceals a gruesome secret. It's All Hallows' Eve, and the Motherwell sisters, Lili and Cecile, have invited their musicologist patrons, the Brunswick sisters, to attend them on this crucial day. All their lives, Lili and Cecile have practiced on their pianos, to the exclusion of everything else. The four women talk about their musical careers and the fact that they had to sacrifice their son to Mozart. The same son, has taken refuge in the cellar, chooses that very day to hang himself downstairs. How old is he by the way? And who is his true mother? The women are now impatient: the child is so demanding!

Cast: 4 female

What people say:

"The situation and dialogue are intriguing… The play may be difficult, but Chaurette's unnerving climax should lead to heated and extended discussions in the lobby after the play is over." — Stage Directions

"The Concise Köchel cannot be substituted for the 'Complete' catalogue. Published in response to the many requests from musicologists and musicians received by the publishers Breitkopf and Hartel, this abridged, less costly and easier to handle edition is designed to meet the most frequent needs of those interested in the works of Mozart." — From the Introduction

About the Playwright:

Normand Chaurette (1954-2022) was a Québec playwright, translator and non-fiction author based in his native Montréal. A three-time winner of the Governor General's Award for French-language drama (Canadian equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize), he excelled on all levels of writing: his plays and translations of plays have been staged and acclaimed internationally, particularly in the U.S. and Europe. His own plays have also been translated into several languages.