Pierre-Laurent Aimard Plays Messiaen’s Vingt regards sur l’enfant-Jésus in Paris Today and Bartók Concertos in Seattle and San Francisco This Spring; Wins Denmark’s Sonning Prize
Pierre-Laurent Aimard (photo: Marco Borggreve)
Long known as one of the world’s most passionate interpreters of the works of Messiaen, today Pierre-Laurent Aimard – who was mentored as a young man by the composer and his second wife, Yvonne Loriod – plays Messiaen’s two-hour cycle Vingt regards sur l’enfant-Jésus at the Philharmonie de Paris (Feb 15). Soon thereafter, the pianist returns to the U.S. for an all-fantasia solo recital for Baltimore’s Candlelight Concert Society, with composers ranging from Mozart to George Benjamin (Feb 27). The concert will be livestreamed and available to view for two weeks after the event; tickets are available here. Aimard also performs with two U.S. orchestras this season, playing Bartók’s Second Piano Concerto with the Seattle Symphony led by Finnish conductor Dalia Stasevska, who makes her debut with the orchestra (March 3 & 5); and two performances each of the same composer’s First and Third Piano Concertos with the San Francisco Symphony conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen (June 16–19). Finally, the announcement was made in January that Aimard will be awarded Denmark’s prestigious Léonie Sonning Music Prize in the fall. The award will be given during a concert featuring the pianist with the Royal Danish Orchestra led by Sylvain Cambreling, and in the surrounding days he will play two solo recitals, give a masterclass and participate in an artist talk (Oct 4–9). In addition, Aimard performs Messiaen’s complete Catalogue d’oiseaux – which was captured on his 2018 debut recording for the Pentatone label and honored with the prestigious German Music Critics’ Award – in a series of three concerts over the course of a day in Humlebaek, Denmark at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art (May 29).
When Aimard played Vingt regards in London in 2016, Seen and Heard International raved about his interpretation of what is “arguably the most significant piano cycle of the twentieth century,” calling it “a truly outstanding performance, one which audience members could properly consider themselves privileged to experience. Unforgettable.” Likewise, when his recording of the work was released on the Teldec label in 2000, the New York Times called it “a thoroughly spectacular recording of [Messiaen’s] greatest solo piano work.” The same review continued:
“It is furiously virtuosic, conceived for a musician whose hands could skid and slam and tremble to produce an enormous variety of colors. … Mr. Aimard has the full measure of its vigor and its brilliance – though it is not easy to know what is most impressive here: the vividness of so many different piano sounds or the exemplary directness with which they are executed.”
As this year’s honoree of the Léonie Sonning Music Prize, Denmark’s most important music award, Aimard joins a storied list of recipients that stretches back to 1959, the prize’s inaugural year, when it was awarded to Igor Stravinsky. In the award concert with the Royal Danish Orchestra led by Sylvain Cambreling, the pianist will perform Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, George Benjamin’s Duet for piano and orchestra, and Messiaen’s Oiseaux exotiques. On receiving news of the honor, Aimard responded:
“It is a great honor and joy to be receiving the Léonie Sonning Music Prize. I am very touched that I have been considered alongside other remarkable and distinguished artists who have had the privilege of receiving this distinction.”
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Pierre-Laurent Aimard: winter-spring engagements plus Sonning Prize concerts
Feb 15
Paris, France
Cité de la Musique
Philharmonie de Paris
MESSIAEN: Vingt regards sur l’enfant-Jésus
Feb 27
Baltimore, Maryland
Candlelight Concert Society
Linehan Hall
MOZART: Fantasie in D minor, K. 397
SWEELINCK: Fantasia cromatica, SwWV 258
MOZART: Fantasie in C minor, K. 475
VOLKONSKY: Musica Stricta
MOZART: Fantasie in F minor (Fragment) K. Anh. 32
C.P.E. BACH: Fantasia for Keyboard in C, Wq 59/6
MOZART: Fantasie in C minor, K. 396
BEETHOVEN: Fantasia for Piano, Op. 77
GEORGE BENJAMIN: Fantasy on Iambic Rhythm for piano
March 3 & 5
Seattle, Washington
Seattle Symphony Orchestra / Dalia Stasevska, conductor
S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium Hall – Benaroya Hall
BARTÓK: Concerto for Piano No. 2
March 20
Walden, England
Saffron Hall
Johann Sebastian Bach
The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II
March 24 & 27
Hamburg, Germany
NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester
Elbphilharmonie Hamburg
MURAIL: Le Désenchantement du Monde
March 25
Lübeck, Germany
NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester
Elbphilharmonie Hamburg
MURAIL: Le Désenchantement du Monde
March 29
Dublin, Ireland
National Concert Hall Dublin
SWEELINCK: Fantasia cromatica, SwWV 258
MOZART: Fantasie in D minor, K. 397
CARTER: Night Fantasies
MOZART: Fantasie in C minor, K. 475
MOZART: Fantasie in F minor (Fragment) K. Anh. 32
C.P.E. BACH: Fantasia for Keyboard in C, Wq 59/6
MOZART: Fantasie in C minor, K. 396
BEETHOVEN: Fantasia for Piano, Op. 77
GEORGE BENJAMIN: Fantasy on Iambic Rhythm for piano
April 3
Ludwigshafen, Germany
BASF Ludwigshafen
With Lorenzo Soulès, piano
DEBUSSY: Six Épigraphes antiques
ISAAC ALBÉNIZ: Iberia (excerpt)
YVES CHAURIS: Sonata
RAVEL: Miroirs (excerpt)
MESSIAEN: Visions de l’Amen for two pianos (excerpt)
April 5
Milan, Italy
Recital
April 6
Turin, Italy
Recital
April 7
La Spezia, Italy
Teatro Civico
Recital
April 9
Florence, Italy
Teatro della Pergola
Recital
April 12–14
Paris, France
Cité de la Musique
Philharmonie de Paris
BACH: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Books I & II
With choreographers and dancers Saburo Teshigawara and Rihoko Sato
April 23
Weimar, Germany
Thüringer Bachwochen
BACH: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II
April 28–30, May 5-10
German tour with HR Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt
DEBUSSY: Fantaisie pour piano et orchestre
April 28–29; May 5: Frankfurt (Alte Oper)
April 30: Essen (Philharmonie Essen)
MESSIAEN: Réveil des oiseaux for piano and orchestra
May 5: Frankfurt (Alte Oper)
May 6: Antwerp, Belgium
May 9: Berlin (Philharmonie Berlin)
May 10: Hamburg (Elbphilharmonie)
May 12–13
Clermont-Ferrand, France
Opéra-Théâtre de Clermont-Ferrand
MOZART: Concerto for Piano No. 27 in B-flat, K. 595
May 17
Munich, Germany
Allerheiligen-Hofkirche
Recital
May 19
Wattens, Austria
SCHUBERT: Dances for Piano
GYÖRGY KURTÁG: Eight Pieces for Piano
May 21
Eppan, Italy
Recital
May 29
Humlebaek, Denmark
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
Olivier Messiaen: Catalogue d’oiseaux
Three concerts (30-60’ each) in the park of the museum.
In case of bad weather, the concerts will be played in the concert hall.
June 16–19
San Francisco, California
San Francisco Symphony / Esa-Pekka Salonen
BARTÓK: Concerto for Piano No. 1
BARTÓK: Concerto for Piano No. 3
Oct 4
Copenhagen, Denmark
Solo recital – Fantasie and Insectarium!
Dronningesalen. The Black Diamond, Royal Library.
SWEELINCK: Fantasia cromatica, SwWV 258
C.P.E. BACH: Fantasia for Keyboard in C, Wq 59/6
MOZART: Fantasie in C minor, K. 475
MOZART: Fantasie in F minor, K. 608
GEORGE BENJAMIN: Fantasy on Iambic Rhythm for piano”
OBUKHOV: TBA
RUED LANGGAARD: Insectarium
LIGETI: Étude XX / SCRIABIN: Sonata No. 10
BARTÓK: Out of Doors
Oct 5
Frederiksberg, Denmark
The Royal Danish Academy of Music
Artist talk with Aimard and piano technician Stefan Knüpfer.
Pianomania (2009 documentary)
Oct 7
Copenhagen, Denmark
Léonie Sonning Music Prize Concert 2022
The Royal Danish Orchestra / Sylvain Cambreling
BERLIOZ: Roman Carnival Overture
BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C-minor, Op. 37
GEORGE BENJAMIN: Duet
MESSIAEN: Oiseaux exotiques
Oct 8
Copenhagen, Denmark
Masterclass
With piano students from the Danish Music Academies
Oct 9
Aarhus, Denmark
Solo recital
Aarhus Concert Hall
SWEELINCK: Fantasia cromatica, SwWV 258
C.P.E. BACH: Fantasia for Keyboard in C, Wq 59/6
MOZART: Fantasie in C minor, K. 475
MOZART: Fantasie in F minor, K. 608
George BENJAMIN: Fantasy on Iambic Rhythm for piano
OBUKHOV: TBA
RUED LANGGAARD: Insectarium
LIGETI: Étude XX / SCRIABIN: Sonata No. 10
BARTÓK: Out of Doors
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