Twenty-first century Liszt from Pierre-Laurent Aimard

By Paul Kilbey, 09 December 2011

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Reviewed at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London on 7 December 2011

Liszt, La Lugubre Gondola for piano, S 200 no. 1

Wagner, Album Sonata in A flat major, WWV 85

Liszt, Nuages gris (Grey Clouds), S 199

Berg, Piano Sonata in B minor, Op.1

Liszt, Unstern! Sinistre, disastro, S 208

Scriabin, Piano Sonata no. 9 in F major, "Black Mass Sonata," Op.68

Liszt, Piano Sonata in B minor, S 178

Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Piano

Salonen leads an electrifying Boulez tribute in New York

Susan Stempleski, 3rd October

The Philharmonic continues its celebration of the composer-conductor’s centennial with pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard as soloist in an innovative program juxtaposing selections by the modernist maestro with pieces by Debussy.

****1

Reflections on Ravel: a three-course piano feast in Ciboure

Mark Pullinger, 2nd September

At the Festival Ravel, Bertrand Chamayou, Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Hyunji Kim perform all the solo piano works at the Église Saint-Vincent, a stone’s throw from the house where Ravel was born.

****1

A novel take on a familiar tune: Tianyi Lu conducts Tchaikovsky 5

Ian Cochrane, 12th March

Tianyi Lu triumphs in her return to Montreal with a distinctive approach to Tchaikovsky's Fifth. Pierre-Laurent Aimard gives a spirited performance of Bartók's Third Piano Concerto.

***11

Dazzlingly dexterous Ravel from Aimard and Vӓnskӓ in Philadelphia

Cameron Kelsall, 7th March

The Philadelphia Orchestra's concert also served as a tribute to Michael Tilson Thomas, who was to have conducted the performance before withdrawing for cancer treatment.

****1

Passion and precision: Aimard plays Schoenberg and Ives

David Grundy, 2nd September

Revolutionary music, a century on: Pierre-Laurent Aimard excels in Schoenberg and Ives.

****1

Elim Chan and the RSNO thrill in three-concerto programme

David Smythe, 18th August

At the Edinburgh International Festival, Alison Balsom plays Wynton Marsalis's Trumpet Concerto, Pierre-Laurent plays Schoenberg's Piano Concerto before the RSNO plays Lutosławski's lively Concerto for Orchestra to finish.

****1

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Paul Kilbey

Paul was Reviews Editor at Bachtrack from 2012 to February 2014. He has written on music and culture for publications including Culture Wars, the Huffington Post, the Independent and the Guardian. He holds BA and MPhil degrees in music from Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, and is particularly passionate about contemporary music of all types. His website is here.