{"id":111984,"date":"2025-02-19T16:46:57","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T21:46:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=111984"},"modified":"2025-02-20T07:00:02","modified_gmt":"2025-02-20T12:00:02","slug":"preview-pianist-pierre-laurent-aimard-returns-north-america-including-toronto-date-february-28","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/02\/19\/preview-pianist-pierre-laurent-aimard-returns-north-america-including-toronto-date-february-28\/","title":{"rendered":"PREVIEW | Pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard Returns To North America, Including Toronto Date February 28"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Pianist
Pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard (Photo: Marco Borggreve)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard makes a return to North America this season, with a Toronto appearance at Koerner Hall on February 28. The tour was launched in part to honour friend and late mentor Pierre Boulez, whose 100th birthday falls this March.<\/p>\n

Along with the Toronto date, he\u2019ll perform two recitals at New York\u2019s Carnegie Hall and Qu\u00e9bec City in March.<\/p>\n

His Toronto and New York dates emphasize the Boulez connection.<\/p>\n

Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Pierre Boulez<\/h3>\n

Pierre-Laurent Aimard was born in Lyon, France, where he began his music studies at the Conservatoire. He\u2019d later study privately with Yvonne Liord (second wife of Olivier Messiaen), and Italian pianist and teacher Maria Curcio.<\/p>\n

In 1973, at the age of 16, he won the chamber music prize at the Paris Conservatoire \u2014 <\/em>and later that year, first prize a the Olivier Messiaen Competition.<\/p>\n

Aimard\u2019s musical and personal history with Pierre Boulez (1925\u20132016), a giant of 20th century classical music, began when Boulez invited the then 19-year-old pianist to become a founding member of Ensemble Intercontemporain. Boulez founded EIC specifically to explore new compositional and performance techniques, including his own music.<\/p>\n

Aimard frequently collaborated with the influential composer and conductor, including premiering his work R\u00e9pons, and many recordings, one of which snagged a Grammy nomination.<\/p>\n

Prior to Boulez\u2019 death, Aimard talked about working with him as both composer and mentor in an interview<\/a>. \u201cAlmost every rehearsal was a music lesson, a way to discover a piece, little by little. \u2026 He likes to put interpreters at the border of what\u2019s possible and what is not. If you like that, it\u2019s incredibly exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since that time, Pierre-Laurent has been a strong advocate of Boulez\u2019 work, and more broadly, of 20th century music.<\/p>\n

The Program<\/h3>\n

Aimard will perform three of Boulez\u2019 major works for solo piano at his Toronto recital:<\/p>\n