Pierre-Laurent Aimard poses with a piano. (Courtesy of pierrelaurentaimard.com)
French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard will present “Beethoven, the Avant-gardist” at Macky Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
Aimard, who studied at the Paris Conservatory, has received international renown for his virtuosic skill. After winning the prestigious Olivier Messiaen Competition in 1973, he joined Pierre Boulez’s Ensemble Intercontemporain, a Parisian contemporary music ensemble. He left the group in 1991 to become a soloist and now regularly performs with major orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony. Aimard has premiered numerous contemporary works, including Carters “Epigrams” and Sir Harrison Birtwistle’s “Responses.”
Tuesday’s program will focus on Beethoven as 2020 marks the composer’s 250th birthday. Aimard will juxtapose two classic Beethoven compositions, “Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2” and “Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major, Op. 101,” with works by composers from various eras, including contemporary composers Oliver Messiaen and George Benjamin and 16th-century Dutch composer Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck.
More information about tickets can be found here.
Contact CU Independent Assistant Arts Editor Isabella Fincher at isabella.fincher@colorado.edu.
