Pierre-Laurent Aimard at Carnegie Hall
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CD Details
Composer: Alban BergComposer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Composer: Franz Liszt
Composer: Claude Debussy
Composer: Gyorgy Ligeti
Composer: Olivier Messiaen
Performer: Pierre-Laurent Aimard
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2002-06-25
Music Label: Teldec
Soundtracks:
- Berg: Piano Sonata
- Beethoven: Sonata No. 23 in F-Minor Op. 57: Allegro assai
- Beethoven: Sonata No. 23 in F-Minor Op. 57: Andante con moto
- Beethoven: Sonata No. 23 in F-Minor Op. 57: Allegro ma non
- Liszt: Legendes, No. 2 "St Francis de Paule marchant sur les flots"
- Debussy: Images pour piano: Reflets dans l'eau
- Debussy: Images pour piano: Poissions d'or
- Etudes for piano, book 1: Cordes a vide
- Etudes for piano, book 1: Automne a Varsovie
- Der Zauberiehrling
- Messiaen: Vingt Regards sur ;'Enfant Jesus: Premiere communion de la
- Debussy: Douze Etudes pour piano: Pour les huit doigts
Music reviews of Pierre-Laurent Aimard at Carnegie Hall
Music Review: Few recitals are so spirited and exciting!
Rating: 5 Stars
This is an absolutely spectacular disc with revelatory playing. It is often said that today's pianists aren't very interesting compared to artists of the past, but Pierre-Laurent Aimard proves exactly the opposite here. His recital at Carnegie Hall in December 2001 was a great event and it has fortunately been captured on disc. Throughout the whole disc you can feel the thrill that hangs over the event, particularly because of Aimard's spellbinding playing. I attended a splendid recital by him some time ago, and this disc contains exactly the same excitement that I felt over there. What makes Aimard's playing so fascinating is that he has a great `control' over his music, combined with a beautifully clear toucher, high expressivity and a gorgeous tone throughout. At every moment you listen to an artist who is in full command of the music he plays, however difficult the piece is. And what is more, he can also keep the longest and most complex structures in his hands. This is probably one of the great benefits of Aimard's modern training, as most modern music requires an enormous amount of concentration and clarity. He plays in fact all pieces on this disc with the same full-bodied, clear and expressive approach, and it works wonderfully as much in Beethoven as it does in Ligeti. It's also interesting to note that the program isn't an arbitrary combination but very well thought out: the first part consists of two densely architectural works, the Berg and Beethoven sonatas, while the second part contains three different kind of visual and imaginative pieces, evolving from Liszt and Debussy to Ligeti.
The Berg sonata opens the recital, and here you immediately hear how much Aimard gets to the core of this highly complex and powerful, dramatic composition: the whole performance is brought out with a commanding and strong attitude, with a great feeling of sphere and tonal colour that keeps the listener in awe for the entire 11 minutes of the piece. The next piece on the disc is no less a work than Beethoven's Appassionata. Aimard turns in what is one of my very favourite versions of this piece. I have probably practiced this sonata myself more than any other work, and am always most interested to hear a new take on the sonata. I've always admired, among others, the intellectuality of Brendel, the drama of Arrau and the personality and forcefulness of Kovacevich, but Aimard seems to unite all these visions into one all-encompassing performance. He never looses grip of the tension in the first movement, and then follows the theme with variations which is very bold, solemn and also a little spiced. And I don't know of a more intense and exciting performance of the sonata's final, except Richter's perhaps.
Some less structured but rather impressionistic works form the second half, and here Aimard is just as much thrilling and uplifting. The Liszt Legende is truly amazing, played with so much vision and religiosity. But what is really remarkable here, is the gigantic tension bow Aimard creates: during the first five minutes he sustains one long crescendo! From the first mysterious left-hand waves to the blasting (though not bombastic) climax, to the final quietness, this is one superbly engaging performance. The Debussy works are filled with mystery and suggestiveness, but always perfectly clear and fresh, just as you might expect in works that resemble this `watery' sphere. Then there are the two Ligeti etudes: the subtle meanness of Cordes a vide and the mysterious and explosive Automne a Varsovie. The latter etude has the pianist playing in four (!) different tempos, as the booklet says. The piece begins softly but with a lot of unrest, and this ever develops and finishes into a mass assault at the bass keys. Aimard plays through the piece with the same full control as always and you've got to hear how he performs the last minute of this piece!
As a finish of the recital, three encores follow, all with their own interesting contents. First comes Ligeti's amazing `die Zauberlehrling' (with a kind of piano pyrotechnics you seldom hear; actually I hardly believed I was hearing a piano!). One of Messiaen's twenty `Regards' is the second encore, a peaceful piece with a funny dance rhythm and disturbing atonal chords in the mid part. Here, Aimard may be at home more than anywhere else, and his performance is incredibly moving and beautiful. Finally, there's a Debussy etude, `Pour les huit doigts' which is played with unbelievable virtuosity and swiftness.
The audience is extremely enthusiastic (ok, it's Carnegie Hall but even then!) and with very good reason. Solo recitals seldom get this good nowadays. What also adds to the pleasure of this disc, is the fact that everything is presented as naturally as possible: only the most urgent flaws (coughs etc.) were removed and for the rest everything sounds as it did in the hall. Additionally, there are hardly any cuts in the applause if I have listened well: it all adds to the feeling of being in that hall yourself. In conclusion, this is an extremely satisfying, exciting and insightful disc that no one should miss. You owe it to yourself to hear this. My highest possible recommendation.
Description of Pierre-Laurent Aimard at Carnegie Hall
Pierre-Laurent Aimard is a remarkable pianist, and this concert, taped live at Carnegie Hall in December 2001 (and only barely touched up), is living proof. The Berg actually sounds perfectly Classical, the Beethoven is clearly, beautifully played (with only the final movement slightly lacking in thrills), and the Liszt is less aggressively showy than it can be. The two Debussy "watery" works are gorgeous--misty yet easy to make out--and the Ligeti come across as approachable, sensible, and fascinating, instead of mere clusters of sound, which can often be the case. And nobody beats Aimard in Messiaen: the seven-minute piece of Vingt regards whets one's appetite for the whole work. Aimard is never a sentimentalist and he never dances on the keys; the playing is full-bodied and exciting. This was clearly quite an event, but it works just as well piece-by-piece. Highly recommended. --Robert LevineClassical CDs
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