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
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 cl... more »early, 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 Levine« less
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 Levine
CD Reviews
Great Musicianship, Athletic Pianism
hjonkers | 07/16/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a stunning disk, enthusiastically recommended! There is a wide range of repertoire, beautifully reverberating Carnegie Hall sound, and awesome fingerwork. I'm a pianist presently learning the "Appassionata," and Mr. Aimard's version is suitably stirring and fiery (ripping all those diminished sevenths!). The review on the Amazon page said the last movement lacked in thrills, but that was decidedly not my impression. I got the feeling, though, that he was less comfortable with the 19th century pieces than with the 20th century ones. The Berg Sonata is a beautiful piece sensitively played: ever-shifting chromaticism in the service of Mr. Berg's Romantic temperament. The Messiaen fragment (only one movement out of 20!) jumps with rhythmic life in the middle section. The Debussy has a gossamer quality to it. This is an amazing pianist and musician, and I wish Teldec had released more of this recital on a double disk. The only caveat: if you don't like contemporary music (although Debussy and Berg can't really be considered contemporary if they composed 90 years ago), you may not like this disk."
A Thrilling Recital Disc
50cent-haircut | 10/26/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I'd only heard Aimard play Ligeti and Messiaen on disc, and it was a revelation for me to hear him play Beethoven, Liszt and Debussy. Although the Ligeti etudes lack the elan of his playing on his previous recording of the Books I and II, you can hardly argue with the man's love and conviction in the interpretation. The Appasionata is sublime. Apart from Brendel's EMI recording and Richter's, this is my favorite interpretation. There's a thrilling tightrope-walking here, between brio and control. It's an aristocratic sturm-und-drang performance that never preens in academia or rigid classicism. The Berg sonata is passionate, and the Liszt's Legende is poetic. His offering of Debussy is tantalizing here, especially given that in the CD booklet, he lets us know that his next recording will be of Debussy. All in all, a highly recommendable disc."
Why have I given this cd 5 stars?
Luke birkla | Leeds, UK | 06/12/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The playing is always insightful, intelligent and fascinating. Throughout the recital there is never a dull moment, Pierre Laraunt Aimard has an uncanny ability, similarly to Michelangeli and Richter, to summon the work of art almost from the depths or bowels of the earth, and render the piece with visionary sweep. The pieces evolve and metamorphose in the most astonishing manner.
By all accounts this is a staturesque performance. One may disagree with certain readings, for example the Beethoven or Liszt, yet is this not true of all great artists? Great artists do not sit on the fence, they are visionary and although many will find the Beethoven to astringent at times, (the linear harmonic development is quite asperse)not for one second does the listener remain indifferent.
Aimard's forte seems to be in the soundworld of the Debussy and Ligeti. He brings to these pieces a unique tonal translucence; a liquid, pensive sheen graced with a sense of the ineffable.
In the Berg Sonata, Aimard is able to shape and nurture the contrapuntal strands, with cohesive and spontaneous inflection. This is something quite special, it is the best Berg I've ever heard. The Berg's majestic progression is amply projected and the rhetoric of the sonata leaves the music floating..afterwards.
The Messiaen is perfectly controlled. The atmosphere Aimard creates is spiritual. Many performers of Vingt regards etc, often lose the spiritual dimension, which after all inspired Messiaen. Aimard, though, seems to be fully aware of this,(he was after all taught by Yvonne Loriod, Messaien's wife)and so the performance sets a new precedent for the performance of Messiaen. The ending is out of this world...the audience are left in awestruck silence.
This CD presents so many directions. Aimard has the potential to explore so much music, and as such this is a phenomenal recital. For someone to sit down on the piano stool and issue forth music of such divine essence, such intellect and panache....it's up to you!"
Aimard's a bit aseptic, but very musical and interesting
Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 11/02/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The pendulum has swung far away from personality pianists like Horowitz and Rubenstein who were bigger than the music they played, at least so far as audience appeal went. Aimard is definitely of another breed, the superb technicians and sensitive musicians who almost erase their persoanlities. (Only Martha Argerich seems like a throwback to the grandstanders of yesterday, and she is sixty.) Here we get a superb Berg sonata that makes it sound as lyrical as Schumann.
It's followed by a somewhat aseptic Appassionate, however. Every note's in place, and there's a breahttakig continuity that seamlessly gathers everything into one onrush of feeling. but the feeling doesn't go that deep. By comparison, Pollini, who's so often accused of coldness, is actually much more intense and fervent. However, once you get used to Aimard's self-effacement, there's no denying his musicality. This is especially helpful in the Liszt, which is clen-lined but still expansive without indulging in glitz or cheap theatrics.
He's on more familiar ground with the Debussy and Ligeti pieces that follow. Their vocabulary comes as naturally to him as Beethoven came to generations of German pianists. It's startling to find three French virtuosos (Grimaud, Thibaudet, and Aimard) with such big international careers, but audiences don't demand personalaity or tradition anymore. One can't imagine Serkin or Gieseking at home in Ligeti and Messiaen, yet Aimard's range extends even to Charles Ives. This live Carnegie recital shows him off at his best, and there's nno denyig that his playing can be warm and satisfying. He and Grimaud are among the best Beethoven exponents among the new breed. It just takes a bit of adjustment."
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1