Pierre-Laurent Aimard

Tue., March 18, 8 p.m., $26.50, Kimmel Center, 300 S. Broad St., 215-569-8080, pcmsconcerts.org.

by Peter Burwasser

	print	email	reply	rss feed

Published: Mar 11, 2008

classical

There are so many terrific classical music pianists out there today — what makes one stand out? Great chops are a must, but then add imagination and daring, and the special ability to meld intelligence with sensuality. Pierre-Laurent Aimard fits the bill in spades. The French master made his name early on as a new-music specialist (he was a student of Yvonne Loriod, the wife and champion of the late Olivier Messiaen), but his forays into the standard repertoire have been mightily impressive, including a scintillating recording of Schumann. His Philadelphia Chamber Music Society debut is a typically diverse and audacious program, with contemporary music from George Benjamin and 99-year-old Elliot Carter, and selections from Bach's "Art of the Fugue." Aimard will begin and end the concert with this magisterial music, with the newer stuff layered in along the way. By taking nothing for granted, Aimard can make the familiar sound unusual, and the unusual sound familiar.

Tue., March 18, 8 p.m., $26.50, Kimmel Center, 300 S. Broad St., 215-569-8080, pcmsconcerts.org.

 

Bow To No One
Yes We Can (Destroy Y-Rock)
Native American
Soundadvice
Red Heart the Ticker
Tift Merritt
Wolter Wierbos
Lizz Wright