(September 2022)—On September 23, Grammy-winning French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard releases Visions on the Pentatone label with pianist Tamara Stefanovich, the centerpiece of which is Olivier Messiaen’s rapturous two-piano Visions de l’Amen, complemented by solo piano music from Georges Enescu, Oliver Knussen and Harrison Birtwistle. Live Messiaen performances are also prominent in the pianist’s 2022-23 season, including the Catalogue d’oiseaux at Tokyo Opera City and Oiseaux exotiques in Copenhagen in conjunction with Aimard’s receipt of the prestigious Sonning Music Prize. The season marks the centennial of Hungarian composer György Ligeti, with whom, like Messiaen, Aimard worked closely; the pianist celebrates the occasion with a high-profile performance of Ligeti’s Études at the Paris Philharmonie, as well as performances of his Concerto for Piano with David Robertson leading the Seoul Philharmonic and the Karajan Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker led by Susanna Mälkki, and a duo performance of Ligeti works with pianist Michael Wollny in Berlin. Highlights of Aimard’s U.S. engagements include recorded performances of Bartók’s Second Piano Concerto with the San Francisco Symphony led by Esa-Pekka Salonen, completing a cycle that will also be released on Pentatone; a La Jolla Music Society recital program alternating Fantasias by Mozart with examples of the genre by composers from Sweelinck to George Benjamin; and performances of Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the direction of Iceland Symphony Chief Conductor Eva Ollikainen.

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