Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra 'Ligeti Piano Concerto'... Collaboration with Pierre-Laurent Aimard

At Lotte Concert Hall on the 19th and 20th

French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard, recognized as a specialist in contemporary music, will collaborate for the first time with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO).

The SPO will present the regular concert "Pierre-Laurent Aimard's Ligeti Piano Concerto" at Lotte Concert Hall on the 19th and 20th. The conductor is David Robertson, an American-born maestro acclaimed for his interpretation of contemporary music.

Aimard and Robertson will perform Hungarian master composer Gy?rgy Ligeti's "Piano Concerto" during the second half of the concert. Composed in 1998, Ligeti's piano concerto is regarded as an important repertoire in the history of contemporary music. However, opportunities to hear it are rare due to its complexity and difficulty, which demand intense concentration from the pianist. This performance is organized to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Ligeti's birth.

Aimard won the Messiaen Competition at the age of 16. He has been highly regarded by contemporary music giants such as Ligeti, Boulez, and Messiaen. In particular, Ligeti himself praised Aimard as the pianist who best understood and perfectly performed his works during his lifetime. This is why Aimard's collaboration on Ligeti's piano concerto is highly anticipated. Aimard is also the teacher of Korea's representative composer Jin Eun-sook.

Aimard visited Korea twice, in 2012 and 2016, for solo recitals. Recently, he released an album featuring Beethoven's "Hammerklavier Sonata" and "Eroica Variations," which received critical acclaim. Additionally, he was awarded the Danish L?onie Sonning Music Prize last year.

Conductor David Robertson is active on major stages of opera, orchestral, and contemporary music, having led prominent ensembles such as the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and Vienna Philharmonic. Since his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1996, Robertson has maintained a continuous collaboration with the Met Opera. Notably, he received the 2021 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording for George Gershwin's opera "Porgy and Bess," which opened the 2019?2020 season. He has also received numerous artistic honors, including the French Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalier). Robertson serves as a visiting professor of conducting at the Juilliard School in New York and as an advisory board member of the Tianjin Juilliard School. Recently, he conducted the Tongyeong Festival Orchestra at the opening concert of the 2023 Tongyeong International Music Festival.

During the first half of the concert, the SPO will perform Claude Debussy's "Images" for orchestra, a work he devoted the longest period to completing. In the second half, alongside Ligeti's piano concerto, they will perform Maurice Ravel's "Rapsodie espagnole."

Debussy's "Images" consists of three pieces ("Gigues," "Ib?ria," and "Rondeau de printemps"), each with independent content and differing premiere and publication dates, making it rare for all three to be performed together on one stage. This SPO concert offers a great opportunity to experience the complete work live.

The first piece, "Gigues," expresses Debussy's impressions from his travels in England, featuring the tender sound of the oboe d'amore and a lively folk dance rhythm of the gigue. The second piece, "Ib?ria," is characterized by Spanish-inspired motifs, evoking exotic melodies. The third piece, "Rondeau de printemps," conjures a warm spring day with the gentle waves of harp and strings accompanied by the transparent tones of flute and oboe.

Finally, Ravel's "Rapsodie espagnole," filled with the distinctive atmosphere of Spain, will be performed. Utilizing the habanera rhythm, the piece depicts a lively festival.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.