Announcing two world class pianists at Ultima:
Frenchman Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Norwegian Leif Ove Andsnes are both known for the diversity of their repertoire, having delivered seminal performances and recordings of a wide range of music spanning five centuries.
Leif Ove Andsnes takes part in a 60 year celebration of Danish composer Bent Sørensen, playing his Mattinata piano concerto with Det Norske Kammerorkester in an intriguing evening of music (18 September) representing a 24 hour time cycle and including pieces by Haydn and Mozart.
Pierre-Laurent Aimard, partnered by Tamara Stefanovich, performs the hypnotic Mantra by German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen. Casting an intoxicating spell for an hour, Mantra was premiered in 1970 and has become a contemporary music milestone. Along with their instruments, the two pianists in Mantra have to make sound with cymbals, woodblocks and two ring modulators, leading to dazzling transformations of the piano sound. Aimard will discuss the work in a post-concert talk (20 September).
