SFist Interviews Pierre-Laurent Aimard

Philip Glass celebrated his 70th birthday this year, Kurt Masur his 80th. Can we say happy birthday to you as well?

Pierre-Laurent: Indeed! I turned 50 in September. And I just had a beautiful musical present: I made a recording of the Art of Fugue for Deutsche Gramophon, that’s my present to myself.

Talking about Philip Glass, his latest opera, Appomattox, is having its last performance of the run tomorrow [ed. which is now today, Wednesday], will you attend?

Pierre-Laurent: Oh? I did not know. I just arrived. Thanks for informing me. I am just opening my eyes.

Can you describe Beethoven 3rd piano concerto, which you’ll be performing with the SF Symphony?

Pierre-Laurent: It’s a concerto with all of Beethoven’s fights, tension, drama and expression, but still in a very classical form. The 2nd movement brings about a kind of philosophical light…

What do you mean by philosophical light?

Pierre-Laurent: I mean what my words mean. Let me finish. The cadenza in the first movement, as all of Beethoven’s cadenza, runs beyond all possible frames.

You’ll play the original cadenza?

Pierre-Laurent: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’ll play it as written by Beethoven.

You recently conducted the Beethoven 2nd piano concerto from the piano, how differently do you prepare for conducting versus playing only?

Pierre-Laurent: To play one piece with a different partner involves adapting your ability for dialoguing to their musical world. The goal is to represent the piece in the most faithful way. You should adapt your vision to that of your partner. When you’re conducting too, you’re alone and it’s easier. The problem with Beethoven, from his 3rd concerto forward, is how to manage the kind of fighting dialogue between the orchestra and the soloists.

So you would not conduct the 3rd, 4th or 5th yourself?

Pierre-Laurent: No, I would. I actually will conduct the 3rd concerto pretty soon.

So how well do you partner with Philippe Jordan?

Pierre-Laurent: I haven’t met Philippe! Philippe was the conductor proposed by the orchestra. I have another performance with him in December with the New-York Philharmonic. I will meet him tomorrow [ed: today], we’ll talk about our vision, and then we’ll have a rehearsal and the dress rehearsal.

We’re very impressed that you’ll meet the conductor Wednesday for a performance on Thursday.

Pierre-Laurent: Don’t forget we all come prepared, and we all know the music.

We read somewhere that Nikolaus Harnoncourt turned you on to Beethoven?

Pierre-Laurent: Wrong. I have always played Beethoven, I was permanently in relation with the music. But I decided to play the concerti not too early in my life. 3,4 and 5 are very demanding in terms of content and sound. It is not for a starter. I had decided I would start with this music when I would be 40, and Harnoncourt proposed at the time and we recorded all 5 concerti live. It was a marvelous proposal, marvelous, at the right moment.

You’re playing with the orchestra, but you haven’t played with MTT conducting, right?

Pierre-Laurent: I met MTT the last time I came, and I’ve seen a pedagogical concert he gave that was brilliant, I was very impressed. MTT invited me to his house for dinner, with composer George Benjamin. We have shared nice moments, but we have not played together.

You are into modern music, how do you attempt to educate the audiences?

Pierre-Laurent: If you take time to study the music, to understand it and to present it in a professional way, then you can touch them. You have to treat them with respect. If you bring information, you can bring interest from the audience.