Pierre-Laurent Aimard receives the Léonie Sonning Music Prize 2022
Pierre-Laurent Aimard recieved The Leonie Sonning Music Prize 2022, of 1,000,000 Danish kroner on the stage in DR Koncerthuset on the 7th of October. The award was presented during a concert with The Royal Danish Orchestra and conductor Sylvain Cambreling.
As a part of the award ceremony, Pierre-Laurent Aimard was be celebrated with a magnificent portrait festival in Copenhagen and Aarhus from the 4th – 9th October 2022.
Read more about the festival here
CITATION
The Chairman for Léonie Sonning Music Foundation, Esben Tange, gave a personal speech, which also included the official motivation:
With an artistic signature embracing sonorously sensitive sound, sparkling expressiveness and precision, and an extremely sharp intellect, he pushes the boundaries of the pianist’s art.
With visionary programs that combine composers of different eras, Pierre-Laurent Aimard has inspired new interpretations of well-known classics and communicated the qualities of lesser-known works. And with curiosity and courage and in collaboration with many composers – he has proved himself a unique, searching artistic soul capable of giving audiences unforgettable experiences.
Pierre-Laurent Aimard in Denmark
Throughout his career, Pierre-Laurent Aimard has regularly performed in Denmark. The first time was during a concert in 1977 as a 19-year-old where he played the solo voice in Olivier Messiaen’s orchestra piece Turangalila. Since then, Aimard has played in several concerts with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and as a soloist in piano concerts by Ravel. Recently, he gave an exclusive radio transmitted solo concert in DR Koncerthuset, exclusively with music by György Kurtág during the corona lockdown in March 2021. Pierre-Laurent Aimard has also been a soloist with Collegium Musicum with music by Stravinsky, as well as played solo recital in the Tivoli Concert Hall.