Pierre-Laurent Aimard plays Bach, Ligeti and Carter at Tanglewood: thought-provoking, ear-opening, by Larry Wallach

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Pierre-Laurent Aimard

Tuesday, August 10, 8 p.m. Ozawa Hall
Pierre-Laurent Aimard, piano
Members of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe

Pierre-Laurent Aimard and guest soloists from the European Chamber Orchestra performed excerpts from Bach’s Musical Offering, four late chamber works by Elliott Carter, and the Trio for Violin, Horn, and Piano — Hommage à Brahms by György Ligeti

Today many musicians feel it necessary to organize their programs around a theme. Themes can be programmatic (music of spring/summer…, war/peace, food, etc); they can focus on nationality and/or time-period (modern Polish music); a particular characteristic (Maurizio Pollini and the Juilliard Quartet once presented a program of nothing but very short pieces, including Webern’s Bagatelles and Chopin’s Preludes); a survey of a certain repertory (e.g. the complete Bartók string quartets); or actual musical themes (music based on “L’homme armé”). In fact almost anything can be made into a ‘theme.’ When all else fails, you can call a program “Music of Sorrow and Joy” (or “Lament and Celebration”—you get the idea). The theory is that a thematic title gives an audience additional food for thought, and perhaps offers cues of what to listen for; it may create a more active role for the normally passive listeners, or it may simply provide a catchy headline.

Read the full review on the Berkshire Review for the Arts!

Michael Miller