Pierre-Laurent Aimard’s New Recording, The Liszt Project, Released Today

French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard honors Franz Liszt's 200th birthday (October 22) with his most ambitious recording for Deutsche Grammophon, The Liszt Project. Over the course of more than two hours of music Aimard compares and contrasts works for solo piano by Liszt with a thought-provoking selection of works by Wagner, Berg, Scriabin, Bartók, Stroppa, Ravel and Messiaen. This is Aimard's fourth solo album for Deutsche Grammophon and follows his highly acclaimed recordings of Bach, Messiaen and Ravel. The album is in stores and available today.

In a helpful and informative video (click here), Aimard takes the listener through the album track by track and, with musical examples, explains his choices of repertoire and also how the pieces relate to Liszt and to each other. Eloquent, educational and enlightening, Aimard (who is known to speak directly with audiences at his recitals) illuminates the piano music of Liszt and places it in the larger context of the development of classical music through the 20th century.

Pierre-Laurent Aimard is celebrated not only for his brilliant technique and advocacy of 20th and 21st-century works but also his musical scholarship and fascinating recital programs. Of a previous recital pairing Bach and Elliot Carter, The New York Times noted: "It's hard to imagine the French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard giving a standard recital, the kind in which a group of unrelated works is paraded across the stage, each in its own compartment. Mr. Aimard has no problem programming unrelated works. But he likes breaking down the compartments and making the works interact." The Liszt Project is no exception and its insightful pairings and brilliant performances will surely make this recording the pinnacle of this year's Liszt celebrations.

www.deutschegrammophon.com

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