Pierre-Laurent Aimard 9562_©Wiener Konzerthaus Julia Wesely

Pierre-Laurent Aimard receives the Léonie Sonning Music Prize 2022 

24/1/2022

“It is a great honour and joy to be receiving the Léonie Sonning Music Prize. I am very touched that I have been considered alongside other remarkable and distinguished artists who have had the privilege of receiving this distinction.”

(Pierre-Laurent Aimard)

Pierre-Laurent Aimard will receive Denmark’s most prominent music award, the Léonie Sonning Music Prize 2022. The award ceremony will take place during a concert with The Royal Danish Orchestra and conductor Sylvain Cambreling on 7 October in DR Koncerthus as part of a larger festival with Aimard. 

Pierre-Laurent Aimard is the 8th pianist to receive the Léonie Sonning Music Prize. Léonie Sonning Music prize is the most important Danish music award. The award has been given out since 1959 and was first received by the influential composer Igor Stravinsky. The South Korean composer Unsuk Chin was last year’s recipient of the Léonie Sonning Music Prize. The prize money for the award is 1.000.000 Danish Kroner (150.000 USD). 

Pierre-Laurent Aimard © Julia Wesely
Pierre-Laurent Aimard © Julia Wesely

”For the last 40 years, Pierre-Laurent Aimard has been one of the most groundbreaking and refined pianists. With his signature artistic style that encompasses sensitive sound, a strong intellect, and a sparkling expressivity, he has been pushing the boundaries within the art of the piano. And with his visionary programs where composers from different eras are brought together, he has inspired the creation of new music, new interpretations of the classics and conveyed the qualities of lesser-known music.”

(The Chairman for Léonie Sonning Music Foundation, Esben Tange)

As part of the award ceremony, Aimard will be celebrated with a magnificent portrait festival that will take place in Copenhagen and Aarhus from the 4 – 9 October 2022. In addition to the award ceremony where Aimard will perform as a soloist with the orchestra, he will also be performing solo for two recitals as well as teaching a masterclass and an artist talk at the Black Diamond, The Royal Danish Academy of Music, and Aarhus Concert Hall. Therefore, it is a wide-ranging programme where one can experience the multifaceted talents of Aimard and get a unique insight into one of the many reasons he is this year’s recipient of the award. 

Pierre-Laurent Aimard © Julia Wesely

“It is a pleasure for The Royal Danish Orchestra to play at the Léonie Sonning’s award ceremony 2022. We are looking forward to performing with the award recipient, Pierre-Laurent Aimard. Aimard is ultimately one of the world’s very best and most sought-after pianists, so getting him to come to Copenhagen and play three works with him is extremely inspiring for the orchestra.”

(Deputy Orchestra Director, Adam Stadnicki)

Portrait Festival with Pierre-Laurent Aimard 

At the prize concert with The Royal Danish Orchestra on 7 October at 7.30 PM, Pierre-Laurent Aimard will be soloist at three recitals. 

Léonie Sonning Music Prize Concert 2022
Hector Berlioz: Le carnaval romain ouverture (1844)
Ludvig van Beethoven: Klavierkonzert nr. 3 c‑mol op. 37 (1803) (35’)
George Benjamin: Duet (2008) Piano and orchestra (12’)
Olivier Messiaen: Oiseaux Exotiques (1956) Piano, winds and percussion (16’)

Pierre-Laurent Aimard, piano
The Royal Danish Orchestra
Conductor: Sylvain Cambreling

Olivier Messiaen: Catalogue d’Oiseaux
Sunday 29 May

Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
29 May. 11.30 AM, 2 PM, 4 PM. Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.
Three concerts (30 – 60’ each) in the park of the museum.
In case of bad weather, the concerts will be played in the concert hall.

Solo recital – Fantasie and Insectarium!
4 October. 8 PM. Dronningesalen. The Black Diamond. Royal Library.
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck: Fantasia chromatica SwWV 258
Carl Philipp Emanue Bach: Fantasia for Keyboard in C Major, Wq 59/6
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Fantasie for Piano in C minor, K475
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Fantasie in f‑minor, K 608
George Benjamin: Fantasy on Iambic Rhythm for piano (13’)
Nikolai Obukhov: tba
Rued Langgaard: Insectarium
György Ligeti: Études XX / Skrjabin: Sonate nr. 10
Béla Bartók: Out of Doors

Pianomania

5 October. 7 PM. The Royal Danish Academy of Music.
Artist talk with Pierre-Laurent Aimard and piano technician Stefan Knüpfer.
Pianomania (2009)

Masterclass
8 October. 1 PM. 
With piano students from the Danish Music Academies. 

Solo recital — Fantasie and Insectarium!
9 October. 7.30 PM. Aarhus Concert Hall. The Small Hall. 
Same programme as the concert on the 4 October.