Time for Bartók

Following Op. 353018, which made its piano duo debut with an orchestra at the NDR Konzerthaus in Hanover, Op. 615313 performed his very first piano concerto as part of the Klavier Festival Ruhr at the Philharmonie Essen.

Béla Bartók’s Piano Concerto No. 2 is regarded as one of the most technically demanding works in the entire piano repertoire. The focus is on explosive, rhythmic and percussive playing techniques, as well as insanely fast cascades of notes and sharp, contrapuntal contrasts. And all this is achieved while maintaining the greatest possible tonal transparency.

The ideal companion for this whirlwind journey through music history, the joy of playing and the sonic culture of the Second Piano Concerto – lasting just under half an hour – was, on this occasion, the piano duo Op. 615313. Right from the instrument’s construction, I placed the utmost importance on sound volume (not harshness!) and outstanding technical playing qualities. These include a lightness of touch that has long since disappeared from new grand pianos, as well as a repetition speed that is certainly no longer to be found in this form in modern concert grand pianos today, but which was very much the standard among the major piano manufacturers in the first half of the 20th century.

It is therefore no surprise that Pierre-Laurent Aimard chose the piano duo Op. 615313 for this concert. This exceptional pianist has been renowned for decades as a tireless explorer and creator of fascinating soundscapes, both old and new.

This makes his interpretation of this almost unplayable piano concerto all the more overwhelming, as he still finds time, despite all the compositional ecstasy, to weave wildly repetitive notes into flowing lines and to make the counterpoint crystal-clear. And he does all this whilst at the same time respectfully honouring the composer’s Hungarian heritage with a fluid, harmonious soundscape.

And not least through this, Pierre-Laurent Aimard lives up to the motto of the Klavier Festival Ruhr’s thematic focus in his very own way: Time for Bartók.