Pierre-Laurent Aimard plays Olivier Messiaen

24 APRIL 2022: In this production from Berlin's St. Canisius Church, Pierre-Laurent Aimard performs pieces from Messiaen's "Catalogue d'oiseaux".

The "Catalogue d'oiseaux" ("Catalogue of Birds") is one of the most important works by Olivier Messiaen. He composed the 13 piano pieces between 1956 and 1958. What at first sounds more like an ornithological reference work cannot be estimated highly enough in its importance as an unusual and brilliant piano work. So far, there have been no film recordings of the "Catalogue of Birds" with the most important Messiaen interpreter Pierre-Laurent Aimard for television. ARTE is now closing this gap.

Pierre-Laurent Aimard is the leading interpreter of Olivier Messiaen's piano works. As a student of Messiaen's second wife Yvonne Loriod at the Conservatoire de Paris, he had a very early musical as well as personal relationship with Olivier Messiaen. He won the Messiaen Competition at the age of 16. In the Ensemble Intercontemporain of Pierre Boulez, one of Messiaen's students, he was the first solo pianist. He was awarded the Echo Klassik Prize for his recording "Hommage à Messiaen."

In this production from Berlin's St. Canisius Church on 17 December 2021, Pierre-Laurent Aimard performs the following pieces from Messiaen's "Catalogue d'oiseaux":

"Le traquet stapazin" ("The Black-eared Wheatear").
"Le courlis cendré" ("The Eurasian Curlew")
"L'alouette calandrelle ("The Calendared Lark")
"L'alouette lulu" ("The woodlark")
"Le merle bleu" ("The Blue Rock Thrush")

The documentary will also be available in the ARTE media library.

Production Company SWR/Arte, sounding images
Executive Producer Karl Thumm
Author Holger Preuße, Philipp Quiring
Duration 52 minutes
Original title of music work Catalogue d'oiseaux
Soloist Pierre-Laurent Aimard
Production year 2021