Aaron Lordson

Aaron Pilsan is only twenty-five years old, but he already has a busy career to his credit, with a solo album devoted to Beethovenand Schubert - very well received by the critics - and another of duo repertory with the cellist Kian Soltani. A student of Lars Vogt, he has also received guidance from András Schiff - Bach has always been at the centre of their work together. The young Austrian pianist has been fascinated since childhood by The Well-Tempered Clavier, ‘that musical journey on which Bach embarks with us in Book One: from the seemingly simple and joyful triad of the famous Prelude in C major to the final fugue, of a complexity almost worthy of Schoenberg, on a subject that already includes the twelve semitones of the chromatic scale…

"Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity."

Born in Hammond, Indiana, he studied with Leon Sametini at the Chicago Musical College and with Efrem Zimbalist at the Curtis Institute of Music, where he taught from 1981 until his death. Particularly noted for his insightful and passionate performances of the romantic repertoire and his beautiful but not syrupy tone, Rosand recorded prolifically and appeared all over the world with many major orchestras and concert organizations.

Schumann composed Kreisleriana in April 1838, at the age of 27: “The youthful thing that I can identify with in Kreisleriana is its spontaneity", writes pianist Aaron Pilsan. "If I had to describe the piece, I would use the German word for crazy, ‘verrückt’, which doesn’t just mean crazy, but also to be disconnected from reality. So, crazy, imaginative and intimate… There is a huge connection between these two German composers, as Jörg Widmann was inspired by Schumann’s music a lot and even his musical language is very similar, even though their styles are obviously very different. The starting point for Widmann’s music is from feelings, from the emotions and sentiments and that is where there is a similarity, but not only there. He even quotes Robert Schumann in his tenth Humoreske, taking a bar directly from Schumann’s Geistervariationen."

Lee Aaron, formerly known as Karen Greening, was Canada's self-proclaimed 'Metal Queen'. She was one of the first women to have a successful solo career in heavy metal music. In the late 1980's, her sound became less heavy and more commercial. In 1996, she formed the alternative rock band 2preciious, changing her name back to Karen…

Lee Aaron, formerly known as Karen Greening, was Canada's self-proclaimed 'Metal Queen'. She was one of the first women to have a successful solo career in heavy metal music. In the late 1980's, her sound became less heavy and more commercial. In 1996, she formed the alternative rock band 2preciious, changing her name back to Karen…

'Appalachian Spring' and 'El Salón Mexicó' are archetypical of what many people consider to be the sound of American music, evoking the vast landscapes, cowboys and pioneer spirit. Yet, in the 20th century perhaps only Stravinsky was as adept in as many styles as Aaron Copland [1900-1990]. His Piano Concerto, first performed by Serge Koussevitsky, is a good example of Copland the modernist but he also wrote chamber music, ballets, operas and film scores, as well as teaching, writing and latterly conducting. The winter of 1950 saw Copland take a break from writing his superlative 'Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson' and, inspired by a Pears and Britten recital in late 1949, he took five of his favourite American songs and arranged them for voice with piano. Pears and Britten liked them so much that they gave the premiere together at the Aldburgh Festival in 1950.