The start of the 2017/18 season sees the beginning of Pierre-Laurent Aimard​’s three-year position as Artist-in-Residence at Southbank Centre. During his first year, he performs Messiaen with the Aurora Orchestra, Mozart with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Ravel with the Philharmonia Orchestra, and is the curator of a whole weekend dedicated to the music of Ligeti with whom he has a long association. 

The French-born pianist is widely acclaimed as one of today’s most celebrated musicians and was awarded the 2017 International Ernest von Siemens Music Prize in recognition of a life devoted to the service of music. Aimard performs throughout the world each season with major orchestras under conductors including Esa-Pekka Salonen, Peter Eötvös, Sir Simon Rattle and Vladimir Jurowski. Upcoming highlights this season include recitals in Tokyo, Beijing, Moscow, St Petersburg, Paris, Vienna, New York and at the new Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin. Orchestral performances include Boston, Berlin and a European tour with the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra, as well as a special Stockhausen project in Hamburg. 

Pierre-Laurent’s inaugural performance as Artist-in-Residence on 24 September with the Aurora Orchestra, is entitled ​‘Why Birds Sing’. The concert features Messiaen’s Oiseaux exotiques, as well as Brett Dean’s evocative Pastoral Symphony and Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony as an exploration into birdsong and man’s relationship with the natural world.