The great romantic virtuoso is in Winnipeg to perform a Virtuosi concert Saturday night (Feb 13) but he stopped by Classic 107 first to talk with Diamond Lane host Sarah Jo Korsch. Missed it? Watch the video here.

Over the last decade, Canadian pianist André Laplante has firmly established himself as one of the great romantic virtuosos. He garnered international attention after winning prizes at the Geneva and Sydney International Piano Competitions, then capturing the silver medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. Critics have compared him with Ashkenazy, Horowitz and Rudolph Serkin, placing him in the elite circle of virtuoso pianists who do not hesitate to take risks.

 

 

Mr. Laplante is an Officer of the Order of Canada. He has also been awarded the Prix Opus multiple times for Best Performer of the Year and Best Concert of the Year. In recent years, Laplante has appeared as orchestral soloist with the Montréal and Chicago Symphony Orchestras, the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, the Minnesota Orchestra conducted by Sir Neville Mariner, on tour in Europe with the Toronto Symphony under Andrew Davis and with the Royal Philharmonic under the baton of the late Sir Yehudi Menuhin during their extensive North American tour.

An active recording artist, André Laplante has released albums on the Analekta label, CBC and Melodia: his performance of Jacques Hetu's Piano Concerto No. 2 for CBC Records won the 2004 Juno award for orchestral recordings, as well as the Western Canadian Music Award. His recording of Tchaikovsky No. 1 with Joav Talmi and l'Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, was nominated for the 2001 Felix Award ; and in 2010 his recording of Liszt's Années de Pèlerinage was awarded a Felix Award for Best Classical Solo Album of the Year.

André Laplante performs in Winnipeg Saturday night (Feb 13) as part of the Virtuosi concert series at 8 PM in Eckhardt-Gramatté Hall - University of Winnipeg (515 Portage Avenue)

For Saturday night's Virtuosi concert at the University of Winnipeg, Laplante will be performing:

BACH: Adagio in a minor from BWV 564 [Ferruccio Busoni (transcription)]

MOZART: Piano Sonata in E-flat Major K. 282

RAVEL: Valses nobles et sentimentales, Sonatine

LISZT: Ballade in B minor

BEETHOVEN: Piano Sonata No. 26 in E-flat Major, Opus 81A “Les Adieux”

Tickets:

Adults: $39 / Under 30: $22 / Students: $13  Call 204.786.9000 to reserve your tickets.