Virtuoso musician has won awards at the Geneva and Sydney International Competitions and the Tchaikovski Competition in Moscow.
By Gillian Brunette
Canadian pianist André Laplante has been compared to Ashkenazy, Horowitz, and Rudolph Serkin, placing him in the elite circle of virtuoso pianists who do not hesitate to take risks.
The Huntsville Festival of the Arts brings the talents of Laplante to the Algonquin Theatre stage on Tuesday, July 17 at 8 p.m.
The program will feature Moment Musical #2 in A Flat Major (Schubert), Variations in F Minor (Haydn), Sonata in C Major, op. 53 (Beethoven), Sonetto del petrarca #104 (Liszt) and Sonata op. 35 in B Flat Minor (Chopin).
Laplante firmly established his reputation after attracting international attention by winning prizes at the Geneva and Sydney International Competitions and being awarded the silver medal at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.
André LaplanteIn 2005 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada, and in 2004 won the Juno award for orchestral recordings. He has appeared with the Montreal and Chicago symphonies, the Czech Philharmonic in Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Centre, the Minnesota Orchestra conducted by Sir Nevill Marriner, toured Europe with the Toronto Symphony under Andrew Davis, and the Royal Philharmonic under the late Sir Yehudi Menuhin during its extensive tour of America.
Recent seasons have also included a major concert tour of China, recital tours of the Far East, Australia and North America, and appearances at major music festivals across Canada as well as the Debussy Festival (France), Pecs Festival (Hungary), Cascais Festival (Portugal), Salzburg Festival (Austria), and the TCU-Van Cliburn Institute (USA).
Laplante has served as a juror of the Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition, the International Music Festival in Australia, the CBC National Competition (Canada’s most prestigious), the Honens International Piano Competition, the William Kapell International Piano Competition and the Van Cluburn International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs.
An active recording artist, Laplante’s releases include works by Liszt (Félix 1995), Ravel and Rachmaninov, as well as an award-winning Brahms album (Félix 1996).
He has also recorded for CBC and Melodia. His recording of Tchaikovsky No. 1 with Joav Talmi and l’Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, was nominated for the 2001 Felix Award.
In 1999, Laplante received two Opus Awards for live performances: Best Concert in Montréal and Best Concert in Québec Province.
Tickets for André Laplante are $35 for adults and $20 for youth under 18 and are available from the Algonquin Theatre box office, 789-4975, or online at www.algonquintheatre.ca.
