SPCO news notes II

Hot on the heels of Don's Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra post (below) is today's New York Times profile of SPCO Artistic Partner Pierre-Laurent Aimard.

He likes techno, btw:

"Last year he was invited by MTV to talk about taking classical music to young people who are immersed in rock and pop. He grabbed the chance, but not before being prepped by his teenage son, Antoine. Mr. Aimard knew he would be asked about music “outside the classical field,” he said, and he was confident that he could speak of jazz, which he loves. But he felt out of touch with pop. Antoine played him recordings of pop groups that drew from African and European cultures, which Mr. Aimard found fascinating. “Also the techno groups,” he said, “I liked them very much.” Which groups were they? “I’m sorry but I have such a bad memory for all names,” he said, though he did recall Guru, the vocal half of the hip-hop duo Gang Starr. “This was very good,” Mr. Aimard said.