Franz Liszt - Grand Romantic Virtuoso (Marc-André Hamelin)

Information

Composer: Franz Liszt

1. Réminiscences de Norma, S. 394 (after Bellini)
2. 3 Études de concert, S. 144: No. 2  in F minor "La Leggierezza"
3. 3 Études de concert, S. 144: No. 3 in D flat major "Un sospiro"
4. 2 Polonaises, S. 223: No. 2 in E major
5. Harmonies poétiques et religieuses, S. 173: 3. Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude
6. Réminiscences de Don Juan, S. 418 (after Mozart)

Marc-André Hamelin, piano

Date: 1992

Label: Music & Arts

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Review

If you want to hear how Hamelin played before he became a byword for keyboard virtuosity and shrewd Hyperion signed him up exclusively, then this programme will provide you with the answer. Recorded in 1991 (the date also of the booklet, which has not been changed in any way since the disc was first issued in 1992), the performances transcend the studio environment. Every problem has been solved with glittering ease; indeed, the greater the difficulties, the more it provokes Hamelin into providing ever more transparent and thrilling responses. Sensibly, he never digs deeper than the music merits, yet, nevertheless, what can seem glib and theatrical in other hands here sounds important and weighty.

There is not a recording of the Norma fantasy to match this one. Bolet, magisterial and powerful, plods home a full four minutes after Hamelin, whose ecstatic delivery of the closing theme from the opera is incredibly moving – goose bumps, spine tingles, the lot. By contrast, La leggierezza demonstrates Hamelin’s phenomenal dexterity at pianissimo, Bénédiction de Dieu his innate understanding of and empathy with the Abbé. In the Don Juan Réminiscences (given with the usual cut before the final presto section) Hamelin is simply electrifying, summoning up the spirit of Simon Barere but with far more accurate and detailed attention to the score. Even those who find barnstorming Liszt unbearably trivial and vulgar must surely acknowledge the extraordinary pianism of the then 30-year old Canadian.

— Jeremy Nicholas

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Franz Liszt (October 22, 1811 – July 31, 1886) was a prolific 19th-century Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor, and music teacher. Liszt gained renown in Europe for his virtuosic skill as a pianist and in the 1840s he was considered to be the greatest pianist of all time. As a composer, Liszt was one of the most prominent composers of the "New German School". Some of his most notable musical contributions were the invention of the symphonic poem, developing the concept of thematic transformation as part of his experiments in musical form, and making radical departures in harmony.

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Marc-André Hamelin (born 5 September 1961 in Montreal) is a distinguished Canadian pianist and composer renowned for his exceptional technique and distinctive interpretations of the classical repertoire. Internationally acclaimed, he has earned 11 Grammy Award nominations and has recorded extensively with the Hyperion label. Hamelin is particularly noted for his commitment to exploring and performing works by lesser-known composers, especially from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as pieces by pianist-composers. He has composed several works himself, including a set of piano études in all the minor keys.

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