Franz Liszt - Paganini Studies; Schubert Marches (Marc-André Hamelin)

Information

Composer: Franz Liszt

• Six Grandes Études de Paganini, S. 141
• Franz Schubert's Marsche für das Pianoforte übertragen, S. 426

Marc-André Hamelin, piano

Date: 2002

Label: Hyperion

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Review

Dexterity here to make ears flap; but then, we are used to this from Hamelin. We are also used to perceiving that he is no mindless virtuoso, of the sort that probably impelled Clifford Curzon to state, more than 50 years ago, that Liszt was ‘pathetically misunderstood’. As for Liszt’s own playing, it is now difficult to gauge what Clara Schumann meant when she said ‘he has a grand spirit’ but ‘he often wounds one’s sense of the beautiful by destroying a melody’. Well, neither Hamelin nor Howard destroys a melody – or the spirit.

Hamelin’s way comes through in the first study. After the coruscating brilliance of the initial flourishes, he shows how an independent, explicit left hand alone can articulate a long, slowish theme – marked il canto sempre marcato ed espressivo – with rippling accompaniment. It is but one example of how he has tuned in to the drama of these pieces, and how through mettle, insouciance, lyricism, and absolute control of the instrument, he unfolds their various facets. Caprice surrounds the grace note roulades in No 2, No 4 is effortlessly flicked off the keyboard, and the imitations of flute and horn in No 5 are graphically projected through astute pedalling.

Perhaps Hamelin’s heart is not entirely in the Marches (they don’t constitute the best music on this disc) but the playing, excellently captured throughout by producer Andrew Keener, still retains its fine finish. Simply raise the volume above normal for the sound to swell and expand in a realistic manner.

— Nalen Anthoni

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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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