Marc-AndrA© Hamelin Live at Wigmore Hall

The Canadian pianist Marc-André Hamelin is quickly becoming a favorite with piano connoisseurs, particularly in late Romantic music. In this live recital, Hamelin concentrates mainly on unusual arrangements: a Beethoven movement as recomposed by Alkan, a Balakirev reduction of a Chopin concertos movement for solo piano, Busoni's Sonatina which uses themes from Bizet's Carmen. You have to be pretty far involved in the late Romantic ethos to appreciate these obscure tidbits, but if you are, Hamelin's virtuosic and colorful performances will prove extremely attractive. The live performance atmosphere comes across vividly in this recording, as does Hamelin's tone. --Leslie Gerber Amazon.com

Dissapointing!

I have listened this recital, because of praises which written in this page. Very dissapointing. Actually Hamelin will stand among secondary rank in great pianists ad infinitum. He always shows that he "can play" this instrument. But nothing exciting or meditative or lyric...Just pure, superficial technic. My only favorite Hameline is the third part of the second concerto of Shostakovich. That was not bad. I think he is good as concert performer for one enjoyable night. But I can't believe that he can play Bach or late Beethoven or Brahms, adequately. He can only plays his eccentricities. Ofcourse one should also praise him for his "Alkan or Busoni effort"
You may want to hear just for Alkan's interesting transcription.
July 12, 2007

Marc-Andre Hamelin Hyperion CD

This is a wonderful CD full of out of the way pieces most of us do not know exsist. I loved the Chopin/Balakirev transcription of the Piano Concerto #1. Also try two other Hyperion CD's of Nikoli Kapustin, One played by Hamelin and the other by Steve Osborne. This is jazz in a classical format and it will wow your shirt off.
April 10, 2007

This is it

Hamelin is probably one of the greatest pianists ever, and his courage in championing such unusual and technically demanding material as Godowsky's Études turns him into one of the most interesting musicians today. As for this particular recording, it's needless to say that his playing is superb, as usual, and his technique is unassailable and immaculate. His choice of material is bold, to say the least. He starts off with a wonderful reading of Beethoven's third piano concerto and then goes on to overwhelm the listener with effortless and sublime renditions of works by Chopin, Medtner, Busoni and - oh my! - Alkan. I never thought I would ever come to like Alkan's works, but Hamelin's rendition of the Études are so effective and engaging that I began to take some interest in it. It's by far the best live recording I've ever heard and it certainly helped me redefine my ideas about what's possible for a human being to do on the piano. February 26, 2007

this recording is very great

This recording was for me entree Marc Andre Hamelin. I think then he must is most amazing of technic since Liszt. No I did ever to hear Liszt, but I am pupil of Kremova, and she tell all pupil word of Mme Ida Nagy "et bene audet" of maestro. Of this recording not only is there all notes (Kremova required us learn Alkan op 76 naught if ever we may dare of playing recital!) but Mr Hamelin his of playing so confident and of "fun" and of warm! This recording is the very great. Did M Hamelin in real there play Alkan Beethoven No 3 cadenza! I would fainted were I present real there Wigmore Hall! Here it is on this recording! I would fainted! Is true.
I say here so will not so wounding, M Hamelin not is good play our Rachmaninov and Scriabin. So will not so harsh be Rachmaninov and Scriabin of his other recording difficult for artist such as M Hamelin are not the technic but the music sensiblite. M Hamelin a youth.
So! A great youth artist! Let he perform now youth accord a his greatness! January 29, 2007

Truly phenomenal

From track 1 on, it is clear that Hamelin is one of piano music's most meteoric talents ever to blaze the pianistic firmament. He dispatches Beethoven as if driven by the very fires of Hell. Surprising, as elements of wry humour are often a characteristic of this artist. But with that aside, this is a brilliantly successful recital.

Hamelin has no equal as an interpreter of Alkan; he inhabits the overheated world of this strange proto-Lisztian figure with a completeness that combines a total mastery of its fearsome technical challenges with an innate understanding of its sometime elusive emotional content.

A huge achievement...and not only technically but musically as well. Hamelin delivers on every level: this recording had me gasping in disbelief, and then laughing out loud at the sheer audacity of it all. Hamelin is a revelation. Where was I before I discovered Him? I might as well have been unconscious. October 4, 2003

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