Performer: Marc-André Hamelin
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven, Frederic Chopin, Charles-Valentin Alkan, Ferruccio Busoni, Nikolay Medtner
Audio CD
SPARS Code: DDD
Number of Discs: 1
Format: APE (image+cue)
Label: Hyperion
Size: 192 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
# Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37 Allegro con brio
Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
with Marc-Andre Hamelin
# Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11, CT. 47 Romanza: Larghetto
Composed by Fryderyk Chopin
with Marc-Andre Hamelin
# Grandes ètudes pour les deux mains séparées et réunies (3), collection of etudes for piano, Op. 76
Composed by Charles-Valentin Alkan
with Marc-Andre Hamelin
# Sonatina super Carmen, for piano (No. 6), KiV 284
Composed by Ferruccio Busoni
with Marc-Andre Hamelin
# Forgotten Melodies (Vergessene Weisen) (8) for piano Volume 1, Op. 38 Danza festiva, Op. 38, No. 3
Composed by Nikolay Medtner
with Marc-Andre Hamelin
01. First movement from Piano Concerto No.3
02. Romanza for Piano Concerto No.1- Romanza; Larghetto
03. Trois Grandes Etudes, Op.76: Trois Grandes Etudes, Op.76 for the hands separately and reunited- Fantasie in A flat major (left hand)
04. Trois Grandes Etudes, Op.76: Trois Grandes Etudes, Op.76 – Introduction, Variation and finale in D major (right hand)
05. Trois Grandes Etudes, Op.76: Trois Grandes Etudes, Op.76 – Moument semblable et perpetuel [Rondo-Toccata in C minor] (hands reunited)
06. Sonatina No. 6: Sonatina No. 6; Kammer-Fantasie uber Carmen, BV284 , after Bizet
07. Danza festiva , Op. 38, No.3: Danza festiva , Op. 38, No.3( Forgotten Melodies, Vol.1)
The Most Interesting Recorded Recital Available
Any doubts about Marc-Andre Hamelin’s amazing gifts will be swept away by this spectacular recital. He recorded this live and still manages to turn in the finest recording – bar none – that I have ever heard of Charles-Valentin Alkan’s three incomparable Etudes, Op. 76. Etude #1 is a Fantasy in A flat for the left hand alone. It is a gorgeous work. Ravel’s well none Concerto for the Left Hand would not be possible without this glorious piece. Hamelin gives a ravishing performance of the it. Etude #2 is a murderous Introduction, Variations, and Finale in D for the right hand alone. I had never heard an entirely satisfactory performance of this piece until I heard Hamelin. Hearing his wonderous traversal of this made me mindful of Berlioz’s raves for Liszt’s performance of Beethoven’s Hammerklavier Sonata. Yet again we have (to use Berlioz words) a “new Oedipus” solving “the riddle of the Sphinx”. The D major study seems to stop the few pianists courageous enough to attempt it. Hamelin swallows it whole. It is the definitive rendering. Hamelin also plays Alkan’s unbelievable transcription of the first movement of Beethoven’s 3rd piano concerto in C minor. Here Alkan asks the soloist to play a ruthlessly faithful and full transcription of both the orchestra and piano parts! It is capped by the most audacious, original and witty cadenza that I have ever heard. The cadenza alone would have marked Alkan as a major creative intelligence in the 19th century. That Hamelin plays it in a live performance with such infallible panache and brio is a testament to his nonpareil gifts. This marvelous CD includes several other treasures, but the pieces discussed more than qualify it for your serious consideration as a purchase. You will not be sorry.