Franz Liszt - Piano Sonata; etc. (Marc-André Hamelin)

Information

Composer: Franz Liszt

• (01) Fantasie und Fuge über das Thema B-A-C-H, S. 529ii
• (02) Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude, S. 173/3
• (03) Venezia e Napoli, S. 162
• (06) Piano Sonata in B minor, S. 178

Marc-André Hamelin, piano
Date: 2011
Label: Hyperion
https://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA67760

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Review

Hamelin trumps all the aces in a masterly and virtuoso Liszt recital

Even by Marc-André Hamelin’s standards (his earlier discs of Albéniz’s Iberia, the Chopin-Godowsky Etudes and the Medtner sonatas, to name but a few), this Liszt recital is a towering achievement. In the Fantasy and Fugue on the Theme B‑A‑C‑H the opening idea emerges as if from a cloud of sulphur and, while Hamelin’s technique is superhuman and magisterial, there is never a question of virtuosity for its own sake. Then, passing from such elemental rage to the translucent shimmer, passion and serenity of the Bénédiction, Hamelin captures every aspect of this masterpiece, his gravity and refinement telling at every point in the central Andante or blessing, his transition from introspection to soaring exultance elsewhere like some glorious release. In Venezia e Napoli (that garland of encores that follows the second book of the Années de pèlerinage), the rapidity of Hamelin’s repeated notes in the sun-drenched Tarantella is scarcely believable, his poetic poise and refinement elsewhere no less notable. And here, a few textual emendations would surely have delighted rather than piqued Liszt’s ever-generous nature.

Even so, pride of place must go to the Sonata, where Hamelin tempers Liszt’s rhetoric with a measure of dignity and restraint. His inwardness and lyricism in the slow scales at the end of the central Andante (the Sonata’s nodal and expressive centre) will touch and delight all those who warm to Liszt’s deeper qualities. Yet once again, the overall mastery is prodigious and, if there are moments when it is held in reserve, there are others where Hamelin comes at you with all guns blazing – a quality to enthrall and stupefy. In short, this is a pianist to trump all aces. Hyperion’s sound and presentation are as immaculate as ever, the reproduction of János Hofbauer’s The Castle of Dévény, Hungary entirely apt.

-- Bryce Morrison, Gramophone

More reviews:
ClassicsToday  ARTISTIC QUALITY: 10 / SOUND QUALITY: 10
BBC Music Magazine  PERFORMANCE: **** / SOUND: *****
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/mar/24/liszt-hamelin-review
https://www.allmusic.com/album/liszt-piano-sonata-mw0002126892
https://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/reviews/liszt-sonata-in-b-minor-venezia-e-napoli-fantasie-and-fugue-on-bach-piano-marc-andre-hamelin/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Liszt-Sonata-Fantasy-B-C-H/dp/B004NWHVD0
https://www.amazon.com/Liszt-Piano-Sonata-B-Minor/dp/B004NWHVD0

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Liszt

***

Marc-André Hamelin (born September 5, 1961 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian virtuoso pianist and composer. Hamelin is recognized worldwide for the originality and technical brilliance of his performances of the classic repertoire. He has made recordings of a wide variety of composers with the Hyperion label. He is well known for his attention to lesser-known composers especially of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century and for performing works by pianist-composers. Hamelin has also composed several works, including a set of piano études in all of the minor keys.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc-Andr%C3%A9_Hamelin

http://www.marcandrehamelin.com/

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

FLAC, tracks

Links in comment

Enjoy!