This
article was last
updated on
21 November, 2004
Marc-Andre Hamelin
Live at Wigmore Hall
Marc-Andre Hamelin,
piano
Hyperion CDA6765
[71:56] full-price
Ludwig van
Beethoven
First Movement from Piano Concerto No 3 in C minor, Op 37
Transcribed, with
cadenza, by Charles Valentin Alkan
Frederic Chopin
Romanza: Larghetto
from Piano Concerto No 1 in E minor, Op 11
Transcribed by Mily
Alexeyevich Balakirev
Charles Valentin
Alkan
Trois Grandes
Etudes, Op 76 for the hands separately and reunited
Feruccio Busoni
Sonatana No 6:
Piano Fantasie after Carmen
Nicolai Medtner
Danza Festiva, Op
38 No 3 (Forgotten Melodies, Vol 1)
by
Jonathan Yungkans
Ten years
after this
recital was recorded, this is
still some of the most hair-raising piano playing committed to
disc and perhaps the best thing pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin
(right) has
done to date. In nearly all of his recordings, Hamelin’s
playing has seemed machine-like and polished on the surface but
detached emotionally. In this live program, taken from a series
of concerts titled Virtuoso Romantics, Hamelin is not
only engaged but thoroughly engaging, with an unexpected charm
and élan gracing his playing.
As
glorious as French pianist and composer Charles Valentin Alkan’s
transcription of the first movement of Beethoven’s Third
Concerto truly is, the fun really starts when Hamelin lets into
the cadenza. This is no mere continuation or synthesis of the
music that has preceded it. As per Alkan’s (below) dizzyingly complex
but grippingly dramatic concerto and symphony for solo piano,
this is a recomposition very much on Alkan’s terms. Written in
eight sections of increasing Byzantine intricacy and growing
excitement, the music literally explodes from a upward run into
the “victory” theme from the last movement of Beethoven’s Fifth
Symphony. From there, Alkan not only continues with themes from
the concerto but quotes that
movement from the Fifth as it would
normally progress in performance – in other words, as if both
pieces are being played simultaneously. Would anyone have the
courage or audacity to play this cadenza in an orchestral
performance of the Third Concerto? (The liner notes state that
composer and pianist Ferrucio Busoni supposedly did in one of
his orchestral concerts in Berlin in 1906, but that it is
unclear whether Busoni himself played it or if Busoni conducted
the orchestra and pianist Rudolph Ganz (to whom Maurice Ravel
dedicated “Scarbo” from Gaspard de la Nuit) did so.
Alkan was one of the certified wackos of classical music. A
contemporary of Franz
Alkan's Death
While the story of Alkan being crushed by a toppling
bookshelf while reaching for the Talmud may have
been an exaggeration that perpetuated the myth of
his eccentricity, it did generate positive interest
in the composer.
"The mystery of Alkan's death was resolved
definitively about a decade ago by the French
Societé Alkan. A French musicologist (possibly
Brigitte Sappey) discovered a long detailed letter
by one of Alkan's female piano students, who arrived
at Alkan's teaching studio for her lesson just hours
after Alkan had expired. In the letter she
elaborates that Alkan did indeed fall and injure
himself while he was trying to retrieve something on
a shelf. He had climbed up on a hall coat-and-hat
stand - a typical, large fixture in many 19th
Century French homes. Alkan lost his balance and
fell - and books did fall on top of him (the
student's letter makes no mention of the Talmud).
However, it was the fall and not the books that
severely injured him.
Alkan did not die right away. A doctor was sent for,
arrived, and began treating Alkan's injuries. But as
the final portrait of Alkan makes clear, by 1888 he
was a very frail, old man. He eventually succumbed
to his injuries and died several hours later.
The gothic detail of Alkan having been crushed by
his copy of the Talmud appears to be a colorful
invention of one of the pianists in Alkan's small
circle of friends, probably Isidor Philip. In poor
health in his final years, Alkan already knew his
days were numbered. In the few months preceding his
death, he got all his affairs in order -- including
the making of an incredibly detailed will. He also
had his manuscripts bound in leather (these
invaluable documents have disappeared, never yet to
surface.)
The amusing detail about the Talmud is apocryphal.
Instead of complaining about the fabrication of this
detail, it is better to be grateful to whoever made
it up. Limited as Alkan's fame has been in the past,
this is the one factoid that has spread his renown
among the general public and even among musicians.
The more interest in Alkan, and the more people that
remember his name (and listen to his music), the
better."
Liszt who could supposedly outplay him any
day of the week, he became a recluse in Paris after a short but
highly successful concert career, keeping a virtual menagerie of
exotic pets in his apartment until his sudden and violent
death. (A devoted Jew, Alkan was reportedly reaching for his
Talmud on the top shelf of his bookcase when the entire piece
toppled, crushing him to death from the extreme weight.) Busoni
and Alkan both thought highly of Alkan’s compositions, though
due to the works’ extreme difficulty have never gained a
foothold in the pianists’ repertoire and perhaps never will.
Still, they can be rewarding and worthwhile sometimes, as
Hamelin has proved in several studio recordings and does very
much so here.
Alkan’s Trois Grandes Etudes for the hands separated and
reunited is an excellent case in point. The first, for left
hand alone, combines the grace and tunefulness of Frederic
Chopin’s music, the muscularity of Liszt’s and ups the ante
dramatically and technically by a quantum leap. As easy as it
almost sounds in the beginning, the length and complexity of
this piece would in most hands become too daunting for mortal
endurance. Not so for Hamelin. He does full justice to the
technical, musical and thespian demands in a riveting traversal.
The
second etude gives the right hand a similarly through workout.
One again beginning lyrically, with some beautiful passagework,
the emotional shadows and technical demons beginning showing
themselves hand-in-hand. The piece reminds me of late Schubert
in its layering of various and contrary moods simultaneously,
though with a vastly more Listzian sense of theatricality.
Again, Hamelin is fully up to all the challenges and meets them
not only head-on but triumphantly so. The only problem is that
Alkan apparently had no clue when to stop writing here. This
etude goes on. And on. And on. Wearingly so to me, proving
the old adage that too much of a good thing, no matter how good
it is, can inevitably self-defeating. (And to think, as the
liner notes point out, that Alkan specialist Ronald Smith’s
playing of this piece took seven minutes longer than
Hamelin’s does here.)
“From jump steeplechase to flat sprint,” the notes state, the
final etude sends both hands scurrying in the lower keys of the
piano in a dizzying molto perpetuo of runs and fingerwork.
The more lyrical sections, while still busy technically, are
refreshingly lyrical enough to give some relief to performer and
listener. Otherwise, there is so much going on that sooner or
later the listener’s mind goes into overload. The saving grace
here is that the third etude is by far the shortest one. Yet in
the four minutes or so that the work goes, you wonder how taxed
even someone of Hamelin’s abilities becomes. If he was straning
to keep up, it does not sound that way, though I can imagine him
breathing more than one sigh of relief after the final notes.
Hearing all three of these etudes in one sitting made me think
of a variation of the oft-quoted phrase about Glenn Gould. In
Alkan’s case, that genius is definitely a nut.
Between the Beethoven and Alkan we are afforded a quiet and
extremely beautiful interlude with Russian composer Mily
Balakirev’s arrangement of the Romanza from Frederic Chopin’s
First Piano Concerto. Balkakirev, who was no mean pianist
himself (who wrote, among such other lightweight and technically
facile works, Islamey, held a lifelong love for Chopin’s
music. That passion shines through brightly and clearly in this
breathtaking arrangement, one that deserves to be heard far more
often. Hamelin does full justice to the lyricism, lightness and
grace of the music, adding a subtle palette of tints and a
lacelike filigree of touch that makes the moment all the more
magical.
After the extreme adrenaline of Alkan’s third etude, we are
plunged into the equally high drama of Georges Bizet’s (right) Carmen,
courtesy of Busoni’s masterful Sixth Sonatine. Subtitled a
piano fantasy, the piece starts brightly but ending on a tragic
note quoting the opening chorus from Act III, Don Jose’s “Flower
Song,” the Act I Habanera in both major and minor keys, and the
“Arena” Prelude to Act I along the way. Hamelin rushes things
in the more energetic moments and loses some of the music’s
charm in the process. Stupendous playing, yes, though it does
not erase memories of Paul Jacobs’ more balanced recording from
his complete set on sonatines (for Nonesuch, now on Arbiter and
well worth seeking out).
The
Medtner Danza festiva is another matter. Hamelin delights in
the bounciness of the work – playful, athletic and thoroughly
Russian-sounding – while not overwhelming it. While the
romantic streak of the central section could be played up more
fully, Hamelin’s not doing so is not a major detraction. In
fact, Hamelin does an excellent job of balancing the
conservative melodic elements with the slightly spicy harmonic
twists. It is a highly satisfying encore to what is still a
engaging and welcome virtuosic program of rarities.
exactly as described - excellent Chanel Purses transaction|goslara
fast shipping and great chanel outlet price|joan_ferreira
Thank you for the authentic chanel sale and very fast shipping, would buy again|lv**lover
Thank you for the lovely, authentic chanel bags sale and fast shipping, would buy again|lv**lover
Super Good|marabubeach
Fastest shipping Chanel handbags! A+++|olliefrenchie
great, efficient transaction - this bag is beautiful replica Chanel!, and arrived very quickly|cmscjc6qfw
From: ASDF (asdf@dsa.com / Monday, September 6, 2010 at 15:11:40)
The Gallic cultivation ministry causes picked out to return the 3,200-year-old frescoes, which disappeared in the 1980s, Egypt said, and were acquired by the Louvre in Paris in 2000 and 2003.
Zahi Hawass, the head of Egypt’s supreme council of antiquities, had threatened to spanish rosetta stone sever relations with the Louvre unless it handed back the relics. That would have forced rosetta stone french the French museum to suspend excavation work in the Pharaonic necropolis of Saqarra.
From: p90x (545318153@163.com / Monday, September 20, 2010 at 14:06:24)
From: Cheap Ken Griffey Shoes (anyonees@163.com / Thursday, September 30, 2010 at 11:49:58)
After a seven-year Lebron James Shoes television and between ESPN, MTV and being Ken Griffey Jr Shoes a mother of three, they decided to take a Cheap Ken Griffey Shoes chance on me. Life is funny sometimes - 10 years ago I met with Rob Silverstein, our Executive Producer, for a job Nike Air Griffey Max 1 and did not get hired. I asked him, "so why now?" and Nike Air Max he says, "because now you have a story and life experiences." I still don't Nike Air Max Shoes think he knew what he was getting into hiring me--there's no editing in live TV and Air Max SneakersHe said in his statement today that based on recommendations from the task force
From: ugg (gucci@gucci.com / Sunday, October 3, 2010 at 14:28:49)
[url=http://www.google.com]url[/url]
link
[ubb=http://www.google.com]ubb[/ubb]
I really love reading this articles. awesome thoughts.
I will post a link to this blog on my blog. I am sure my readers will find this article very
informative. I am not much into reading,
nike blog newsgoogle
[url=http://www.google.com]google[/url]
link
[ubb=http://www.google.com]ubb[/ubb] somehow I got to read lots of articles on your blog.
Its amazing how interesting it is for me to visit you very often.
From: nike air max (sasd@gmail.com / Monday, October 4, 2010 at 10:39:16)
In the study, 26 young Nike Air Max men used joysticks to move a cursor while Nike Air Max 1they stared in another direction. Half of the twenty-somethings were experienced Nike Air Max 2010 video gamers — who had played at least four hours of video games per week for the last three Nike Air Max 2009years — and the other half were not. Both groups trained on the console until they were equally proficient in accuracy and movement time.
From: Louis Vuitton Jasper (anyonees@163.com / Monday, October 4, 2010 at 11:12:47)
From: ugg boots sale-emma (1632556927@qq.com / Monday, October 25, 2010 at 15:52:38)
We all know when buying shoes the most important thing is feeling comfortable. Sheepskin UGG Boots are made from 100% natural and has been worn by people long long ago. The natural qualities of the wools sheepskin keep your feet warm on those wintery days, allowing your feet to breathe by wicking away any moisture on those warmer days.Ugg boots sale also known as ugg sale are an Australian favourite and everyone at some stage in their life will own a pair of the most comfortable uggs for sale available.
All ugg boots on sale here are made from 100% Australian sheepskin and we deliver a 100% quality guarantee with all of our UGG boots cheap.We offer you great variety with our collection of styles, colours and sizes to suit everyone for any occasion that arises. Our Ugg boots sale online are selling all around the globe. Choose from a wide range of colours and styles including our UGG classic tall boots sale,UGG bailey button boots sale,ugg classic mini boots sale,ugg nightfall boots sale, ugg classic cardy boots sale and so on.
From: ugg boots sale (abc7612389@gmail.com / Saturday, October 30, 2010 at 17:26:48)
we sale the best air max shoes for you:
ugg boots saleugg boots sale shoesugg boots sale shoes newsugg boots sale shoes blog
[url=http://www.ugghomesale.com//]ugg boots sale[/url]
[url=http://www.ugghomesale.com//]ugg boots sale[/url]
[url=http://www.ugghomesale.com//news.html]ugg boots sale news[/url]
[url=http://www.ugghomesale.com//blog/]ugg boots sale shoes blog[/url]
http://www.ugghomesale.com
From: Supra Shoes (anyonees@163.com / Monday, November 1, 2010 at 18:41:01)
Superior Court Supra Shoes Judge Robert Perry told the jury Supra Footwear of six women and six men that a doctor Supra Sneaker who has a good faith belief that a patient is in pain is Supra Shoes Site not guilty of a Supra Shoes Online crime for prescribing controlled substances to relieve Cheap Supra Shoes suffering. The story of Smith's final years stretched from Los Angeles to the Supra Shoes Cheap Bahamas with stops along the way in South Carolina and Florida, where Supra On Sale her overdose death at the age of 39 was ruled Onitsuka Tiger accidental. The two doctors also were close to Smith during Onitsuka Tiger Ascis her final years, and their lawyers portrayed them as angels of mercy trying Asics Shoes to help her before and after she gave birth to her Asics Tiger daughter by cesarean then Cheap Asics Tiger quickly lost her 20-year-old son, Daniel, to a drug Asics Running Shoe overdose. He died in her hospital room after coming to visit his new half-sister on Sept. 10, 2006. Smith later named the baby Dannielynn in his memory.
From: nancyyy (380600433@qq.com / Tuesday, November 9, 2010 at 17:16:24)
From: londonugg (lilyki50@yahoo.com / Saturday, November 13, 2010 at 15:36:28)
ugg boots london I saw something shocking uggs london on my way to work the other day. uggs new york While bundled in a long sleeved shirt, wool sweater and coat, with a Pashmina, hat and gloves,ugg boots london sale I saw a man with his bike a the bus stop in SANDALS. He wasn¡¯t overly well dressed for cold weather, in jeans, t-shirt and open jacket. Now, having lived in Oregon for the past decade I have come to be aware of what ¡°true Oregonians¡± consider winter attire. ugg boots london shop This primarily consists of the inbred belief that flip-flops are a necessity year round, and sweaters and umbrellas are for tourists.I do not uphold this belief.ugg boots sale london I love getting dressed up for winter, layering on leggings with my sweater dress and ugg boots new york, a sweater and a jacket, and a rotating army of scarves, hats and gloves.ugg boots london stockists I don¡¯t enjoy being frozen, especially knowing how easy a situation that is to avoid. uggs new york sale So personally, buy ugg boots london I do not consider myself a ¡°true Oregonian.¡± I like umbrellas, and only wear flip flops when it¡¯s above 75 degrees.Based on the population of Oregon, ugg new york I¡¯m probably in the minority. Although I have come to accept that these people are just immune to cold in a way I am not, uggs new york of sale I do still think they are crazy. I¡¯m guessing that the good folks at UGG Australia caught wind of these people because look at what they have to offer: sandals with fleece! uggs new york on sale
From: tag heuer replica (456598324@gmail.com / Sunday, December 19, 2010 at 11:59:26)
standing guard in court, chopard watch replica court, defense attorneys moved Mitchell to the cheap chopard watches the floor.Mitchell remained shackled as paramedics lifted tag heuer grand carrera replica lifted his slight
body onto a stretcher. breitling bentley 6.75 replica stretcher. Wearing an oxygen mask, he appeared replica rolex submariner appeared pale and frightened. His eyes, which
breitling bentley replica which are usually
closed in court, were fake tag heuer grand carrera were wide and round, and both of fake rolex submariner watch of his fists were clenched.Mitchell's former stepdaughter, replica rolex submariner stepdaughter, Rebecca Woodridge,
said the defendant has discount tag heuer watches has had seizures in the past and
Air Jordan is one of the most popular brands of shoes ever released.
The brand was created by Nike Shoes in 1985 for arguably the best
basketball player of all time, Micheal Jordan. Since then, Air Jordans
has released a new model of their basketball kicks each year. The first release
of Air Jordan shoes (also known as ‘Cheap Jordans’) were known as the
Air Jordan 1. The styles go numerically from 1-23 or I-XXIII and continue
with the models 2009 and Air Jordan 2010. Micheal Jordan wore the # 23
for a good portion of his basketball career, which was the reason why the models
only go up to 23 and then continue in a different format. There are hundreds of
styles of Air Jordan shoes, all with their own unique design. Each model
of shoe has its own story behind it. Here are some interesting facts about each
model of Air Jordans.
From: mens jeans on sale (linjunjie0594@live.cn / Thursday, March 10, 2011 at 10:14:31)
ZJ
Is constant innovation in jeans,sheap jeans washed jeans, patch jeans, flash, and a wide range of denim jeans jacket, sale true religion jeansin the market and in the streets everywhere. Denim clothing in general give a solid,
mens jeans on salerugged feel and full of energy, work and leisure are appropriate. While the cowboy culture in the United States and European countries have been popular for many years, low price true religion jeanstoday's jeans in the rest of the world is still an option favored by many people. According to experts,
latest trends in fashion USAwith the development of economic globalization, jeans and position in world trade would still be enduring.High to high society,jeans sale usa as low as ordinary citizens, everyone has a pair of jeans is a men and women must have. However far away as 100 years ago,
jeans religion jeans or even on the table can not be regarded as the invention is characterized by blue-collar working-class clothing, back tannins along the way,jeans in use is not fool, no doubt a fashion industry in the East is Red , free shipping cheap jeansEspecially with the improved design and materials development, but to interpret style jeans million side, so that narrow ass,
cheap jeans customer serice departmentlegs become slender slim lower body to become a common task for all the denim brand. Miss Sixty Italian woman to in order to create "exquisite curves, " cheap true religion los angelesthe skill itself, designer and founder Wichy Hassan to play from the start,
True Religion Jeans on salein devoting himself to wallow in tannins Bristol, his ideal is to get into the jeans to the party Daya Hall,
True Religion Jeans for cheap at any rate, that there will be beauty in the side of the abandoned designer, choose to wear his work further on the tannins of red carpet stars;
True Religion Jeans salea lot of Lycra and splice the main arc is the most material, but also really to help show more tannin material Perfect beautiful curves, Tunxing round Qiaoli boats,
Trousers jeanssexy significantly improved version of the most popular type of shoe blade to bell-bottoms pants and the most lovable models, and years of low rise and ultra-popular Di Yaoku paragraph, before the crotch Minimum of only 5 passport size, wearing a very amazing effect.
From: Adidas Jeremy Scott (anyonees@163.com / Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 09:34:35)
The U.S. military issued a response Jeremy Scott Wings tatement, graphics and video Rolling Stone magazine released on Monday on its Web site - about a Jeremy Scott JS Wings week later, the German Der Spiegel magazine published photos of the three journalists. Rolling Jeremy Scott Stone said, the photos are linked to an ongoing war crimes Jeremy Scott Adidas investigation involving members of the 5th Stryker Brigade, according Jeremy Scott Adidas Wings to South Seattle. From five rows of soldiers accused of murder and conspiracy in last year's Jeremy Scott Shoes three unarmed man was killed in Afghanistan. Rolling Stones get all the photos of about 150, said Eric Adidas Jeremy Scott Bates, executive editor of the magazine. It is posted on its Adidas Jeremy Scott Shoes Web site 17, with two video displays it that the U.S. attack on Afghanistan. Bates did not give the magazine access to Adidas Jeremy Scott Wings the photos.A district attorney is entitled to rely on prosecutors' professional training and ethical obligations in the absence of specific reason, such as a pattern of violations, to believe that those tools are insufficient to prevent future constitutional violations."
From: thomas sabo jewellery (giselle@eapps.com / Monday, June 13, 2011 at 11:53:59)
You notice so much its nearly exhausting to argue with you (not that I truly would need…HaHa). Thomas Sabo Double Rows Chains Charm Watch in White can be attached to the double row watch bracelet. Tory Burch 2011 early spring vacation series inspired by couture designers in Rajasthan travel, filled with happy holiday mood. Timberland products not only manual skills, and its user-friendly design also cater for the different needs of customers. Burberry The Beat perfume launch, advertising, served as the spokesperson for the British supermodel Agness Deyn. With fashionable Abercrombie & Fitch clothing and accessories, one can be the talk of the town. | thomas sabo charms | thomas sabo bracelet | thomas sabo watches | thomas sabo | thomas sabo online shop | sabo | thomas sabo jewellery | thomas sabo sale | thomas sabo uk | thomas sabo bracelets
Ten years
after this
recital was recorded, this is
still some of the most hair-raising piano playing committed to
disc and perhaps the best thing pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin
(right) has
done to date. In nearly all of his recordings, Hamelin’s
playing has seemed machine-like and polished on the surface but
detached emotionally. In this live program, taken from a series
of concerts titled Virtuoso Romantics, Hamelin is not
only engaged but thoroughly engaging, with an unexpected charm
and élan gracing his playing.
movement from the Fifth as it would
normally progress in performance – in other words, as if both
pieces are being played simultaneously. Would anyone have the
courage or audacity to play this cadenza in an orchestral
performance of the Third Concerto? (The liner notes state that
composer and pianist Ferrucio Busoni supposedly did in one of
his orchestral concerts in Berlin in 1906, but that it is
unclear whether Busoni himself played it or if Busoni conducted
the orchestra and pianist Rudolph Ganz (to whom Maurice Ravel
dedicated “Scarbo” from Gaspard de la Nuit) did so. 
After the extreme adrenaline of Alkan’s third etude, we are
plunged into the equally high drama of Georges Bizet’s (right) Carmen,
courtesy of Busoni’s masterful Sixth Sonatine. Subtitled a
piano fantasy, the piece starts brightly but ending on a tragic
note quoting the opening chorus from Act III, Don Jose’s “Flower
Song,” the Act I Habanera in both major and minor keys, and the
“Arena” Prelude to Act I along the way. Hamelin rushes things
in the more energetic moments and loses some of the music’s
charm in the process. Stupendous playing, yes, though it does
not erase memories of Paul Jacobs’ more balanced recording from
his complete set on sonatines (for Nonesuch, now on Arbiter and
well worth seeking out).