Marc-André Hamelin
piano
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Sonata in E minor, Hob. XVI:34
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
"Carnaval," Op. 9
Stefan Wolpe (1902-1972)
Passacaglia from “Four Studies,” Op. 23
Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924)
Nocturne in D flat major, Op. 63
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
“Reminiscences de ‘Norma’,” S. 394
There’s a name for virtuosity intensified: Marc-André Hamelin. “He rates as a hyper-virtuoso, an all-rounder, but there’s not the slightest hint of demonic fog, lunacy, or smoke and mirrors shrouding him,” is how “DIE ZEIT” characterized the 50-year-old Canadian pianist. “Hamelin is exceptionally modest and witty, he loves his connection to the audience, seldom dresses in tails, looks like a stamp collector at the keyboard, and puts on no faces or grimaces. Yet what he conveys at the piano surpasses every imaginable measure.” But the notion that he himself might be celebrated as a “reincarnation” of the wizard of the piano during Liszt year 2011 is not what Hamelin has in mind for this recital. Instead, he would rather present himself as a poet at the piano with pieces by Schumann and Fauré and involve himself in the cryptic keyboard games of Joseph Haydn, while also showcasing a genuine rarity with Wolpe’s Passacaglia. Only at the end of the program will Hamelin take on the guise of a magician when he performs Liszt’s nearly unplayable “Réminiscences de ‘Norma.’”