Hamelin is the best pianist of our time. I am mainly grateful that he plays mainly the unknown composers that deserves to be in the mainstream, like Medtner, Alkan, Feinberg and Godowsky!
I’ve listened to MANY solo piano discs, and this is the only one where I felt like my jaw dropped hearing several of these études played by Hamelin for the first time. It really is THAT good. Inspired choice, Dave!
Glad to hear Hamelin will be prominent in this series. I heard him live in recital in the early 1990s on a mostly Liszt program that ended with Godowsky's "Gardens of Buitenzorg" which was such a refreshing palate cleanser after all that Liszt (which he played fabulously, of course). It was the first Godowsky I'd ever heard, and I was hooked. So I snapped up this recording immediately when it came out and have loved it ever since. You're right that he plays these pieces not only effortlessly but musically and thrillingly. I was happy to play fanboy and get Hamelin to sign the booklet for me when he was in town some years ago to play one of Medtner’s piano concertos.
This is something really significant. to be honest, without Hamelin, who would know Godsowsky, Alkan, Kapustin and so many other less known composers. His early live recitals are, surprisingly, often riddled with piles of wrong notes and rushing, while more recent ones are more refined. But his recordings are simply unbelievable. My wife is a professional pianist, but when she first heard of the Godowsky studies, and followed the score with the Hamelin recording, she sincerely asked: 'is it possible that they fake somethings in the studio?' that's how crazy it is!
Agree. It’s remarkable playing of treacherously difficult music. Hamelin’s playing is seemingly effortless. With all his remarkable gifts, I admire the cohesiveness and directness of his playing the most,
I wholeheartedly agree. The etudes are dazzlingly difficult, but Hamelin’s impeccable technique and musicality shed a refreshing light on them which only few come close. One should note that although Godowsky has some very ambitious and large-scale works, he also had an extraordinary talent for writing miniatures. They got all of the good stuff that the large works have, but are generally much more technically manageable.
More colorful beautiful piano sound than Hamelin=Wilhelm Kempff Emil Gilels Radu Lupu Artur Rubinstein Vladimir Ashkenazy Grigory Sokolov! More genius than Hamelin=Sviatoslav Richter Solomon Cutner Grigory Sokolov Maurizio Pollini Stanislav Bunin! More powerful louder than Hamelin=Mikhail Pletnev(Prokofiev piano concerto no 1 by Pletnev!) The Second Loudest was ever was Lazar Berman! The 3rd Loudest was Erwin Nyiregyhazi! Marc Andre Hamelin is a Cyborg Human machine with colorless piano sound!
@@RaineriHakkarainen I hear what you say and on the subject of Chopin Godowsky, I would argue that Jorge Bolet was the most musical of them all. We should not forget that his disc in 1977 was pioneering, despite the fact his teacher David Saperton had produced something earlier
Yes! to this recording. And Yes! to more Hamelin! I know you like his first recording of the Alkan Symphony. And it’s absolutely amazing, but to my ears his second recording for Hyperion is really beyond-belief-amazing. But let’s see, maybe you will have other Hamelin recordings in this series.
Hamelin is the best pianist of our time. I am mainly grateful that he plays mainly the unknown composers that deserves to be in the mainstream, like Medtner, Alkan, Feinberg and Godowsky!
I’ve listened to MANY solo piano discs, and this is the only one where I felt like my jaw dropped hearing several of these études played by Hamelin for the first time. It really is THAT good. Inspired choice, Dave!
Glad to hear Hamelin will be prominent in this series. I heard him live in recital in the early 1990s on a mostly Liszt program that ended with Godowsky's "Gardens of Buitenzorg" which was such a refreshing palate cleanser after all that Liszt (which he played fabulously, of course). It was the first Godowsky I'd ever heard, and I was hooked. So I snapped up this recording immediately when it came out and have loved it ever since. You're right that he plays these pieces not only effortlessly but musically and thrillingly. I was happy to play fanboy and get Hamelin to sign the booklet for me when he was in town some years ago to play one of Medtner’s piano concertos.
This is something really significant. to be honest, without Hamelin, who would know Godsowsky, Alkan, Kapustin and so many other less known composers.
His early live recitals are, surprisingly, often riddled with piles of wrong notes and rushing, while more recent ones are more refined. But his recordings are simply unbelievable. My wife is a professional pianist, but when she first heard of the Godowsky studies, and followed the score with the Hamelin recording, she sincerely asked: 'is it possible that they fake somethings in the studio?' that's how crazy it is!
Agree. It’s remarkable playing of treacherously difficult music. Hamelin’s playing is seemingly effortless. With all his remarkable gifts, I admire the cohesiveness and directness of his playing the most,
I wholeheartedly agree. The etudes are dazzlingly difficult, but Hamelin’s impeccable technique and musicality shed a refreshing light on them which only few come close. One should note that although Godowsky has some very ambitious and large-scale works, he also had an extraordinary talent for writing miniatures. They got all of the good stuff that the large works have, but are generally much more technically manageable.
Such a fascinating recording.
Sounds great I just bought them 👌🏻
I love Alex Ross' (The New Yorker) description of Hamelin as the Arch Magus of the piano
More colorful beautiful piano sound than Hamelin=Wilhelm Kempff Emil Gilels Radu Lupu Artur Rubinstein Vladimir Ashkenazy Grigory Sokolov! More genius than Hamelin=Sviatoslav Richter Solomon Cutner Grigory Sokolov Maurizio Pollini Stanislav Bunin! More powerful louder than Hamelin=Mikhail Pletnev(Prokofiev piano concerto no 1 by Pletnev!) The Second Loudest was ever was Lazar Berman! The 3rd Loudest was Erwin Nyiregyhazi! Marc Andre Hamelin is a Cyborg Human machine with colorless piano sound!
@@RaineriHakkarainen I hear what you say and on the subject of Chopin Godowsky, I would argue that Jorge Bolet was the most musical of them all.
We should not forget that his disc in 1977 was pioneering, despite the fact his teacher David Saperton had produced something earlier
Yes! to this recording. And Yes! to more Hamelin! I know you like his first recording of the Alkan Symphony. And it’s absolutely amazing, but to my ears his second recording for Hyperion is really beyond-belief-amazing. But let’s see, maybe you will have other Hamelin recordings in this series.
Not the Symphony, the Concerto.
Indeed, my mistake.
I bet the Busoni Concerto goes for him too!, besides the Alkan obviously...., and maybe Scriabin Sonatas?, I love the guy.
No, not the Busoni.
@@DavesClassicalGuideYou are right. The Busoni goes to Garrick Ohlsson.