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Product details
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Track Listings
| 1. Fantasie in C major Op.17 - Schumann |
| 2. Piano Sonata No.2 in G minor Op.22 - Schumann |
| 3. Etudes symphoniques - Schumann |
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Marc-André Hamelin already has some notable Hyperion discs under his belt and now adds three works by Schumann to his catalogue. The op.17 Fantasie shows Schumann the master of large-scale composition--at almost 33 minutes it is the longest piece on the disc. This is good, rich, meaty stuff, and Hamelin really gives it some welly, but he is equally at home in the quieter, more lyrical passages which are never far away in Schumann. Try the opening of the Langsam getragen. This is archetypal Schumann: intimate, assured and with more than a hint of vulnerability. There's more of this in the slow movement of the Piano Sonata op.22. After the headlong scurrying of the first movement, the Andantino lets us into the quiet place again, the old head-and-heart mix which is Schumann's trademark. The Etudes symphoniques op.13 is one of those grand sweeping pieces that just carries you along. Having set out its stall in leisurely fashion, it cascades through an endlessly inventive set of variations to the Allegro brillante finale, which Hamelin tackles with take-no-prisoners verve. The playing throughout is rich and opulent, tempering Schumann's essentially personal outpouring with the bravura public face. --Keith Clarke
Review
Supreme artistry (Pianist Magazine) These are among the most poetic readings you will find by anyone. The tone is beautiful, the phrases long and songful, the drama passionate. This disc whets one s appetite for more mainstream masterpieces from the world s fastest fingers (The Capital Times) For me the outstanding performance is the great C major Fantasie...so beautifully voiced and phrased I can only say that it moved me more deeply than any I have heard for a long time (Gramophone) 'A dazzling technician fuses technical dexterity and poetry to compelling effect' (Gramophone) If you want to experience a whirlwind ride, Hamelin is definitely your man. A remarkable tour-de-force (The Irish Times) 'Hamelin brings a transcendental technique and passionate romantic temperament to music that, more often than not, is the preserve of pianistic intellectuals and poets. But his performances of the great C major Fantasy and the Symphonic Studies are not merely exercises in virtuosity. His astounding feats of dexterity and dazzling spectrum of colour are constantly put to the service of the music. This is freshly conceived Schumann, light and brilliant in bravura passages - the concluding Allegro brillante of the Etudes rarely sounds so joyous - yet never lightweight in reflective music: the slow third movement of the Fantasy is a poignantly poetic meditation, while the lovely Andantino of the Sonata glows with an entirely appropriate inward emotional intensity. Hamelin's Schumann ideally combines the extrovert and introspective characteristics of this glorious music. Highly recommended.' (The Sunday Times) 'Genuinely outstanding disc' (The Guardian) 'While there s no shortage of either visceral excitement or poetic exploration, this remains supremely balanced playing ... If you re already a Hamelin aficionado, of course, you won t need my urging to buy this disc; but if you ve been wary because of his usually offbeat repertoire, here s a chance to see what he can contribute to the mainstream. Top recommendation' (Fanfare, USA) '[Hamelin s] reading is glorious in its blend of virtuosity and emotional commitment ... The recording quality is first-rate. I doubt very much if the current year will produce a finer piano CD --Musical Opinion
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the great recordings of the Fantasy,
This review is from: Schumann: Piano Music (Audio CD)
Hamelin's performance of the Fantasy alone merits the 5 stars I've given it. I must admit I was a bit sceptical at first, expecting Hamelin to be dazzling but a bit 'cool' and detached in this kind of music. I needn't have worried - this performance of the Fantasy is among the best I've heard. As you'd expect from Hamelin's technique, he clarifies the polyphonic textures brilliantly and negotiates the treacherous final pages of the March with scintillating ease. However, I didn't expect the final movement to be played with so warmly and expressively. Combined with his ardent, impulsive view of the first movement, this is now my favourite performance of the Fantasy, displacing Richter and Andsnes.
The rest of the CD isn't quite on the same elevated standard, even though both the Sonata and Etudes Symphoniques are excellent. Overall, 5 stars for the Fantasy, 4 for the rest.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Austere Schumann with Titanic Virtuosity!,
By
This review is from: Schumann: Piano Music (Audio CD)
If you admire Hamelin's super-human virtuosity, you will not be disappointed with this recording. In each piece there's a plenty of it, and this is no doubt the most technically accomplished of all Schumann recitals for recent years. My only reservation is that it sounds too austere and somehow it lacks colours, atmosphere and delicacy (so essential to Schumann's piano music) in all three pieces. Having said that who else can play Schumann, nowadays, with rich poetry and subtlety that match past masters like Heinrich Neuhaus or Richter who could work miracle on keybord playing Schumann? Schumann's music really shows limitation of imagination and poor use of pedalling so characteristic of our generation of pianists who do not pay much attention to how sound decays and mixes with other notes and harmonies. To many pianists today, 'subltely' means only playing softly because their focus is only on starting point of a note they create, so their pianism lacks in depth and richness of expression no matter how hard they try to create poetry and atmosphere ( Kissin or Ashkenazy is a typical examle ). Hamelin is no exception in this respect, but he still manages pretty well compared to other pianists. If you admire his fingures, 5 stars surely, but out of respect for Schumann's music, I give only 4.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews) 14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Schumann Needs More Than Rhetoric,
By brent taylor - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Schumann: Piano Music (Audio CD)
The Schumann Fantasy is one of the most subjective works in the piano repertoire. It is perhaps one of the most difficult of all to bring off as a convincing and integrated whole. In this sense it is much like the Chopin sonatas; many great artists have offered us wonderful performances of individual movements, but few have realized the works as a truly satisfying whole.I looked forward to this recording a great deal. I could think of no pianist better equipped to deal with the thorny technical demands of Schumann than Hamelin. He gives us a fiery and heroic effort. It is a spacious account, well conceived, wonderfully thought out and (as expected) brilliantly executed. But, it is on the spiritual and emotional plane that Schumann somehow eludes Hamelin; he comes close but stops short of the summit, and at times this most romantic of works sounds too deliberate, direct and literal. However, the very qualities which undermine Hamelin in the Fantasy make for great performance of the G-minor Sonata. Hamelin makes a compelling argument for a work which has languished on the fringes of the literature. Rather ironically this sonata, its companion in F-sharp minor, Op. 11, and the Etudes symphoniques, Op. 13, all enjoyed great exposure at the turn of the century. Indeed, if one looks back to recital programs between 1898 and 1920, it is hard to find a program where one of these works (or the Fantasy) was not featured by artists ranging from Emil von Sauer to Percy Grainger--along with the ubiquitous Brahms Paganini and Handel Variations. Little more needs to be said about the Symphonic Etudes, except that Hamelin dispatches them (in the 1850's revision) with ease. I would welcome this piano-slayer to turn his attention to the Brahms sonatas or just about anything else less over-played. And, despite Hamelin's strength in the sonata, he is very clearly outclassed by Argerich. This recording contains some very nice playing, but there are far better Schumann interpretations from Pollini, Richter, Cortot and Gilels. Hopefully, we also have a lot more to forward to from Arcadi Volodos if his Bunte Blatter is any indication. As for the Fantasy? I will continue to enjoy Jorge Bolet's reading, but it is Arnaldo Cohen on Vox who gives what is perhaps my single favorite performance of this work; one which bears out repeated listening and is beautifully recorded and eminently affordable at budget price. I enjoyed this recording and as a fan of Hamelin I was not overly disappointed even though some weaknesses in him are finally revealed. Nice to know that he is human; after all, even Horowitz had trouble with Beethoven. In all fairness, I could live without this one but wonder if Hamelin played it all much better before a live audience. 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Generally fine, but lacking in poetry and no match for the classics,
By G.D. - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Schumann: Piano Music (Audio CD)
Hamelin's specialty is still absurdly difficult material from the fringes of the repertoire, such as Alkan and Godowsky, although he has made several extremely fine recordings of mainstream works as well. I mention this because this disc, rather than sounding like a central part of his repertoire, sometimes sounds like it is a mere side-thought with a certain lack of depth and involvement.
The sonata is very fast (although close to Schumann's actual metronome marks), but the overall flow and sweep of the music is missing even though separate details and figures are impressive. This is, perhaps, most obvious in the slow movement - nothing Hamelin does here sounds ugly or hard, but the long lines are nebulous and in lack of characterization. This is not a bad version of the sonata, by no means, but it isn't entirely up there with the classics either. The Symphonic Studies are somewhat marred by the same problems - much impressive and fine playing, but the overall effect is lacking in songfulness; most importantly, perhaps, the differences in mood between the pieces are blurred, and it sounds sometimes like Hamelin is adopting a one-size-fits-all approach to these subtly varied works. The Fantasie is better - quite so much so, in fact, that I suspect that was the main reason for recording the disc, and is certainly the main reason for acquiring it. Here Hamelin conjures smoldering power and urgent drive - it is still missing the poetry of some of the classic alternatives, but it is still an alternative that deserves to be heard. Sound quality is of course fine, but in the end - while overall by all means a very fine disc - this is not a prime choice in the repertoire. 1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Austere Schumann with Titanic Virtuosity!,
By Scriabinmahler - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Schumann: Piano Music (Audio CD)
If you admire Hamelin's super-human virtuosity, you will not be disappointed with this recording. In each piece there's a plenty of it, and this is no doubt the most technically accomplished of all Schumann recitals for recent years. My only reservation is that it sounds too austere and somehow it lacks colours, atmosphere and delicacy (so essential to Schumann's piano music) in all three pieces. Having said that who else can play Schumann, nowadays, with rich poetry and subtlety that match past masters like Heinrich Neuhaus or Richter who could work miracle on keybord playing Schumann? Schumann's music really shows limitation of imagination and poor use of pedalling so characteristic of our generation of pianists who do not pay much attention to how sound decays and mixes with other notes and harmonies. To many pianists today, 'subltely' means only playing softly because their focus is only on starting point of a note they create, so their pianism lacks in depth and richness of expression no matter how hard they try to create poetry and atmosphere ( Kissin or Ashkenazy is a typical examle ). Hamelin is no exception in this respect, but he still manages pretty well compared to other pianists. If you admire his fingures, 5 stars surely, but out of respect for Schumann's music, I give only 4. |
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