Marc-André Hamelin, pianist

After beginning the fall on tour in Australia, pianist Marc-André Hamelin joined the Montreal Symphony for Liszt Concerto No. 2 in Montreal and at the International Festival de Cervantino in Mexico, where he played a recital as well.

 

Hamelin then headed home to Boston, joining the BSO’s Chamber Players for a performance of Brahms Piano Quartet No. 2 (he joins the orchestra next spring for Shostakovich 1). He played a recital at the Club Musicale de Quebec, and this month tours Europe, playing recitals in Portugal, Milan, Bergamo, Stuttgart, at London’s Wigmore Hall; the Strauss Burlesque with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales; and Saint-Saens 4 with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Valencia in Spain.

 

In December Hamelin plays recitals at the 92nd Street Y in New York City, at San Francisco Performances, and for La Jolla Music Society.

(November 2009)

In this piece from the September 2009 edition of Gramophone, Marc-André speaks about his passion for collecting scores and discovering uncharted musical territory. Click here to download the PDF. (September 2009)

In this interview, published June 12, 2009, Marc-André Hamelin speaks with Geoff Edgers about his rising profile, his prolific recordings, and what he aims to achieve in performance. Click here to read more from the Boston Globe or download the PDF. (June 2009)

This spring Marc-André Hamelin tours with the Takács Quartet, playing the Schumann Piano Quintet at the University of Chicago, at the University Musical Society in Ann Arbor, at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London and elsewhere. They record the work for Hyperion next month. Last week he made a last-minute recital appearance at the Strathmore Center for the Washington Performing Arts Society, playing Haydn, Schumann, Fauré and Debussy:

"Hamelin is no second-rate consolation prize, but a major pianist, with a devoted following who prize him for his voracious musical appetite, intellectual control and fine technique. It was a stroke of good luck that the WPAS was able to secure him so quickly. And his performance was fascinating, nourishing and provocative." THE WASHINGTON POST, April 10, 2009

Hamelin now plays Liszt (Totentanz and the Schubert/Liszt Wanderer Fantasy) with the Seattle Symphony, and next joins the St. Louis Symphony for Saint-Saens 2 in May.

Other upcoming dates include recitals at the Rockport Chamber Music Festival, returns to Aspen, Orford, and Ravinia, and an engagement with the New York Philharmonic for Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue and "I've Got Rhythm" Variations. In Europe, he appears at the Salzburg and Aldeburgh festivals.

Last month heard Hamelin playing Shostakovich 1 with the North Carolina Symphony, and in a week honoring his artistry at the Pro Musica Society of Montreal, with chamber music, solo recital and concerto performances (Haydn D Major, Beethoven 3) with Bernard Labadie and Les Violons du Roy. (April 2009)

Pianist MARC-ANDRÉ HAMELIN wraps up 2008 with a GRAMMY Nomination - his eighth! - for "Marc-André Hamelin in a state of jazz" (Hyperion CDA67656.)

"Played with such astounding agility and aplomb that you end up mesmerised by virtually every bar. Indeed, it is no exaggeration to say that no other pianist could approach Hamelin in such music. Notes pour and cascade like diamonds from his fingers and he has an inborn flair for the music's wild, free-wheeling melodies and rhythms, for its glittering whimsy and caprice..." - Gramophone Magazine

This month Hamelin completed a Far East tour, performing Mendelssohn 1 with Günther Herbig in Singapore, Brahms 2 with the Malaysian Phil and Osmo Vänskä, the Strauss Burlesque with Melbourne Symphony and Oleg Caetani and a pair of recitals in Hong Kong. Next month sees his newest Hyperion recording, Chopin Sonatas 2 and 3.

(December 2008)

It's a big spring for pianist MARC-ANDRÉ HAMELIN, with recitals at the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival, at Denver Friends of Chamber Music, at the Portland Piano Festival, for Chicago Symphony Presents, and completing a three-year series of concerts for San Francisco Performances. April marked the release of his latest recording for Hyperion, "Marc-André Hamelin in a State of Jazz". The disc, with works by Friederich Gulda, Nikolai Kapustin, Alexis Weissenberg and George Antheil, was an Editor's Choice in Gramophone: "Played with such astounding agility and aplomb that you end up mesmerised by virtually every bar...Superbly presented and recorded, this is a special addition to Hamelin's towering and unique discography." GRAMOPHONE April 2008.

This week Mr. Hamelin heads to Canada, joining the National Arts Centre Orchestra for Gershwin, then on to the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra for Schnittke, and to the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra for Messiaen and Mozart. He spends June in Europe, performing recitals in Copenhagen, Bonn, and joining the Risør Chamber Music Festival in Norway, where he'll perform with Leif Ove Andsnes (a two-handed arrangement of Rite of Spring!), Christian Tetzlaff, Thomas Quastoff and others. US summer dates include recitals at Aspen, the Minnesota Beethoven Festival, and his annual appearance at the Mannes International Keyboard Institute & Festival. (June 2008)

Renowned artist Marc-André Hamelin performs his vast repertoire with equal parts wit, intelligence and sparkling technique. He has already had a chock-full season, with performances of the massive Busoni Concerto in Winnepeg, the Brahms No. 2 in Ottawa, and recital appearances of the Albéniz: Iberia (also recorded on Hyperion,) in between. Mr. Hamelin now heads south for a recital tour, and looks forward to performances with the Edmonton Symphony and the San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival later this summer. (April 2006)

Virtuoso pianist Marc-André Hamelin made notable appearances in Texas this February, wowing audiences with his "total, cool, impressive control" and "exquisitely shaped music-making" (Houston Chronicle). He performed the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Dallas Symphony, led by Andrew Litton and recorded for Hyperion, before making his Houston debut with the Performing Arts Society at the Cullen Theater, and appearing in recital at Baylor University.

A busy March brings Mr. Hamelin the colossal Busoni Piano Concerto with the Winnipeg Symphony led by James Paul, both Shostakovich Piano Concerti with the New West Symphony in L.A., and the Brahms No. 2 with the National Arts Centre Orchestra and Stefan Sanderling, followed by a chamber concert with musicians from the NAC. In addition, Mr. Hamelin brings his acclaimed interpretation of Albeniz's Iberia in recital to the Cleveland Museum of Art. (March 2006)

Following pianist Marc-André Hamelin's jaw-dropping debut with the New York Philharmonic on June 30 and July 1, 2005, Anthony Tommasini of the New York Times wrote: "The virtuosic Canadian pianist Marc-André Hamelin, making his Philharmonic debut, delivered an intense, rhapsodic and ferociously brilliant account of Liszt's "Totentanz" for piano and orchestra."

A few days later, as a result of two releases: his highly acclaimed two-disc set of Albéniz's kaleidoscopic Spanish portrait Ibéria in May, and a riveting recording of Ives' Concord Sonata and Barber's Piano Sonata in September 2004, Gramophone Magazine announced the nomination of Mr. Hamelin for 2005 Artist of the Year - exclaiming, "Is there nothing this man can't play?"

You can cast your vote for Marc-André Hamelin for Gramophone's 2005 Artist of the Year at the link below until August 3, 2005: http://www.gramophone.co.uk/vote.asp (August 2005)

May 10 marked the US release of pianist MARC-ANDRE HAMELIN's new 2 Disc CD of the Albeniz masterpiece IBERIA on Hyperion. Joshua Kosman of the San Francisco Chronicle calls the disc, "compulsively listenable", remarking Hamelin "is just the musician to illuminate the work's diverse strands" and "the result is a superb performance.."

Hamelin preceded the release with highly acclaimed performances of the work in San Francisco (April 29) and Tallahassee (April 24). The Tallahassee Democrat stated, "his technique truly is amazing," while praising "the incredible beauty ad sensitivity Hamelin drew from the piano..."

Click here to check out IBERIA! (May 2005)

MARC-ANDRE HAMELIN's latest CD, Shostakovich/Shchedrin on Hyperion:
"I am going to take his staggering virtuosity for granted--the incredibly clean finger work at the close of the First Concerto, or the outer movements of the Second--and speak instead of Hamelin's gorgeous tone in the Adagio of the former, his witty phrasing in the finale of the latter, his range of color throughout both concertos and his sensitively calibrated but wide dynamic range...it's difficult to imagine the piece better performed than it is here. The orchestral part, more fully scored than either Shostakovich work, allows Litton and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra a chance to strut their considerable stuff as well. Excellently balanced sonics complete an ideal marriage of soloist, conductor, orchestra, and repertoire. Certainly this is the new reference recording for the Shostakovich concertos. Bravo!" (ClassicsToday.com) (January 2005)

SERIOUS FUN was had by all when pianist MARC-ANDRE HAMELIN and conductor Keith Lockhart got together for the first time in concerts of Rachmaninov 2 at the Edmonton Symphony... "Canadian pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin gave a ravishing, nuanced performance of Rachmaninoff's beloved Second Piano Concerto. Hamelin is a virtuoso second to none, but he's also a thinker and a poet, and his performance had everything." - Edmonton Sun (May 2004)

Pianist MARC-ANDRE HAMELIN has received yet another Grammy nomination for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without Orchestra) for his album Kaleidoscope, available from Hyperion Records. The winners are announced on Sunday, February 23 at the 45th Annual Grammy Awards. This album has already won the Gramophone Critics Choice award, the Sunday Times Record of the Year, the 10 De Repertoire (France), and the Cannes Classique Award. A recent review of Mr. Hamelin speaks for itself. "At the Wigmore Hall on 31 October Marc-Andre Hamelin gave a piano recital of consummate artistry. A large audience was held enthralled by a blend of virtuosity and musicianship, which proclaimed the unique qualities of the piano as an instrument capable of embracing a vast range of styles whilst presenting them in terms of scintillating colours and wide-ranging dynamics. Schubert's poignant yet technically demanding A major Sonata D664 was given a deeply affecting reading and the pair of marches arranged by Liszt from Schubert's vast score of treasures were models of rhythmic colour. Chopin's captivating little explanation of Paganini, which he called a Souvenir, was deftly presented, while the evening's tour de force was provided by a sequence of Liszt's Grandes Etudes. Here was thrilling mastery in which technical brilliance, poetic perception and structural insight evoked sheer wonder" (Musical Opinion). (February 2003)