Sydney’s City Recital Hall in Angel Place held a full house last night for the continuation of Sydney Symphony’s most excellent series “International Pianists in Recital”. This time we were lucky enough to hear the world renowned concert soloist Marc-André Hamelin.
Hamelin was born in Montreal, Canada. As a musician and composer, he is celebrated for his extraordinary technical skill and interpretative depth. He began piano lessons at the age of five, showing prodigious talent early on. Hamelin studied at the Conservatoire de Musique in Québec, Montréal and later at the University of Arizona.
Hamelin’s career took off in the late 1980s after winning the prestigious Carnegie Hall International American Music Competition. His performances stand out with a unique blend of virtuosity and sensitivity, allowing him to tackle a wide repertoire that spans classical, contemporary, and lesser-known works. He is particularly noted for his interpretations of composers such as Liszt and Debussy.
In support of his live performance work, Hamelin is a prolific recording artist. Discogs lists more than 90 albums where he is featured. His recordings have received critical acclaim, earning several Grammy nominations and awards. He is also known for his commitment to promoting contemporary music, often premiering new works and championing compositions that might otherwise be left on the shelf.
To boot, Hamelin is a composer in his own right, creating original works that reflect his deep understanding of the piano’s capabilities. His contributions to the music world have made him a significant figure in both classical and contemporary music circles.
Throughout his career, Hamelin has received numerous accolades, including the Order of Canada. His dedication to music continues to inspire audiences and fellow musicians alike, solidifying his legacy as one of the leading pianists of his generation.
For City Recital Hall, the program was kept very simple. The first half featured the mammoth work by Beethoven — his Piano sonata in B flat major, opus 106. This is a work that even Beethoven admitted was hard to play and that others would more likely be playing it in 50 years time. Perhaps he didn’t consider 207 years later… Even now, the work is not often performed due to its extreme technical difficulty but, Hamelin was all over it.
His knowledge and understanding of the piece allowed him to extend his interpretation to something quite unique. We are familiar with Beethoven’s work being very classical, written with a solid, predictable foundation underneath. Hamelin’s interpretation offered a very modern, fresh perspective with constantly changing tempi. The effect was more like an improvised soliloquy with the occasional, beautiful idea floating into view like a gorgeous Autumn leaf. There was just enough time to admire it in front of your face. Then, it would flit away on the breeze down the road before you could grab it and study it further.
With nothing to hold onto, for those expecting a more classical approach, the Sonata may have been quite unsettling. The work continued with an improvised feeling throughout, in this manner, such that the final crescendo only had a very short lead up.
The audience gave great applause recognising the exceptional technical capabilities of Hamelin before we broke for interval.
One concern about the Beethoven was that the piano sounded muddy, as if the acoustics of the room were not quite right. Considering the acoustics can’t be changed, it was a puzzle as to the cause. Also, there was one particular high note that sounded like Hamelin was constantly hitting the wrong note. Each time he would play it really quietly, yet, it was still the same strange note. In interval, a piano tuner came onto the stage and did a thorough tune up. Puzzle solved! The piano sounded a million times better in the second half. Surely City Recital Hall didn’t put a Steinway on the stage and then forgot to tune it before the concert? If Hamelin was rattled or angry about it, he didn’t show it at all. He was the consummate professional.
The second half was quite short, featuring the works of two very great friends. Rachmaninov, who we know so well, and a composer not so often performed.
Nikolai Medtner and Rachmaninov were students together at the Moscow Conservatory. Each abandoned their Motherland due to the Russian Revolution. Rachmaninov left almost immediately in a wise move. Although he had to abandon his assets to the communists, he was able to set up a wonderful concert soloist career to the point of being able to support other musicians back in Russia and those in exile.
Medtner was a few years younger and left a little later. After several years in Germany, he eventually moved to England where his music following grew. The connections between works within the program is that the Russian Revolution was just getting started as Beethoven wrote his Piano Sonata. Rachmaninov’s Études-Tableaux was one of the last works he wrote whilst still in Russia. The style of the Russian works still feel like a stark contrast to Beethoven. The Russian folk influence is clear throughout.
The work of both Russian composers was astounding with Hamelin’s portrayal a frenzy of fugal structure, triplets and detailed sophistication. Hamelin could take the busyness of the work at full amplification then, drop to single, thoughtful notes that were lyrical and as lonely as a walk in a winter Russian forest. The Russian works are less familiar to the writer so it is tricky to comment on Hamelin’s interpretation. They were, nevertheless, great entertainment and the eruption of applause expressed full appreciation from the crowd.
Hamelin gave several curtain calls, then the applause halted almost instantly when he abruptly sat for each encore. For the first, Hamelin uttered his first word for the evening. “Debussy”. He performed “Reflets dans l’eau” which is well familiar to the crowd, they enjoyed it immensely.
The second encore was an interesting piece titled “Negaceando” by Brazilian composer Radamés Gnattali. It was more jazz than classical, a fun work with some groovy rhythms and jaunty tunes. Talk in the foyer after the performance were that these two encores became the highlight of the evening and were much appreciated.
Hamelin has now completed his short tour of Australia with a performance in Adelaide and a larger concert with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Opera House. He now moves on to a tour in China. We were very lucky to witness the live performance of such a great performer and look forward to his next visit.
Program
BEETHOVEN – Piano Sonata in B flat major, Opus 106 (Hammerklavier)
MEDTNER – Three Pieces, Opus 31
MEDTNER – Forgotten Melodies, Opus 38
RACHMANINOV – Études-Tableaux, Opus 39
RACHMANINOV – Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Opus 36
Related Links
Where to see Marc-André Hamelin performing around the world: https://www.marcandrehamelin.com/calendar
What’s on at City Recital Hall: https://www.cityrecitalhall.com/whats-on/?genres=classical-music&range=upcoming
More about composer Nikolai Medtner: https://nikolaimedtner.com/en/nikolai-medtner/
