Marc-André Hamelin / Schwetzingen, 5 June 2011 + Düsseldorf, 7 June 2011: concert report
M. B.
it's festival time. All over the world and in particular in Europe,
many small and big festivals, with long traditions or just created,
are vying for the attention of those for whom the regular subscription
concerts are not enough or that seek alternative means of attending a
concert. Both the festival in the small German town Schwetzingen and
the Klavierfestival Ruhr undoubtedly count among the establishment in
today's festival scene - the former existing for 59, the latter for 22
years, with more than 20.000 (the former) or even 60.000 (the latter)
spectators each year.
But enough of statistics. As a confirmed pianophile I have been at
both festivals' concerts numerous times; due to the concentration of
the Ruhr-festival on my favourite instrument on more occasions to this
particular summer event. While studying the programme of both
festivals, I had noticed that one of my favourite pianists - Marc-
André Hamelin - would be playing two recitals within 3 days, the first
in Schwetzingen, then in Düsseldorf. As Düsseldorf also happens to be
my hometown, I thought this to be an excellent occasion to visit
family and friends and attend a recital; and Schwetzingen is always
worth a trip, with its beautiful palace and gardens and the cozy and
quaint town center. If Hamelin were an actor, you would probably call
it stalking - but as he played almost entirely different programmes in
the two recitals, I thought this to be a good idea to catch up on his
latest playing.
Even though some still put him into the category of the niche
repertoire in which nobody else dares to venture, truth is that he has
an immense repertoire and has always played what some would call the
"big classics", i.e. the composers known and cherished by all. What
has changed in recent years are probably two things: he has been given
the opportunity to record some of these pieces, and he is starting to
get the media and concert organisers' attention that he deserves -
with invitations to the Berlin Philharmonics and the London Proms this
year. So, with some exceptions, you could call the programme of both
his recitals rather classic, considering it mostly consisted of Haydn,
Mozart, Liszt and Schumann. Still, for those who don't know him so
well it may be slightly unusual, as in the normal critic's view he has
not really been associated to the Vienna classics.
For me, these constant efforts at categorizations are moot anyway -
what counts is the music. In Schwetzingen he started with the piano
sonata in E minor Hob. XVI:34, a delightful little gem that proves
again that Haydn is severely underappreciated (does that word exist?
undervalued,underrated, underestimated). With his fluent and elegant
technique, judicious use of the pedal and transparent phrasing, while
not neglecting the composer's humour from time to time, this piece
made for a very promising start. I particularly liked the last
movement, played by Hamelin with quick fingers and attention to
detail, without being fussy. - The recital then continued with
Schumann's Carnaval op.9, which I was particularly looking forward to
as I have been practising it myself. For me the piece embodies much of
what is essential to Schumann - lightning changes of mood, ranging
from lyrical over melancholical to passionate and extrovert, beautiful
melodies and inventive characterisation. A great piece, rewarding for
both pianist and listener - if the pianist succeeds in capturing and
conveying the spirit of it. Hamelin did, that evening. The pianistic
challenges were obviously no real obstacle for him, resulting in
rather fast tempi but still very clear articulation. Playing fast is
of course no guarantee for a musically convincing result, as one can
hear over and over again on recordings of technically proficient, but
musically boring pianistic personalities (I don't want to name names
here...). What counts is to accelerate at the right moment and apply
the brakes when the music calls for it, if you allow me this
motorsports analogy. It's something I've always admired about pianists
like Nelson Freire or Martha Argerich, who both have technical
abilities allowing them almost anything, but the musical instincts to
know how and when to use them. To my ears, that's also what Hamelin
did - dazzling runs in the "Prologue", quirky bounds of humour in
"Arlequin", passion in "Chiara" and real dancing fingers in "A-S-C-H",
to name but a few highlights. The finale was really impressive, from
powerful chords in the beginning to breathtaking acceleration in the
Paganini-like stretta at the end. Although the piano inherently
sounded somewhat dull and muffled (not that the pianist is to blame
for that, of course), I found Hamelin's interpretation musically
preferable to the rendition that I had heard a few months ago, when he
played the same piece in Munich (on a better piano).
The second half started with Wolpe's "Passacaglia", a piece that
Hamelin has lived with for quite a long time (it was among his first
recordings, on a rather obscure label) and that owes much to serial
music. Although it's certainly not a piece that ranks among my
favourites, it was impressive to see it played - I always wonder how
anyone can play this without the score, it seems almost impossible to
memorise to me. This was followed by Fauré's probably most famous
piano composition, his sixth Nocturne op. 63; upon hearing this, I
thought that (i) one should listen to Fauré more often and (ii)
Hamelin should play more French music. He does speak French as good as
any French person (with his charming "accent québecois"), and although
he has played quite a bit of Dukas (sonata) and Debussy (Préludes), to
name but a few, I haven't really thought to closely identify him with
that repertoire. But now it seems obvious to me that his gift for
singing legato without sacrificing clarity and tonal colorization
predestines him for that kind of music. Anyway, that was a real treat
- and then came the tribute to the current "Liszt year", the Norma
paraphrase. I already heard him play that a few years ago at La Roque
d'Anthéron, and it was again mind boggling to witness him dispatching
the technical difficulties that Liszt piles up for the pianist with
such ease and fluency. Of course, that is a false impression in the
end because I do know he has to work extremely hard to achieve this,
but I think only someone with a transcendent technique can really make
this piece sound as it should, not seeming a belaboured technical
exercise. The public's enthusiasm was enormous, with minutes of
applause, feet stamping and bravo shouting, and Hamelin obliged with
two encores - Scriabin's étude op. 2 no. 1 and (something new to his
repertoire) Ravel's "Ondine" from "Gaspard de la Nuit". A fantastic
pianistic evening drew to a close - and it has been confirmed that
Hamelin will be back at the Schwetzingen festival next year, most
likely with Ives' Concord sonata.
Fast forward to two days later - a different setting in the "Schumann-
Saal", a small but acoustically very well conceived chamber music
venue, and a much better sounding piano. Hamelin himself said jokingly
after the concert that he had asked whether he could buy this
particular Steinway D, showing just how satisfied he was with the
instrument. - The first half was dedicated to Haydn and Mozart - first
the former's "Andante con variazioni in F minor Hob. XVII:6, a piece
that I, admittedly, was not very familiar with but that I was quite
pleased to discover. I always find it interesting to see how chameleon-
like some pianists can be; I still remember attending a few years ago
a recital by Evgeny Sudbin with several Haydn pieces that sounded to
my ears over-interpreted with exaggerated accents and dynamics that
probably would've woken Haydn up from the dead had he been near.
Nothing like this from Hamelin, in spite of him being called a
"supervirtuoso". Careful attention to detail, almost microscopic
varying of touch and articulation as well as supple and subtle
phrasing bringing Haydn into the 21st century without denying him his
roots in the 18th century. - Mozart's piano sonata KV 310 was similar
in these aspects, although being of a different caliber in that it
foreshadows the romantics that were to come a few decades later.
Hamelin reflected this in using bigger dynamics and more pedalling,
without overdoing it slightly as Grimaud did on her last disc (which I
still find very interesting despite this).
The second half was entirely dedicated to Liszt, starting with the
supplement to his Années de Pèlerinage which is called "Venezia e
Napoli". The first two pieces can sound prosaic under lesser fingers,
but Hamelin showed that both were derived from gondolier's songs and
gave the audience a beautiful "belcanto" account, weaving the melodic
line and the accompaniment together with astuteness, achieving just
the right balance between them. The fiery "Tarantella" that followed
showcased his phenomenal technique - I've never heard anyone play the
repeated notes in this piece faster and more evenly, not even Evgeny
Kissin whom I heard playing the same three pieces a few days later.
Hamelin was clearly enjoying himself and the instrument. The next
piece, "Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude" from the "Harmonies
poétiquees et réligieuses" is, for those that (mistakenly) identify
Liszt with virtuosity only, of a reflective nature, even if the
piece's main theme recurs in a passionate eruption in the middle of
it. Katsaris also likes playing this piece a lot, and I can see the
appeal in its beautiful melodies and multi-faceted tonal colours.
Without pushing himself in the foreground, Hamelin let the music speak
for itself, underlining things only when needed. - Last - but not
least - we went from monastery to opera, so to speak: the recital (or
rather the official part) concluded with the Norma paraphrase again,
and it was just as much of a jaw-dropper as in Schwetzingen, with
Hamelin maybe being even more at ease due to the better instrument. A
storm of applause followed, and this time the Canadian gave us two of
his own compositions - the beautiful arrangement of Tchaikovsky's
"Lullaby" for the left hand alone, and his "Toccata Grottesca", being,
respectively, the seventh and fifth of his recently published Twelve
Etudes in all the Minor Keys. While in the first moments it surprises
me each time how deceivingly two-handed this piece sounds, the
illusion of the Toccata Grottesca is of someone with three or four
hands playing this - a fantastic, inventive and thouroughly
entertaining romp, with jazz and even car horns making an appearance.
A great, memorable evening and without any doubt one of the best
recitals I've been to in the past few years. I knew he was busy and
did not have much time to talk, but I still managed to speak a bit to
the artist after the concert was over. However, our conversation was
cut extra short by a rather impolite representative of the concert
sponsor, proving again that money does not replace manners. Be that as
it may, I'm looking forward to Hamelin's next concerts - he has
programmed Brahms' third sonata and Gaspard de la Nuit, among others,
which I'm very keen on hearing.
M.B.
P.S. Both recitals have been recorded for radio broadcast, the
Schwetzingen one already having been broadcast.
pianomaven
MAH has been touring with these same recital programmes for some time.
Indeed, one was performed in New York and reviewed in the NYTimes.
Even commented on here.
I have heard him in Montreal and Toronto this past year in most of
this repertoire. In a few weeks with any luck, the Gaspard de la Nuit
and Berg Sonata and Stockhausen and the Liszt Sonata in Ottawa.
TD
Kip Williams
> A great, memorable evening and without any doubt one of the best
> recitals I've been to in the past few years.
Thanks very much for this great read. I know this is "recordings," but
I'm personally glad to have this kind of thoughtful and vivid review of
performances that vanished into the air as they were played — and it
gave me some titles of pieces to look for on record.
Kip W