Chopin: Piano Sonatas Nos. 2 & 3 / etc
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FREDERIC CHOPIN
Chopin: Piano Sonatas Nos. 2 & 3 / etc
Marc-Andre Hamelin (piano)
[ Hyperion / CD ]
Release Date: Tuesday 10 February 2009
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Recent discs from Marc-André Hamelin have concentrated on music which is obscure, under-recorded or virtually unplayable. However in this latest recording he turns his attention to two mainstays of the Romantic repertoire: Chopin's Piano Sonatas Nos 2 and 3. The results are simply staggering: playing of matchless brilliance and consummate artistry, stunningly recorded. As a recent critic of Hamelin's live performance of the B minor sonata remarked, 'Hamelin starts where most other pianists leave off … such was his control that frequently it seemed as though an extra dimension were being added, the music's teeming internal life clarified by his ability to voice the inner parts'.
The disc is completed by some of Chopin's greatest single-movement works; the contrasting two Nocturnes of Op 27, the extraordinarily colouristic Berceuse Op 57 and the monumental Barcarolle in F sharp major. We think this is one of the most authoritative and important Chopin discs to have appeared in recent years-an unmissable release.
"Simply, subtly sublime: Marc-André Hamelin's Chopin is up there with the very best. After recent notable recordings of particularly exuberant fare, from Alkan to Antheil, Marc-André Hamelin returns to more mainstream territory with this Chopin traversal. Yet, from a musician known for virtuosity, there is nothing remotely flashy here, hardly an accent that does not seem part of a natural emotional progression. Indeed, these are deeply considered and most affecting readings. One would expect nothing less."
Gramophone Magazine Editor's Choice - February 2009
'Hamelin's impeccable pianism allows him to make light work of the most demanding passages. The first movement [of Sonata No 3] is as imposing as you would expect of a player renowned for his staggering virtuosity, but a solid framework also underpins moments of wonderful delicacy. Hamelin builds the Second Sonata just as unerringly, producing a poetic and passionate performance that is finally carried off on a spectral wind … Hyperion's new release adds up to a hugely satisfying Chopin recital' (BBC Music Magazine)
'Hamelin's fabulous, transcendental technique takes all the challenges of the treacherous keyboard writing in its stride … Hamelin's pianissimos have a wonderful purity and definition' (The Guardian)
'In the Op 27 Nocturnes his hesitations are masterly, while the Berceuse, the seductive opening track, shimmers with pensive beauty … an excellent excursion into standard repertoire for this adventurous pianist' (The Times)
Tracks:
Berceuse in D flat major, Op. 57
Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 35 'Marche funèbre'
Nocturne No. 7 in C sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 1
Nocturne No. 8 in D flat major, Op. 27 No. 2
Barcarolle in F sharp major, Op. 60
Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58
