Search - Frederic Chopin, Marc-Andre Hamelin :: "Chopin: Piano Sonatas Nos. 2 & 3; Nocturnes; Berceuse; Barcarolle"

Proof that Hamelin can play nearly anything well

A music lover | Fremont, CA | 02/17/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm shocked to see anything less than a 4-star review here, and frankly, I doubt that there are 10 living pianists today who could play Chopin any better than this. However, there's still the matter of personal taste, and I can see that this will not be to everyone's liking, as can be said for almost any performance of music as frequently recorded as Chopin's. I was amazed at Hamelin's restraint with some of the pieces here, he really stays away from technical fireworks and trying to dazzle too much with speed or agility. His tempi on both Nocturnes are quite relaxed, and the music rarely sounds rushed. Comparing timings on these recordings with some of the others in my library, I was surprised to find that indeed they are not slower than many others, but Hamelin manages to keep things moving forward with such ease of execution that they sound somewhat slower and more relaxed (speaking of the Nocturnes specifically, and also the finale to Sonata number 2, which comes across with a clarity I had not heard before). I was moved by these interpretations overall, and they are every bit the equal of the great recordings that have come before him. There are so many out there, that this or that element is bound to suffer from comparison with so-and-so, but at this level of playing, such "disappointments" are slight. Not to mention offset by dozens of other fabulous moments. Certainly the dexterity is in a class by itself, without sacrificing feeling. This one's a keeper."

M-A Hamelin, Chopin Sonatas 2 & 3, Piano Music: Operatic, Pa

Dan Fee | Berkeley, CA USA | 03/03/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I sent for this recording, doubtfully. I had read the four existing reviews already on Amazon. As I read it, the detractors are damning with faint praise while the fans are mainly trying to counter the detractors, writing back, No, no, he's great.



In an atmosphere of seriously considered mixed reviews, why did I send anyway?



Well. Marc-Andre Hamelin has already gotten my attention with his many other superb releases. He has proven himself, in solo music and concertos by both, so-called off-beat composers, and by mainstream composers. The negative review comments weighed me down, yet this strong track record said: Do check out his Chopin. Having listened, I must side with the fans, for reasons I can spell out.



Right from the first track on this disc, uncommon commitment and intelligence seems to prevail. We begin with a Chopin work from the sidelines of the core Chopin oeuvre, the Berceuse. It all sounds so charming, so simple, and therein lies the trap of programming it. There are no thundering displays, as in the polonaise or the scherzo or even the impromptu. Dynamics are finely graded, on the low volume sides. Hard to make penetrating enough to reach the far walls of most modern auditoriums, hence not played all that often in live concerts. Chalk it up to Artur Rubinstein, among other gifted servants, that the Berceuse gets played at all. Hamelin plays it beautifully to my ears. He doesn't try to make it into something other than it is, and he is compelling insofar as he reveals to me the intimate side of the composer, along with the deep and lovely indebtedness of Chopin's melody to Bel Canto forebears (above all, Bellini, in Hamelin's reading). Another thing I liked about having the Berceuse first is that it is not tacked on after two big Chopin sonatas, anticlimactic, disc filler.



Hamelin then launches into the first of the big sonatas, the second, opus 35.



Let me pause to confess that of all the Chopin works, I still find the sonatas challenging to appreciate and understand. Passages that sound full of genius to my ears are followed by passages that still sound harmonically disjointed, and unlike the scherzos or ballades, the composer's allegiance to following traditional sonata forms sounds artsy and strained. In most readings, I end up thinking that Chopin would just have been better off, if he had reworked his wonderful musical materials, using something other than sonata traditions. My touchstones in the sonatas have long been the early Murray Perahia release - his first for CBS (now SONY BMG), I think. Plus the warm, poised Artur Rubinstein. Plus the very special Czech musician, Ivan Moravec. Looking at Chopin generally, I also have Michelangeli, Ohlsson, Sterczynski, Weissenberg, Argerich, Richter, Madeline Forte, and Abbey Simon on my fav shelves. Among the younger generation, Simon Trpeski, Yundi Li, and Alexander Tharaud are keepers, no doubt. For most neglected, dark horse Chopin player, I would not hesitate to name Juana Zayas as the front running candidate. Indeed, I hear Zayas as the most neglected of the most gifted women pianists now playing in public. So, these are my markers for the sonatas, and for Chopin more widely considered.



By the end of the second sonatas, Hamelin was winning me over. Why?



To my ears - and here I probably part company with his detractors - the magical key that unlocks the doors to Hamelin's graceful estates when it comes to playing Chopin is simply, Bel Canto. He uses his immense technical resources to tackle the second sonata as if it were a collection of scenes from a long-lost, glorious Bellini opera. This may not be the only possible way to do the second sonata, genius will out. But it surely convinces my ears and heart and mind. Keeper, then. The lack of unity I have previously heard so often in performances of the sonata are now resolved in performance. Hamelin trusts the Bel Canto insight, passionately. (His Chopin is far from clinical, then, to my ears.) The sonata changes, rung on harmony, narrative, musical context (which I have repeatedly found difficult to connect in these sonatas) now make new sense as drama and character in a Bellini-like operatic scena.



The concluding presto in the second sonata is still a mysterious musical ideal to me. I've read that it is supposed to be played, so that one gets the chill of horrible winds blowing across one's grave. I can grasp that image, all right. Yet most readings I've heard so far fall short of this ideal, and end up sounding much more prosaic than the Gothic image. Not enough chill, not enough ghostly and ghastly supernaturalism, then.



Hamelin next does wonderful readings of two nocturnes (Opus 27) and the Barcarolle. These come off , all magic and fine. The Bel Canto keys are still opening rewarding musical gates.



Then we get to the third sonata. Like Hamelin's Bel Canto second sonata, it all hangs together. Now Bel Canto, translated into English, is: Beautiful Song. In this third sonata the passionate lyricism trumps all. Yes, I hear clear modern touches in Hamelin's readings. He is not that free-wheeling eccentric we can hear in Chopin playing on discs by Samson Francoise or Shura Cherkassy, for example. Again I must say that I do not find Hamelin's remarkable restraint (given the Siren Call of his huge virtuoso baggage), nor his modern concerns for sticking to the notes, at all cool or clinical or superficial. Using the Bel Canto engagements I have mentioned, Hamelin lets the music carry him - and me as a listener - away into marvelous and beautiful and yes, free, song. He opens up immense Bel Canto vistas - all wide-screen, Technicolor Bel Canto drama - that have remained curtained off and hidden to my ears, in most recordings.



I heard this disc, first on headphones, and then on the five channel home rig. On headphones I must agree that the engineering is just good enough. Given Hamelin's tonal palette on the modern grand piano, one glimpses that the engineers could have done an even better job of capturing Hamelin's sound. It is perfectly service-able; yet on headphones it yields a close up, dry aspect, short on air and hall ambiance. The air that does get through makes the venue sound fuzzy, and unfocused. Would super audio high resolution have helped? Who knows?



On the home rig, music enters the room for real. So one's listening room has a chance to redo what the recording venue as captured fails to do on this disc. The fuzzy, unfocused aspect moves farther away, and Hamelin's Bel Canto genius takes even greater wing. Maybe mp3 for portable listening?



Contrary to other nay-sayers, then, I recommend this disc. No doubt about it, for me. Hello, keeper shelves."

Great Playing, but great interpretations?

Ryan Morris | Chicago, IL | 01/20/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"hamelin is one of the greatest living technicians, arguably one of the finest living or dead. However, his major successes have been in repretoire that allows his technical gifts to serve the music, rather than rely on intuitive renditions. With several exceptions, those discs have been largely good at best such as his Schumann, Brahms, and a Beethoven op109 available on WGHB.com. Of course, in certain moments, such as in Carnaval, he reveals things, technically, that few other pianists could even dream of achieving.

I find that this same issue holds true here. In the most technically difficult passages, such as the second mvmt to the third sonata-he is illuminating and jaw-dropping, however, in the Barcarolle and Berceuse are almost clinical. They arent bad, just in such a crowded field, they arent recomendable.

This is hamelin's second recorded version of the second sonata and it has changed somewhat, but is actually remarkably similar to his earlier account. The main difference might be tempo, since many of the same pedaling is almost identical-see the opening to the sonata, done very effectivly with masterful pedaling to achieve the utmost in tension and intensity.

The last mvmt is very different and was somewhat of a disappointment. I thought this would be Hamelins moment to shine but, as with so much on this album, the results were clinical, sterile, and uninspiring. UNlike his earlier version, he maintains a somewhat medium tempo with way, way too much pedal that makes a mess of everything. A look at the difference in timings is interesting.

1st version mvmt 1-5:16, 2-6:51

2nd mvmt-1-5:56, 2-5:48

3, 1-8:02, 2-7:26

4-1-1:32, 2-1:45



I would have to say that the first mvmt of the second sonata, and the third sonata are the most successful. The majority of my stars are awarded due to the third sonata. After the first listen, I had a similarly dissatisfied reaction as with the rest, but after three or four more times, I was increasingly impressed with the quality of the playing-such as the satiric and sad little tune that comes after the exposition. As previously mentioned, the second mvmt is taken at a bats out of hell pace, maybe the fastest on disc and is played flawless[for the most part] It is almost worth getting the disc for the third sonata alone.



To summarize, I would recommend this disc halfheartedly. IF you are new to the works there are others I would recommend first, such as Nelson Freire, Pollini, ARgerich, Gilels, Cortot, Cherkassky,Arrau, Ashkenazy, Idil Biret, Fiorentino, Francois, Katchen, and Rubinstein.



Barcarolle-Rubinstein, Cortot, Arrau, Richter

Piano Sonata 2-Nelson Freire, Pollini, Argerich

Piano Sonata 3-Nelson Freire, ARgerich, Gilels,Cherkassky

Nocturnes op27, Rubinstein, Pires, Arrau,

Berceuse- Cortot, Rubinstein, Moiseiwitsch,"