Less ‘performing’ than ‘being’. Hamelin is a musical genius and also a magician who conjures his way deep into the human soul. Berg creates a perfect stage for magic, and Hamelin grabs the spotlight brilliantly! Well done, maestro!
Such a beautifully unified performance of this work! So carefully articulated, but the phrases flow so perfectly into one another. The balance really spells out Berg's orchestration as well. Wonderful!
I heard Glenn Gould play this in recital when I was a kid (he was still doing recitals, so you can tell that was many decades ago). So this makes the _second_ understandable performance I've heard.
It depends. His sixth Scriabin sonata is precise and athletic but devoid of mystery. He also played the Op. 71 poems too fast (like etude showpieces), the first sonata's first movement too fast, etc. He nailed Roslavets but Scriabin is a bit too ethereal for him it seems. When Michael Ponti of all people outshines you in something like Op. 71 No.1 you know you have issues. Ponti was a disaster with the large-scale works, probably due to lack of time with them, but he understood the subtlety of the quieter miniatures. Hamelin is tremendous in some pieces, certainly. His accuracy/clarity his greatest strength. But compare Pogorelich's performance of the andante from the second Scriabin sonata and there is no contest in terms of poetry. Glemser also plays the Fantasy in B minor better and the 7th sonata. I hope Hamelin will record the entire Scriabin sonatas set (including the Eb minor) again, along with the concerto. He said he would perform Scriabin differently than he did when he made that set. The highlight of all of them, in terms of his Scriabin performance, is the youth work, the Fantasy in G# minor. That is also the rare instance where Szidon shines. Finally, I wish he would record the Miaskovsky sonatas, at least 2 and 3, and the Protopopov 2nd. Allen Sapp's 3rd sonata (the only good one), Ornstein's 6th and 7th, and Tcherepnin's 13th & 14th (called Romantique and Sonata 1, respectively) and the Raff Eb minor could all benefit from his technical ability. The Raff in particular needs an interpreter who can add depth because it, like the Dukas, likes to have all the notes sit on the surface in a long chain, lacking in dynamic range. I bet Hamelin would be interesting with the 9th Prokofiev sonata as well. Richter did a fine job but the sound quality is poor.
I agree, I heard him once live play Schumann Fantasy and Bach-Busoni Chaconne and the Schumann was especially to my liking because he played it so extremely sensitive. I was totally surprised how great an interpreter he is.
Give Ponti more credit!!! I don’t remember the source but if you look you may find it. He recorded the complete Scriabin solo works on an UPRIGHT for Vox in a very cold studio he said the recording conditions were very difficult
Hamelin doesn't play anything badly! He is the best 👍💯 pianist in the world IMO. Never thought I would say that because there are so many superior pianists! The only pianist that beats Hamelin is Rubinstein and that's because of Rubinsteins piano posture!
Hamelin doesn't play anything badly! He is the best 👍💯 pianist in the world IMO. Never thought I would say that because there are so many superior pianists! The only pianist that beats Hamelin is Rubinstein and that's because of Rubinsteins piano posture!
bill Bloggs Gould avoided the romantics and I’ve wondered if his technique (finger tapping) didn’t lend itself to the romantic era demands. Can’t imagine Gould playing Rachmaninov for example. Not that he couldn’t but rather that he wouldn’t. Not interested in taking the time.
he really understood this Piece. And he is able to get his listener also to understand it. That's quite hard to achieve whith this Piece. Brovissimo!!!!
Hamelin smashes it out of the park again. I remember back in the day when I was developing my piano skills as a teenager, I would listen to his rendition of Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2. But I much prefer this as the harmonic content is far richer in my opinion, and Hamelin does very well to bring out all of the novel features of Berg's musical language that come to the fore in this work. Not just a master 'no bullshit' technician but he also plays with softness and sensitivity when the piece demands it. I find that the dynamic peak of the whole sonata about 7 minutes in, because there are so many loud parts earlier on in the work, is very hard to make stand out, and slowing down dramatically adds to the heard effect of those moments. So I appreciated that. Another thing about Hamelin's playing is that a lot of people see him perform these technically demanding works and say "He's so good, I want to quit piano now!" - but when I see his playing, I can't help but feel inspired.
YES! Finally a performance of this piece that it deserves. I've heard many artists perform this (some with big names) and never heard one I liked before this one. I played this piece and played it with the same emotional content as I hear Hamelin playing it. Everyone else rushes through it without any nuances that make this unusual sonata an amazing work. I'm so happy to finally hear this incredible rendition. Thank you.
BERG, IS THE LAST OF THE FADING RAYS OF SUNLIGHT SHINING ON ROMANTICISM, WHICH WAS PICKED UP AGAIN BY RACHMANINOFF. IT´S VERY SENSUAL AND VERY BEAUTIFUL MOVING TO THE SOUL AND IT SURE GIVES AMPLE ROOM FOR MUSING ABOUT EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING. TRUTHFULLY, I LOVE THIS MUSIC, EVEN THOUGH IT THANKFULLY, DOES NOT SOUND AVANT GARDE ANY LONGER. 5 STARS.
I've known of this sonata, all my adult life but had never taken the time or trouble to sit down and listen to it, my loss. I went to hear Hamelin perform Medtner's second piano concerto a few years ago in Eastbourne (the day before he recorded it) and as an an encore, he played this sonata. Having never heard it, I just couldn't think for the life of me who had written it but I guessed it was fin de siecle, possibly Sciabin but definitely Russian! I remembered the opening theme and the intensely rich harmony and counterpoint. The musical impression haunted me and frustrated me that I didn't know who the composer was. Thank God for this posting, I can at last rest in peace! A masterpiece and a masterly performance.
Yes, that's a fact, but it is surprising, for all who keep him in mind just as the pupil of Schoenberg. In order to understand Berg, it is not enough to make a link to Schoenberg.
What Hamelin does so well with this music, is to dig deep into its Romantic roots - and he knows just how much pedal, dynamic contrast and rubato to use in the service of this approach. By contrast, Gould's version is much dryer and pristine (though not entirely without rubato and a degree of blurring a line here and there). I suppose that both of these approaches are valid - though I have not quite figured it out yet for sure...
Beautiful performance. I played this way back around 1990. I wonder if I would enjoy listening to it any less if I had not performed it. It's just such a modern, gorgeous, paroxysmal piece.
@@lsbrother Did you get that definition from Webster's by any chance? "Meaning of paroxysm in English paroxysm noun [ C ] uk /ˈpær.ɒk.sɪ.zəm/ us /ˈper.ək.sɪ.zəm/ a sudden and powerful expression of strong feeling, especially one that you cannot control:"
This is a very interesting sound world….inimitable MAH….met him & chatted briefly after a function at Northwestern U, Evanston . Nice guy…tolerated my amateur level ideas & discussion about Scriabin.
thank you, more and more I want to hear Berg and Schoenberg and such like: they make more sense to my kindergartenish mind than much else, I must also include Hindemith although I am given to understand that his music is much different than the atonalists, I have not analyzed the differences. Mozart has given us some stuff that really gets to me. And as far as I hear it, Bach has it all. He plays it like it is, I hear it that way. That his music develops as nature grows things and in such wise reminds me of the drawings and paintings of Klee. Anyway... Thank you.
shilloshillos Regarding physical conditioning of pianists, are you familiar with Yefim Bronfman and Grigory Sokolov? Neither of them ready to go 5 sets with Rafael Nadal, but stupendous pianists nonetheless.
It's not the size of the wand but the magic of the magician. We recently heard Bronfman play the Bartok 2nd concerto with the NY Philharmonic. Massive, weighty, magnificent. And after the applause died down he sat right back down at the keyboard and played the most exquisitely delicate Schumann Arabesque I have ever heard. Everyone had to look twice to see whether it was really the same pianist.
Hamelin is beyond compare. The most 'organic" pianist on the planet. But he seems to age fast. His hair is going, wrinkles etc. I hope he is trying to keep fit and eat properly. A pianist must be in perfect physical condition or else...
But Berg was the one romantic of the Second Viennese School, and even though Schoenberg forced Berg to think instrumentally, he still thought very melodically. So this should be phrased as if it were a romantic piece, it’s as atonal as Mahler’s 9th symphony, (who is a romantic composer) and this sonata is clearly in b minor.
