If I could steal any pianist's technique, it would be Hamelin's. (And his musicianship as well.) And he always scrupulously follows the composer's directions in the score--what a concept!
It really is impossible to be disappointed with Hamelin! In this video, as in others of his, I lack the words necessary to describe the fullness, richness, and variety of his tone. He seems always to be at perfect ease while playing, and is never ruffled by even the most daunting technical challenges. While many recordings of the Liszt Rhapsodies exist, Hamelin's are unique in that the resolving of the technical problems of each Rhapsody never comes at the expense of subjugating the expressive elements to a lower order. Hamelin's pianism has truly overcome one of the hardest obstacles facing all pianists, namely, how to overcome the Rhapsody's technical barriers without loosing sight of its musical content.
Exactly! Many play his rhapsodies like an etude- which is not at all the way to do it. Would you play Chopin's ballades like an etude? I think not! Liszt's Hungarian rhapsodies are much the same as Chopin's ballades, pure nightmare fuel since they're the best (and worst 😬) of both worlds in music; technicality and musicality.
I remember giving Hamelin master classes on Liszt. I could see early on that he had a true grasp of the true nature of Liszt, not just his music, but the “intention” of the music. Yes...
Perhaps something of his own design? I think it possible that even he was constrained (primarily in his tempo) by the technical limitations posed by the repeated notes, and so constructed his own variation which allowed him to use a faster tempo.
i really doubt it. He plays the section after this one's repeated notes very fast and clear (which are at the top of the crescendo speed wise), and if you've ever heard Hamelin's recording of Liszt's Tarantella, he has no issues playing blindingly fast entire passages of repeated notes. I always thought he just liked to musically add in things he finds interesting to some of the Rhapsodies, given their showmanship/cadenza nature. And the fact that they have been so popular for so long and so heavily recorded, some great artists add in things to just change it up for their own versions (most famously was Hamelin's Cadenza and additions to the 2nd Rhapsody)
7:08 which melody was also used by Sarasate in the Zigeunerweisen, obviously Hungarian folk music, not Gypsy, some people are trying so hard to steal Hungarian music... I have never ever seen other nation, where people try to steal their own folk music as they do with Hungarians. Very sad.
Horowitz did not technically and in memorizing thave the ability of Hamelin. Very close but people seem to get better al the time. If you want to know better look at athletics and different sports.
He is already among the all time top Pianists in the world... and he can IMPROVISE as good as Listz too! Pianists who can play everything from the score are very common. You find them all over the world. its sooo common! Find another Pianist like Hamelin...and you will have to search the ends of the world to find one... if you can find any. He does NOT need to play other people's Cadenza. He COMPOSES his own Cadenzas! Show me another Pianist who can compose a jaw dropping Cadenza in the same level as Hamelin. I bet you cant.
I am one of the few people who do not believe that Liszt was the God of pianists. Have people not seen pianists who fool around with grand playing with many errors? Sixty years ago - I plead guilty.
U.V. S. Oh, don't worry I'm not, Cziffra and Hamelin are like my favorite pianists of all time lol It's just people have different opinions and nobody's really 'right' or 'wrong' in most cases.
![Hamelin plays Liszt - Hungarian Rhapsody No.13 [HIGH QUALITY]](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
