Where do you start regarding the French-Canadian pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin? To say he is unique and, to quote his publicity hand-out, 'iconic' is not to deal in hyperbole. His 92 albums range through virtually every corner of the repertoire, from the familiar to the obscure, from the unashamedly virtuosic to the inward and reflective, from the outsize to the miniature. From , say Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Liszt, Schumann, Faure and Debussy to C,P,E.Bach, Martin Feldman, Roslavets, Catoire, from the outlandish(Leo Ornstein and his 'Suicide in an Airplane') to Albeniz 'Iberia'(that incomparable tapestry of largely southern Spain), from the outsize, Alkan's monstrously demanding piano music, the complete Chopin-Godowsky Etudes, Beethoven's 'Hammerklavier' Sonata, to dream miniatures, Chopin's Berceuse and Schumann's 'Kinderscenen.' Again, if you are lost in wonder at the way he is drawn to the most opulent of Piano Concertos, the Busoni, Brahm's Second and Rachmaninov's Third, he has also recorded Mozart's G major Concerto, K.453 Then there are the complete Medtner Piano Sonatas, 4 CDs of Samuel Feinberg, Bolcom's complete Piano Rags and the gloriously wide-ranging 'In a State of Jazz. There are many discs of chamber music to say nothing of Hamelin's own compositions and arrangements., many of the latter sparking with ingenuity and a sense of mischief (try his take on Scarlatti!). The list goes on and on, and if there is so far no J.S. Bach nor, more surprisingly, Ravel, (a projected disc of the Left-Hand Piano Concerto and 'Gaspard de la Nuit failed to materialise) I live greedily in hope.
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And now an ever more startling surprise has emerged from Hamelin's ever-resourceful sleeve; a witch's brew of music by Zappa, Martirano, Cage, Wolpe, Vyner and last, but far from least, the pianist himself. Here is an open invitation to explore and above all to liberate from tradition and convention. How to entitle such a mix? Hamelin tells us of how he toyed with several possibilities. These included,' World's Favourite Piano Gems'(a dig at trite expectations), 'Objects of Desire'(a winking alternative to seriousness) landing on 'Found Objects/Sound Objects.'
Firstly, there is Frank Zappa's 'Ruth is Sleeping,' composed by a rock musician whose early work had its roots in, to take random examples, Stravinsky, Webern and Varese. Enjoying early life as a 'purely electronic creation' this was later changed to music for two pianos or, alternatively, a single instrument. The title refers to Ruth Undewood, Zappa's mallet player who apparently curled up under the piano to sleep when her musical services were no longer required.
And who is Stella in Martirano's 'Stuck on Stella?' The reference is to the song 'Stella by Starlight,' the composer one who's wryly entitled 'Cocktail Music' is a 'spiky twelve-tone creation' deliberately flouting expectation. He also wrote what Hamelin describes as 'the wildest listening experience you are likely to have in your life, his 'Ls GA for gassed- masked politico, helium bomb; three 16mm movie projectors and two-channel tape recorder.' Ever more intriguingly Martirano claims he was influenced by Rachmaninov and Weber's 'Konzerstucke' for piano and orchestra.
With John Oswald's 'Tip' you are invited to find added meaning to the idea of 'Medley' or ‘; Potpourri,' of a tangled guessing game of 'those you love'(Debussy's 'Clair de lune,' Beethoven's 'Fur Elise,' etc) with flashing hints from, for example, Bach's 'Goldberg' Variations and Beethoven's 'Hammerklavier' and opus 111 Sonatas; forty bits of the classical jazz and pop canons. ' And whether you view it as fun to try and identify them all or-- to sound a crusty note-- a game of 'trivial pursuits,' the entertainment value, and just possibly more, is undeniably there.
John Cage's 'The perilous night' for piano, inserted with various objects between the strings, simulates a percussion group yet is performed on a single instrument. In extreme contrast, Stefan Wolpe's daunting 'Passacaglia' is a monolithic edifice' while for Hamelin Yehudi Wyner's 'Refrain' is ' an oasis of pure eloquence... beautifully conceived for the instrument.'
Finally, there is Hamelin’s own 'Hexensabbat,' premiered by Yoav Levanon and making the composer wish ' he could avail himself of a potion from a bubbling cauldron to help me play it better.'
And yet the truth is that Hamelin's performances throughout are a phenomenal achievement of command and a seemingly endless musical empathy. I have quoted freely and unapologetically from his essay; a helping hand and as witty and charged as the playing. Hamelin has journeyed an enormous distance since my first interview with him to discuss his recording of the William Bolcom Etudes when, with all of his characteristic modesty, he exclaimed in astonishment that his record had acquired cult status. I also recall my talk given at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall and an attempt to define the nature of Hamelin's art aided with recordings. Defining the indefinable is not easy particularly when given in front of the pianist; 'I want to hear what you are going to say about me.'
Superbly recorded 'Found Objects/Sound Objects' is a record for all musicians happy to step into the unknown, to be stimulated, provoked, irritated and assured, very much I fancy as Hamelin would wish,
Bryce Morrison