Though this is certainly passionate playing, I think part of Hamelin's genius is that he maintains a degree of distance from the passion. It's a paradox that this slight removal--one might call it a refusal to wallow--makes the music all the more effective. He is also supremely lucid. His otherworldly technique allows him to clarify textures as few, if any, pianists can. For well over half a century, the second movement of this piece has moved me to tears. Hamelin's sense of dramatic time, his suspensions and releases, make the most beautiful performance I've ever heard. He won't be rushed, so the music seems to expand into all the world. The dramatic timing is also a main attribute of the outer movements. It makes the music breath, struggle, and conquer. Hamelin is one of our greatest musician/pianists--heck of a composer, too.
Agree. Some people view it as coldness and lack of feeling but it's certainly not that he's just an exceptional pianist and among my all time favourites if not the most
He is truly incredible. I'm going to see him perform the Paul Dukas Eb Minor Piano Sonata in a few weeks (as well as a world premiere work by John Oswald, Fauré's Op.26, Op.33 No.2, Op.107, Op.70, AND an original work by Hamelin called "Suite à l’ancienne"), I've never been more excited to see any performance in my entire life.
@@kingconcerto5860 I've heard him once. He didn't play knuckle-busting pieces. Instead, he gave us Beethoven's Sonata No. 30, one of the most subtle and beautiful pieces I know. In fact, it's my favorite sonata. I own way too many recordings of it and have heard numerous others. I can listen to two or three recordings of it back-to-back. I can name the best renditions of that wonderful piece on the fingers of one hand. Having only heard Hamelin in super-virtuoso works, I expected nothing. He captured and conveyed the spirituality of that sonata with near perfection. I was floored, and it remains one of the great experiences I've had in a concert or recital hall.
Very attentive observation. It reminds me of this masterclass where Rubinstein is teaching the Chopin Ballade No. 1 and explaining, that music is always 'noble'.
@@liegon Goodness! To be mentioned in the same sentence with Rubinstein is too much to take in. BTW, music is indeed noble. Even if we think some piece is trash, it moves somebody else. It speaks a language most of us can't speak, and it reaches parts of us that nothing else can. Thanks for the comment.
I also think that Hamelin is the greatest living piano virtuoso and one of the greatest pianists ever. His renditions take the "golden era of piano playing" to new heights. I am so grateful to be living in an age where I can watch him any time with only a few clicks on my computer. What a privilege!
Artur Rubinstein Emil Gilels Grigory Sokolov Maurizio Pollini Solomon Cutner Radu Lupu Wilhelm Kempff better than Hamelin! More genius than Hamelin=Sviatoslav Richter Solomon Cutner Grigory Sokolov Maurizio Pollini! More powerful louder than Hamelin=Mikhail Pletnev(Prokofiev piano concerto no 1 by Pletnev!) The Second Loudest was Lazar Berman!, The 3rd Loudest was Erwin Nyiregyhazi! More colorful beautiful piano sound than Hamelin=Wilhelm Kempff Emil Gilels Radu Lupu Artur Rubinstein Vladimir Ashkenazy Grigory Sokolov!!
There's only a few years between the 2nd Sonata and the 3rd Concerto, but they feel a world apart. The 3rd Concerto is bombastic, frequently 'giocoso', showy, verbose, even. Not to decry it, it's a sensational piece of work, but it's a public piece, a 'statement' piece. This feels like Rachmaninov thinking aloud, sometimes tentative, as in the 1st movement's lovely 2nd subject, a figure that seems to unspool itself only with some wariness, as if improvised. The 1st movement is a masterpiece of organisation and condensed emotional charge, dark, haunted, malevolent even. Peals of monstrous bells, nightmarish scales, descending into some ultimate abyss. The 2nd movement is as close to weeping directly onto the page as you can find, I think, with Rachmaninov seeming to grieve for the lost world of simple Romantic sincerity as Modernism crashes and shrieks all around and the old order collapses. The cadenza runs out of control, the hands becoming separated, one finishing after the other. Nothing really fits anymore. The finale is brisk, with a whacking great tune to finish off, as only Rachmaninov has ever known how. Stand up and cheer stuff. Hamelin masters it all, seemingly without even trying, delivering the big moments with stunning authority and directness whilst curating individual gestures and thoughts like treasured memories. Amazing performance of an amazing piece. Hats off all round.
Genius of the highest magnitude. My attention was held from the first note of the first prelude until the last note of the final movement of the sonata (more than once). Bravo, Monsieur Hamelin!
OH MY WORD! Every Time I watch this I just DIE! It's SO GODDAMN PERFECT! Hamelin brings such Nuance to this piece without flailing about like An Infuriated Gorilla! I saw him perform this LIVE... FRONT ROW at the Chamber Music Society of Detroit... It was HARROWING since I had never heard this piece! I didn't know what to expect... These Sounds, These Odd Figurations..This Complexity... Hamelin whipped through them like a Katana and I was on the edge of My Seat like I was at Cedar Point! The Man is a GOD! Listen at 23:52 I find myself Holding my Breath and getting chills and shivers and goose pimples all up and down my arms and back... It sounds like what falling from a very high place must feel like... INDESCRIBABLE! I... LOVE HIM! :-D
@@EmptyVee00000 Marc Andre is the CYBORG KING ROBOT PIANIST WITH THE HUMAN MACHINE ARTURO BENEDETTI MICHELANGELI AND THE MECHANICAL DULL BORING FASHION PLAYING KRYSTIAN ZIMEFMAN!! Better More Colorful Beautiful Piano Sound than Marc Andre Hamelin=Wilhelm Kempff Emil Gilels Radu Lupu Artur Rubinstein Vladimir Ashkenazy( Ashkenazy=The Most Colorful 'Volcanic' piano Sound ever! MORE POWERFUL Louder than Hamelin=Mikhail Pletnev The Most Powerful Loudest Pianist Ever! Pletnev The Nuclear BOMB POWER! NO-ONE IS CLOSE PLETNEV HIS POWER! The Second Loudest Hardest Hitter Of The Keyboard was Lazar Berman!! More Genius than Hamelin=Sviatoslav Richter Solomon Cutner Grigory Sokolov Maurizio Pollini Alexei Lubimov Stanislav Igolinsky! Igolinsky better than Dinu Lipatti!! My Money My Vote My List Says Igolinsky Better than Dinu Lipatti!!!
A very demanding performance. He looked quite exhausted when he took his bow with a look of happy relief. This took a lot of mental power and control to achieve the result he wanted. I have been to his concerts. He is an impressive musician, but humble and unpretentious. I will attend his future concerts whenever possible. 👏👍
I saw this same Recital with Gaspard and His own Paganini Variations Here in Michigan in Jan. and I must say... it was one of the absolute top experiences of my life! His Playing is beyond Explainable... How he Plays the most Mind Numbingly difficult passages with the ease and grace and elegance of a Prima Ballerina is Truly A gift from another plane! That is why He is one of my two Idols... He is gifted beyond Measure!
Amazing pianism!!!! And this man came to our Community Music School and played and responded to questions! I'm listening to this magnificent playing while I'm working on my computer and I'm still "knocked over." Wow!!!
The most amazing part is that Hamelin plays this piece, which is far, far from easy, like a walk in the park, as he always do in "every" nearly-unplayable works.
This guy has really aged in the last ten years (too many airports?), but his artistry is greater than ever. Hope he sticks around for a long, long time.
MSSR. HAMELIN REALLY ONE OF THE BEST PIANISTS I HAVE EVER HEARD IN ALL OF MY MANY YEARS OF LISTENING. JUST GREAT, BEAUTIFUL PLAYING TO FILL THE HEART WITH JOY TO OVERFLOWING. THANKYOU FOR BEING THERE. RON WALKER
I grew up on Mark Andre listening to CBC radio 2 every day. They gave him plenty of airtime, for which I'm grateful. Sadly they don't play as much classical. I miss those days.
Bravo!! Each pianist gives emphasis to different elements and inner melodies and I really enjoyed this performance. The incredible difficulty of the piece was masked by a tremendous virtuosity. And the coda "made sense" unlike so many such performances where it dissolves into a jumble of notes. This was truly in the Russian "style".
I could have a hundred fingers and still would not be close, this has not only opened my eyes and ears it has opened my mind. Cheers and a happy new year to all
Dieses Stück braucht solche Pianisten wie ihn. Nur mit dem höchsten technischen Standard kann man die Stimmunge und die Phrasierungen, die vielfältigen Nuancen dieses Werkes zur Geltung bringen. Die musikalischsten Stellen sind so oft mit so vielen Tönen überladen, dass es höchstes Können braucht, um musizieren zu können. So viele Pianisten verzerren das Stück mit ständigem unnötigen Bremsen. Bravo mr Hamelin.
THIS IS SO SWEET AND TENDER THAT IT REMINDS ME OF A MOTHER SINGINGING A LULLABY TO HER BABY TO SLEEP. THE PIANO IS TRANSFORMED INTO ANOTHER INSTRUMENT OF GREAT LOVE.
Magnífico, absolutamente magnífico. Hamelin se sitúa en la élite de los grandes pianistas. Sin tanto ruido mediático como otros, merece estar reconocido por el público musical con un valor mucho más alto del que hasta ahora se le otorga.
As much as I love his performances, he is one of the best pianists. There are certainly more great pianists of his calibre around today, think Krystian Zimerman for example.
I think Hamelin definitely has the deepest understanding of technical proficiency in piano playing of any pianist alive today (and possibly ever). Others may be flashier, but omg look how effortlessly he plays everything - ridiculous!!
Statistics are cruel. How can one person be so mechanically perfect and musically too? Think if Liszt, Rach, Alkan, etc. were around today they'd be awed by such a talent as MAH. Nice work Steinway too!! pity that (most of) the great composers from past eras never heard their masterpieces performed on a modern day instrument.
I completely share this impression, also on this particular Steinway. The tuning is so crisp, bright, sharp, lucid, i don't know what to say. It makes a difference.
One of the greatest pianists of all times. But only for people with ears. Wer das Spektakel braucht, sollte lieber einige seiner Kollegen hören. Dieser Pianist braucht das nicht, dafür ist er ein zu genialer Musiker!
nafetsolev Spektakel, you got that right, ganz genau ist was Herr Hamelin anbietet & performed. Yeah, right on Spektakel, ganz toller sound. I am so sick of you guys kritisieren.
Very beautiful utilization of the une corda pedal. Only pianist I see who can pull of such extensive soft pedalling and not compromise the integrity of the sound.
Ive never heard the GM prelude played like this before . I think it's the most impressive , memorable ,quiet ,slow voicing feels like Elgar transposed onto Rach's aesthetic . A paen but not the efulgent full of middle voices Slavic heavyhandedness that we normally hear in Rach playing. The g# minor always spectacular again here has the overdone ,easy intensity taken out .Strong but a new stylish way of playing Rachmaninoff. I've never wanted to write a pianist before(IngridHaebler deserves adoration). So I'll say it here -thanks for a better way to play Rach. A true Symphony for Piano !The 2nd Sonata would be impossible to play the way he played the 2 preludes . The business of the Sonata will give us intensity .Hamelin's sound and textures in the Sonata are wonderful .There is not the characteristic violence we always get in Rach. I don't agree with that but it's still a wonderful way to play Rach ! Someone else said it perfectly "he maintains a degree of distance from the passion "
His interpretation is his own of course, every soloist puts their own spin on pieces. I know I'm watching a Master because he makes it look effortless. Bravo!
Jeanne Haessler JEANNE, JUST TAKE ONE LOOK AT HIS FACE, HIS EYES, AND YOU WILL QUICKLY SEE THAT THIS IS NOT A PROCESS MADE TO LOOK EASY. IT IS ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT FEATS A HUMAN CAN ACCOMPLISH.
Yes indeed. I recently heard an interview with the pianist Louis Lortie (phenomenal Chopin Etudes recording on Chandos) and he stated that people don't realize just how physically and mentally demanding performing professionally is. He himself had to stop for a few years because of the toll on the body.
A virtuoso in the truest sense! Unlike most other pianists, there seems to be no fear of playing "wrong" notes, because every note he plays sounds good, so there are no wrong notes! He is the only one who could do this since Horowitz, and probably Franz Liszt before that. Absolutely astonishing.
As he commented in an interview, he had some woeful feeling while playing in front of the audience who "listens to, talks about, and eats Rachmaninoff." : )
I've seen some crazy people complaining about Rach's 2nd sonata for having too many notes and being too noisy. Dang, fuck that. This is a freakin' masterpiece! Might be my favorite Rach work!
Wow, much to like here, the lyricism is great, Prelude no. 12 was great, much of the sonata very persuasive, but it became rather fragmented at the end.
He is one of those very rare Pianists who can improvise and create his own versions of Cadenzas and astound you with sheer technical difficulties yet somehow still sound musically amazing! Forget about all those pianists who can merely play what is written in the score but has ZERO ability to improvise their own killer CADENZA.
no, it's just easier on the hands. The 1913 original version is the one to play. Same with the 2nd symphony, now usually performed uncut. And, someday, we may even get to hear the original, "Russian" version of the 4th Piano Concerto in regular performance
David Luck The edited version is easier (mostly because of the 5-6 minute time reduction), but it also is much more focused and compositionally intuitive than the original. I think Hamelin knows this. I personally enjoy both, but still prefer this one.
Why does he play the simplified revised version? One would think a pianist of Hamelin's technical and mental capabilities would opt for the larger, more challenging original version of this piece, not the composer's thinned down reworking. Zoltan Kocsis' explosive account of the original (on CD) is still the benchmark account of the 2nd Sonata. There's a video of him performing it on YT. Freddy Kempf's CD recording is also excellent.
I think he probably just prefers this version musically? Rachmaninov obviously revised it for a reason. But I think both versions are great in their own right.
Joel Seda THE GREAT VAN CLIBURN, PLAYING THIS SONATA LOOKS ALMOST LIKE AN ORGASMIC FRENZY. THAT´S WHAT IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE WHEN ONE IS ENJOYING THE EXPERIENCE.
Ron Walker I wonder why Hamelin always gets such shit thrown his way because he doesn't go into Frenzied Histrionics when playing!? People say it makes his playing unexciting, Cerebral, Robotic. It's not how HE Performs on the stage IT'S HOW HIS HANDS PERFORM! And the Notes flow from his fingertips with the Fluidity of water in a stream... His Playing is Beyond Reproach and that he isn't Orgasmically Spasming in a Rhapsodic Thrall only means that you must focus ON THE MUSIC! Shouldn't that be the way it is anyway? If i wanted dancing I go see the ABT!
Though this is certainly passionate playing, I think part of Hamelin's genius is that he maintains a degree of distance from the passion. It's a paradox that this slight removal--one might call it a refusal to wallow--makes the music all the more effective. He is also supremely lucid. His otherworldly technique allows him to clarify textures as few, if any, pianists can. For well over half a century, the second movement of this piece has moved me to tears. Hamelin's sense of dramatic time, his suspensions and releases, make the most beautiful performance I've ever heard. He won't be rushed, so the music seems to expand into all the world. The dramatic timing is also a main attribute of the outer movements. It makes the music breath, struggle, and conquer. Hamelin is one of our greatest musician/pianists--heck of a composer, too.
Agree. Some people view it as coldness and lack of feeling but it's certainly not that he's just an exceptional pianist and among my all time favourites if not the most
He is truly incredible. I'm going to see him perform the Paul Dukas Eb Minor Piano Sonata in a few weeks (as well as a world premiere work by John Oswald, Fauré's Op.26, Op.33 No.2, Op.107, Op.70, AND an original work by Hamelin called "Suite à l’ancienne"), I've never been more excited to see any performance in my entire life.
@@kingconcerto5860 I've heard him once. He didn't play knuckle-busting pieces. Instead, he gave us Beethoven's Sonata No. 30, one of the most subtle and beautiful pieces I know. In fact, it's my favorite sonata. I own way too many recordings of it and have heard numerous others. I can listen to two or three recordings of it back-to-back. I can name the best renditions of that wonderful piece on the fingers of one hand. Having only heard Hamelin in super-virtuoso works, I expected nothing. He captured and conveyed the spirituality of that sonata with near perfection. I was floored, and it remains one of the great experiences I've had in a concert or recital hall.
Very attentive observation. It reminds me of this masterclass where Rubinstein is teaching the Chopin Ballade No. 1 and explaining, that music is always 'noble'.
@@liegon Goodness! To be mentioned in the same sentence with Rubinstein is too much to take in. BTW, music is indeed noble. Even if we think some piece is trash, it moves somebody else. It speaks a language most of us can't speak, and it reaches parts of us that nothing else can. Thanks for the comment.
I also think that Hamelin is the greatest living piano virtuoso and one of the greatest pianists ever. His renditions take the "golden era of piano playing" to new heights. I am so grateful to be living in an age where I can watch him any time with only a few clicks on my computer. What a privilege!
Artur Rubinstein Emil Gilels Grigory Sokolov Maurizio Pollini Solomon Cutner Radu Lupu Wilhelm Kempff better than Hamelin! More genius than Hamelin=Sviatoslav Richter Solomon Cutner Grigory Sokolov Maurizio Pollini! More powerful louder than Hamelin=Mikhail Pletnev(Prokofiev piano concerto no 1 by Pletnev!) The Second Loudest was Lazar Berman!, The 3rd Loudest was Erwin Nyiregyhazi! More colorful beautiful piano sound than Hamelin=Wilhelm Kempff Emil Gilels Radu Lupu Artur Rubinstein Vladimir Ashkenazy Grigory Sokolov!!
One of the greatest pianists who ever lived
We're all praising Hamelin for his brilliance and Hamelin's praising Rachmaninoff for his brilliance!
There's only a few years between the 2nd Sonata and the 3rd Concerto, but they feel a world apart. The 3rd Concerto is bombastic, frequently 'giocoso', showy, verbose, even. Not to decry it, it's a sensational piece of work, but it's a public piece, a 'statement' piece. This feels like Rachmaninov thinking aloud, sometimes tentative, as in the 1st movement's lovely 2nd subject, a figure that seems to unspool itself only with some wariness, as if improvised. The 1st movement is a masterpiece of organisation and condensed emotional charge, dark, haunted, malevolent even. Peals of monstrous bells, nightmarish scales, descending into some ultimate abyss. The 2nd movement is as close to weeping directly onto the page as you can find, I think, with Rachmaninov seeming to grieve for the lost world of simple Romantic sincerity as Modernism crashes and shrieks all around and the old order collapses. The cadenza runs out of control, the hands becoming separated, one finishing after the other. Nothing really fits anymore. The finale is brisk, with a whacking great tune to finish off, as only Rachmaninov has ever known how. Stand up and cheer stuff. Hamelin masters it all, seemingly without even trying, delivering the big moments with stunning authority and directness whilst curating individual gestures and thoughts like treasured memories. Amazing performance of an amazing piece. Hats off all round.
10/10, would germinate the seed of artistic beauty that this performance was over the course of 150 years again
At 23:10 the party is over for me : this is the most exquisite performance of this section I have ever heard. It is waterworks time. BRAVO!
How to put words to this... it is like silk cloth moving gently in the wind. To die for. Spectacular work by Hamelin.
I like that analogy
Genius of the highest magnitude. My attention was held from the first note of the first prelude until the last note of the final movement of the sonata (more than once). Bravo, Monsieur Hamelin!
OH MY WORD! Every Time I watch this I just DIE! It's SO GODDAMN PERFECT! Hamelin brings such Nuance to this piece without flailing about like An Infuriated Gorilla! I saw him perform this LIVE... FRONT ROW at the Chamber Music Society of Detroit... It was HARROWING since I had never heard this piece! I didn't know what to expect... These Sounds, These Odd Figurations..This Complexity... Hamelin whipped through them like a Katana and I was on the edge of My Seat like I was at Cedar Point! The Man is a GOD! Listen at 23:52 I find myself Holding my Breath and getting chills and shivers and goose pimples all up and down my arms and back... It sounds like what falling from a very high place must feel like... INDESCRIBABLE! I... LOVE HIM! :-D
Terrill Lawrence He has no musical idea, but great hands.
I feel same
@@EmptyVee00000 Marc Andre is the CYBORG KING ROBOT PIANIST WITH THE HUMAN MACHINE ARTURO BENEDETTI MICHELANGELI AND THE MECHANICAL DULL BORING FASHION PLAYING KRYSTIAN ZIMEFMAN!! Better More Colorful Beautiful Piano Sound than Marc Andre Hamelin=Wilhelm Kempff Emil Gilels Radu Lupu Artur Rubinstein Vladimir Ashkenazy( Ashkenazy=The Most Colorful 'Volcanic' piano Sound ever! MORE POWERFUL Louder than Hamelin=Mikhail Pletnev The Most Powerful Loudest Pianist Ever! Pletnev The Nuclear BOMB POWER! NO-ONE IS CLOSE PLETNEV HIS POWER! The Second Loudest Hardest Hitter Of The Keyboard was Lazar Berman!! More Genius than Hamelin=Sviatoslav Richter Solomon Cutner Grigory Sokolov Maurizio Pollini Alexei Lubimov Stanislav Igolinsky! Igolinsky better than Dinu Lipatti!! My Money My Vote My List Says Igolinsky Better than Dinu Lipatti!!!
He is awesome in the true sense. Above all, he is a serious artist without stupid mannerisms. He just plays THE MUSIC!
This is divine.... thank you maestro Hamelin for endless inspiration.
A very demanding performance. He looked quite exhausted when he took his bow with a look of happy relief. This took a lot of mental power and control to achieve the result he wanted. I have been to his concerts. He is an impressive musician, but humble and unpretentious. I will attend his future concerts whenever possible. 👏👍
I saw this same Recital with Gaspard and His own Paganini Variations Here in Michigan in Jan. and I must say... it was one of the absolute top experiences of my life! His Playing is beyond Explainable... How he Plays the most Mind Numbingly difficult passages with the ease and grace and elegance of a Prima Ballerina is Truly A gift from another plane! That is why He is one of my two Idols... He is gifted beyond Measure!
So very well expressed !
I agree totally, but Terrill tell us, who´s the other idol of yours?
@@pereriksson93 for me the only one better is horowitz
Amazing pianism!!!! And this man came to our Community Music School and played and responded to questions! I'm listening to this magnificent playing while I'm working on my computer and I'm still "knocked over." Wow!!!
A beauty to hear in the early hours of an all-nighter.
oh you speak the purest truth, although I think I appreciate it more when I am not half brain dead due to homework and lack of sleep...
The most amazing part is that Hamelin plays this piece, which is far, far from easy, like a walk in the park, as he always do in "every" nearly-unplayable works.
true!!!
His recording of Alkan's Concerto for Solo Piano is absolutely jaw-dropping. Even Mr Hamelin himself describes the piece as "challenging"
He’s alright I guess. Looks like he’s struggling tho. Maybe should work on his rubato
@@TylerHumphrey05 I don't think you're in a position to be calling him "alright I guess"
@@TylerHumphrey05 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Very few pianists can let the music speak for itself. Well done Hamelin. I wish you many more successful years as a performer.
This guy has really aged in the last ten years (too many airports?), but his artistry is greater than ever. Hope he sticks around for a long, long time.
Thomas Blair Mr hamelin is not u familiar with hard work. Hesa very accomplished musician.
It's called life
@@Living_the_Highlight DIVORCE
@@Living_the_Highlightdivorce
@@javascriptkiddie2718 +100 grey hairs
MSSR. HAMELIN REALLY ONE OF THE BEST PIANISTS I HAVE EVER HEARD IN ALL OF MY MANY YEARS OF LISTENING. JUST GREAT, BEAUTIFUL PLAYING TO FILL THE HEART WITH JOY TO OVERFLOWING.
THANKYOU FOR BEING THERE. RON WALKER
I grew up on Mark Andre listening to CBC radio 2 every day. They gave him plenty of airtime, for which I'm grateful. Sadly they don't play as much classical. I miss those days.
Bravo!! Each pianist gives emphasis to different elements and inner melodies and I really enjoyed this performance. The incredible difficulty of the piece was masked by a tremendous virtuosity. And the coda "made sense" unlike so many such performances where it dissolves into a jumble of notes. This was truly in the Russian "style".
Fantastic performance of a beautiful piece of music.
There are no words in my vocabulary for the perfection except 2. Thank you 🙏!
I have heard young Alexander Malofeev play this Sonate no: 2. I love his and Mr. Hamelin's performance. Thank you for posting. 🌷🌷🌷 (Holland-eu 2024)
I could have a hundred fingers and still would not be close, this has not only opened my eyes and ears it has opened my mind. Cheers and a happy new year to all
As it was composed for 10 fingers having an extra 90 would be of no use whatsoever!
Dieses Stück braucht solche Pianisten wie ihn. Nur mit dem höchsten technischen Standard kann man die Stimmunge und die Phrasierungen, die vielfältigen Nuancen dieses Werkes zur Geltung bringen. Die musikalischsten Stellen sind so oft mit so vielen Tönen überladen, dass es höchstes Können braucht, um musizieren zu können. So viele Pianisten verzerren das Stück mit ständigem unnötigen Bremsen. Bravo mr Hamelin.
I absolutely love his restraint. Nothing flamboyant. Just pristine music!
This is another of the great top 10 pianists who is a pianist's pianist, command performance, great piano architecture string from beginning to end.
THIS IS SO SWEET AND TENDER THAT IT REMINDS ME OF A MOTHER SINGINGING A LULLABY TO HER BABY TO SLEEP. THE PIANO IS TRANSFORMED INTO ANOTHER INSTRUMENT OF GREAT LOVE.
Magnífico, absolutamente magnífico. Hamelin se sitúa en la élite de los grandes pianistas. Sin tanto ruido mediático como otros, merece estar reconocido por el público musical con un valor mucho más alto del que hasta ahora se le otorga.
What a blessing to listen to the Master
Such Soul! loving every note! fascinating!
One of the greatest pianists you will ever hear.
definetely not the greatest
Arcady N With respect to your opinion, Hamelin is THE greatest pianist that ever lived Imo. There are the others, but, they are only the “others”.
Superb. Probably the best version on record. Thanks
His technique and soul are breathtaking.
Hamelin is the best pianist of our time
Agreed.
The best pianist of our HISTORY :)
David Popescu agree as well!
As much as I love his performances, he is one of the best pianists. There are certainly more great pianists of his calibre around today, think Krystian Zimerman for example.
I think Hamelin definitely has the deepest understanding of technical proficiency in piano playing of any pianist alive today (and possibly ever). Others may be flashier, but omg look how effortlessly he plays everything - ridiculous!!
Awesome!!! thanks so much for posting! :D
madonna che pianista !!!!!!!favoloso, non ho parole...
at least he passed his diploma with a good grade.
I think the best interpretation of Rachmaninoff Sonata 2! Hamelin is genius.
For me Hamelin is my guide to the art
So beautiful.
Statistics are cruel. How can one person be so mechanically perfect and musically too? Think if Liszt, Rach, Alkan, etc. were around today they'd be awed by such a talent as MAH. Nice work Steinway too!! pity that (most of) the great composers from past eras never heard their masterpieces performed on a modern day instrument.
I completely share this impression, also on this particular Steinway. The tuning is so crisp, bright, sharp, lucid, i don't know what to say. It makes a difference.
The Steinways Rachmaninoff used were...magnificent!!!
Enjoying what he is playing!
The greatest pianist who has or will ever live, playing to superhuman heights in our lifetime, enjoy!
what's wrong? Can you play?
Rob Walsh wipe the froth off your mouth and try to relax
An incomparable pianist and super musician in this extreme work of Rachmaninoff!
How interesting are his colors and textures! That's what music is all about.
What a musician ! Spectacular !
Real talent and mastering is when you can make it look so easy! And he does it ~ every time he plays!
One of the greatest pianists of all times. But only for people with ears. Wer das Spektakel braucht, sollte lieber einige seiner Kollegen hören. Dieser Pianist braucht das nicht, dafür ist er ein zu genialer Musiker!
nafetsolev Spektakel, you got that right, ganz genau ist was Herr Hamelin
anbietet & performed. Yeah, right on Spektakel, ganz toller sound. I am so sick of you guys kritisieren.
Ja. Er spielt hier in Montreal am 12en Mars. Freude und der Hammerklavier.
so beautiful......I feel like I am in the middle of blooming garden.
Very beautiful utilization of the une corda pedal. Only pianist I see who can pull of such extensive soft pedalling and not compromise the integrity of the sound.
I am always left with the feeling that this is miraculous...MAH is just amazing!
What control, and what a sound he gets.....
Hamelin is an artist and sometimes we fail to recognise artists
It is so great!!!!
Unbelievable performance!! :OO
good God he is making the sonata alive!!! such pianism
every piece he record is probably the best versions
Ive never heard the GM prelude played like this before . I think it's the most impressive , memorable ,quiet ,slow voicing feels like Elgar transposed onto Rach's aesthetic . A paen but not the efulgent full of middle voices Slavic heavyhandedness that we normally hear in Rach playing. The g# minor always spectacular again here has the overdone ,easy intensity taken out .Strong but a new stylish way of playing Rachmaninoff. I've never wanted to write a pianist before(IngridHaebler deserves adoration). So I'll say it here -thanks for a better way to play Rach. A true Symphony for Piano !The 2nd Sonata would be impossible to play the way he played the 2 preludes . The business of the Sonata will give us intensity .Hamelin's sound and textures in the Sonata are wonderful .There is not the characteristic violence we always get in Rach. I don't agree with that but it's still a wonderful way to play Rach ! Someone else said it perfectly "he maintains a degree of distance from the passion "
Definately, one of the best performance I've ever heard. 2nd Sonata (1931) is one of the most impressive piece of art ever made by human being.
Rather mediocre perfomance, especially 2 sonata. Listen Cliburn, Horowitz, Kocsis versions
Arcadiy Naumov: It must be tough to be alone...
Bravo maestro Hamelin.
magical
Great start with the no.5😮
this is the version of Rachmaninov Sonata 2 i love the most
you should listen Cliburn, Horowitz, Kocsis interpretations
Also pogorelich and Sultanov
His interpretation is his own of course, every soloist puts their own spin on pieces. I know I'm watching a Master because he makes it look effortless. Bravo!
Jeanne Haessler JEANNE, JUST TAKE ONE LOOK AT HIS FACE, HIS EYES, AND YOU WILL QUICKLY SEE THAT THIS IS NOT A PROCESS MADE TO LOOK EASY. IT IS ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT FEATS A HUMAN CAN ACCOMPLISH.
Yes indeed. I recently heard an interview with the pianist Louis Lortie (phenomenal Chopin Etudes recording on Chandos) and he stated that people don't realize just how physically and mentally demanding performing professionally is. He himself had to stop for a few years because of the toll on the body.
A virtuoso in the truest sense! Unlike most other pianists, there seems to be no fear of playing "wrong" notes, because every note he plays sounds good, so there are no wrong notes! He is the only one who could do this since Horowitz, and probably Franz Liszt before that. Absolutely astonishing.
As he commented in an interview, he had some woeful feeling while playing in front of the audience who "listens to, talks about, and eats Rachmaninoff." : )
Bravo!!!
Pure elegance
This was performed exactly 1 year and 1 day ago today!!
Not any more! ;-)
top top top!! Great M.A.H!!
Honestly, I prefer now how he performed now Rachmaninov's second piano Sonata more than in the 90's... Perfect!!!!
Wow!
I think you put Hamelin and Sokolov in the same room, there will be a crack, and California will fall into the ocean.
+fslubin have you heard Sokolov's Chopin Sonata No.3 in the concert? it's so worth a visit. ;)
Would it help if I said that this room would have to be in California? (It's a way of praising these two pianists.)
like matter and anti-matter? - they'll destroy each other?
ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
no one asked?
Rach 'n' roll !!!
Maybe he is the most talented pianist in the world!
But maybe he puts in much work, too!
Having talent does not mean not working.
maybe he did when he was a student and young man.
Did he ever say that?
Definetely he is not. Sometimes shallow perfomance
Playing piano looks so easy!!!
Not for someone who plays the piano :D
❤❤
I've seen some crazy people complaining about Rach's 2nd sonata for having too many notes and being too noisy. Dang, fuck that. This is a freakin' masterpiece! Might be my favorite Rach work!
6:00 sonata no.2, 1st mvt.
Nice chops
Hamelin's rendition ranks with Horowitz's and Van Cliburn's as the summit of rach sonata 2.
გენიალური მარკ ჰამლინი!!!!
კოსმიური მისტიკური წვდომა!
სულისშემძვრელი პიანიზმი!
Probably the only performance that will ever compare with Horowitz. Brilliant and moving.
agree. shortened though.
너무너무너무…….아름답다
Wow, much to like here, the lyricism is great, Prelude no. 12 was great, much of the sonata very persuasive, but it became rather fragmented at the end.
24:10 until the end I feel the earth is about to break in pieces those are some fat and delicious chords
best
He is one of those very rare Pianists who can improvise and create his own versions of Cadenzas and astound you with sheer technical difficulties yet somehow still sound musically amazing! Forget about all those pianists who can merely play what is written in the score but has ZERO ability to improvise their own killer CADENZA.
I like how he plays the revised version of the 2nd sonata, which is more musically pleasing than the complex original.
no, it's just easier on the hands. The 1913 original version is the one to play. Same with the 2nd symphony, now usually performed uncut. And, someday, we may even get to hear the original, "Russian" version of the 4th Piano Concerto in regular performance
David Luck The edited version is easier (mostly because of the 5-6 minute time reduction), but it also is much more focused and compositionally intuitive than the original. I think Hamelin knows this.
I personally enjoy both, but still prefer this one.
I agree, I much rather listen to this version than first edition. Rach was right.
Rachmaninoff e Hamelin sono 2 pianisti - compositori
13:35
19:40
Hamelin au sommet...
Renaud
En effet!
Is this the original version or the revised version of the sonata??
WIKIPEDIA:
A performance of the original version lasts approximately 25 minutes.
A performance of the revised version lasts approximately 19 minutes.
Why does he play the simplified revised version? One would think a pianist of Hamelin's technical and mental capabilities would opt for the larger, more challenging original version of this piece, not the composer's thinned down reworking. Zoltan Kocsis' explosive account of the original (on CD) is still the benchmark account of the 2nd Sonata. There's a video of him performing it on YT. Freddy Kempf's CD recording is also excellent.
Not only that, but my manuscript states this edition is for amateurs!
I think he probably just prefers this version musically? Rachmaninov obviously revised it for a reason. But I think both versions are great in their own right.
Beautifully played! But check out Van Cliburn's performance live, from Moscow. Then tell me.
Horowitz is still the best
Banana Hunter Pro LIKE HELL!
Agreed, Van Cliburn and Ashkenazy are the best, so far.
Joel Seda THE GREAT VAN CLIBURN, PLAYING THIS SONATA LOOKS ALMOST LIKE AN ORGASMIC FRENZY.
THAT´S WHAT IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE WHEN ONE IS ENJOYING THE EXPERIENCE.
Ron Walker I wonder why Hamelin always gets such shit thrown his way because he doesn't go into Frenzied Histrionics when playing!? People say it makes his playing unexciting, Cerebral, Robotic. It's not how HE Performs on the stage IT'S HOW HIS HANDS PERFORM! And the Notes flow from his fingertips with the Fluidity of water in a stream... His Playing is Beyond Reproach and that he isn't Orgasmically Spasming in a Rhapsodic Thrall only means that you must focus ON THE MUSIC! Shouldn't that be the way it is anyway? If i wanted dancing I go see the ABT!
My favorite interpretation of the passage in 4:12 is that of Lugansky's. You should check that out!
6:00