Liszt: Piano Sonata, Fantasy & Fugue on the theme B-A-C-H

Should go without saying; unbelievable virtuosity, total understanding of musical aims, wonderful sound engineering.Fantasia & Fugue BACH: 9/10 - outstanding, ranks alongside Kun-Woo Paik. But Jando is absolutely imperious (benchmark 10/10).Venezia e Napoli set: BENCHMARK (10/10). Tarantella especially 'Hamelin' in velocity, accurancy, thunder etc. But the preceding pieces are beautifully performed and the set of 3 is a gem.Benediction: outstanding, although not quite at the exalted level of Kun-Woo Paik and Arrau. 9/10.Sonata: BENCHMARK (10/10). Hard call to make. But when you add up all the qualities required for this, incredibly fast and detached octaves, frenetic clear-finger passagework, MASSIVE POWER, supersoft delicacy, Hamelin does everything technically that any other pianist stands out for in their own versions. And there is no doubt of his knowledge of the piece. Although recorded late in output, someone like Hamelin (with repertoire from Kapustin to Alkan to Ives) would have come across this in his teens, if not well before. This is as good as any other top level version ever put on record.Overall 2 '10's and 2 '9s', cannot be ignored by anyone interested in Liszt, the piano, sonatas, how to play music, or Hamelin.

Liszt was allegedly uncomfortable when playing in the presence of Alkan, whose technique was also phenomenal.I would suggest that, were a time machine in existence, he would also have been/be distinctly nervous if playing in Mr. Hamelin's presence.The playing on this disc is simply amazing.Hamelin's technique transcends the extreme demands of the music and allows him to bring out so many voices, often lost with more liberal use of the sustaining pedal.The outburst near the conclusion of the Fantasie and Fugue on the theme B-A-C-H is unbelievable.There are multiple recordings of the Liszt sonata. No artist seems content until he has recorded the work at least once.Thankfully Hamelin has now given us his rendition and, although acknowledging there cannot be one 'perfect' recording as some aspects of the work are a matter of taste, would nevertheless suggest that this recording of the sonata comes as close as possible to this position.The virtuosity is stunning but it is not allowed to dominate at the expense of the music's inner beauty.The disc also contains the Bénédiction de Dieu dans la Solitude and the Venezia e Napoli.I cannot recommend this disc too highly and would plea with Mr. Hamelin and Hyperion Records for him to record much more of the main stream repertoire in the future.

In the 'Benediction', Hamelin displays a poetic imagination that completely evades Steven Osborne in his rather overrated complete set of the 'Harmonies'.Hamelin can sparkle and shimmer better than any other pianist I know and as such is peerless in Liszt's more reflective or dazzling passages. If I have one slight reservation of his otherwise sublime playing, it is when the music asks for some grunt and muscle. In the great sonata I find the likes of Nicolai Demidenko (also Hyperion) and Boris Berezovsky (Mirare) display more heft and darkness when required...more panther to Hamelin's cheetah.In short, nothing on this disc will ever disappoint and I would buy it for 'Benediction' alone. But I urge you seek out either of the above mentioned versions of the sonata or David Wilde's visionary account on Delphian.

Hamelin is certainly one of the world's greatest virtuosos with a jaw-dropping preternatural ability to play cascades of notes not only fast but with unusual clarity. But he is also a sensitive artist whose aim is musical as well as virtuosic. This recital is phenomenal. Just listen to the playing in the Fantasy and Fugue on BACH and you will marvel. This, for me, is the highlight of the recital and worth buying for this alone. The other shorter pieces are also wonderfully well played. As for the sonata, I have recordings by Cherkassky, Richter, Brandel, Argerich, Ogden and Rubinstein, all fine in their very different ways. Just to say Hamelin can hold his own in such exalted company. There is, of course, no 'one way' to play this piece. But Hamelin's is uncommonly satisfying.

Another excellent CD to add t o my collection of his playing

After a recent recital by Hamelin, I bought this CD and I have to say it was the first time I felt I truly loved the Liszt Sonata. I became fascinated by this music, eventually comparing lots of different versions to see if Hamelin was indeed that special. I listened to Demidenko, Argerich, Richter, Arrau, Brendel, Zimerman, Hough and Pollini and I have to say none of these excellent recordings is as complete as Hamelin's. Maybe others play it with a higher emotional intensity (Demidenko), or clarify the structure better (Richter and Brendel), but none of them have Hamelin's unique fusion of effortless technical control, cumulative excitement and grasp of the architecture without sacrificing expression.Listen to Hamelin's ravishing soft touch in the Quasi adagio section - nobody can compete with such a wide-ranging control of dynamics and nuance. All this is coupled with a white-hot intensity that was sometimes missing in some of Hamelin's earlier recordings.The filler pieces are all excellent - Hamelin's repeated notes in the Tarantella are jaw-droppingly fast and even, and both here and elsewhere his bass-oriented sonority, staggering control of dynamics and swagger are in full display.In short, this recording is a triumph for Marc-Andre Hamelin - I can't wait to hear more.