Marc-André Hamelin (Marc-André Hamelin) |

Marc-André Hamelin

Marc-André Hamelin is an internationally recognized master of contemporary piano art. His interpretations of both classical compositions and little-known works of the XNUMXth-XNUMXst centuries amaze with the freedom and depth of reading, novelty and incredible use of all the resources of the piano.

Marc-André Hamelin was born in Montreal in 1961. Starting piano lessons at the age of five, four years later he became the winner of the national music competition. His first mentor was his father, a pharmacist by profession and a talented amateur pianist. Marc-André later studied at the Vincent d’Andy School in Montreal and at Temple University in Philadelphia with Yvonne Hubert, Harvey Wedin and Russell Sherman. Winning the Carnegie Hall Piano Competition in 1985 was the starting point of his illustrious career.

The pianist performs with great success in the best halls of the world, at the largest festivals in Europe and the USA. Last season, he gave concerts at Carnegie Hall – solo (in the Keyboard Virtuoso Series) and with the Budapest Festival Orchestra conducted by Ivan Fischer (List Concerto No. 1). With the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Vladimir Yurovsky, the pianist performed Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, and also recorded Rachmaninov’s Concerto No. 3 and Medtner’s Concerto No. 2 on disc. Other notable events include a debut with the La Scala Philharmonic Orchestra and the UK premiere of the Marc-Anthony Turnage Concerto (written especially for Hamelin) with the Halle Orchestra in Manchester. In 2016-17 Hamelin has performed at summer festivals in Verbier, Salzburg, Schubertiade, Tanglewood, Aspen and others. Commissioned by the La Jolla festival in California, he composed a sonata, which he performed with the cellist Hy-E Ni. The pianist collaborated with the symphony ensembles of Montreal, Minnesota, Indianapolis, Bologna, Montpellier, with the Bavarian State Orchestra, the Warsaw Philharmonic, the North German Radio Orchestra, with which he performed concertos by Haydn, Mozart, Brahms, Ravel, Medtner, Shostakovich. The artist’s solo evenings were held at the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Cleveland Halls, Chicago, Toronto, New York, at the Gilmore Piano Festival in Michigan, as well as at the Shanghai Concert Hall. Amlen’s performances in a duet with pianist Leif Uwe Andsnes in London’s Wigmore Hall, then in Rotterdam, Dublin, the cities of Italy, Washington, Chicago, San Francisco became highlights. Together with the Pacific Quartet, Hamelin performed the premiere of his String Quintet. In the summer of 2017, the musician took part in the work of the jury of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth (the compulsory competition also included a new composition by Hamelin – Toccata L’homme armé).

Marc-André began the 2017/18 season with a solo concert at Carnegie Hall. In Berlin, with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Vladimir Yurovsky, he performed Schoenberg’s Concerto. Played Mozart’s Concerto No. 9 with the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra. Solo performances of the pianist are planned in Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Canada, and the USA. With the Liverpool Symphony Orchestra he will perform Brahms’ Concerto No. 1, with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra he will play Stravinsky’s Piano and Winds Concerto, with the Pacific Quartet he will play the Schumann Piano Quintet and, for the first time in Canada, his new composition for this composition.

A musician with a wide creative range, Hamelin proved himself to be a talented composer. His Pavane variée was selected as the compulsory entry for the ARD competition in Munich in 2014. After the New York premiere of his Chaconne on February 21, 2015, the New York Times dubbed Hamelin “The Emperor of the Piano” for his “divine sophistication, astounding power, brilliance and incredibly transparent touch.”

Marc-André Hamelin is an exclusive artist for Hyperion Records. He has recorded over 70 CDs for this label. Among them are concerts and solo works by such composers as Alkan, Godovsky, Medtner, Roslavets, brilliant interpretations of works by Brahms, Chopin, Liszt, Schumann, Debussy, Shostakovich, as well as recordings of his own opuses. In 2010, the album “12 Etudes in All Minor Keys” was released, where Hamelin appeared in two roles as a pianist and composer. The disc was nominated for a Grammy Award (the ninth of his career). In 2014, the CD with works by Schumann (Forest Scenes and Children’s Scenes) and Janáček (On the Overgrown Path) was named Album of the Month by Gramophone and BBC Music Magazine. A recording of Busoni’s late piano compositions was awarded the Echo Award in the nominations “Instrumentalist of the Year (Piano)” and “Disc of the Year” by the French magazines Diapason and Classica. In addition, recordings with the Takach Quartet (piano quintets by Shostakovich and Leo Ornstein), a double album with Mozart sonatas, and a CD with Liszt’s compositions have been released. After the release of three double albums of Haydn’s sonatas and concerts with the Violins of the King Ensemble (conducted by Bernard Labadie), BBC Music Magazine included Marc-André Hamelin in the “shortlist of Haydn’s greatest interpreters in sound recording”. Recordings in 2017 include a duet album with Leif Ove Andsnes (Stravinsky), a solo disc with compositions by Schubert, and a recording of Morton Feldman’s minimalist cycle For Bunita Marcus.

Marc-André Hamelin lives in Boston. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada (2003), a Companion of the Order of Quebec (2004), and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. In 2006 he was awarded the Lifetime Recording Prize of the Association of German Critics. In 2015, the pianist was inducted into the Gramophone Hall of Fame.

Photo credit — Fran Kaufman