Hamelin’s legend will grow—right now there is no one like him.

—The New Yorker

Program

HAYDN: Variations in F minor, Hob. XVII:6
MOZART: Sonata in A minor, K310
LISZT: Venezia e Napoli, from Années de Pèlerinage
FAURÉ: Nocturne No. 6, Op. 63
ALKAN: Symphonie for Solo Piano, Op. 39, No. 4-7

ENCORE:
CHOPIN: Nocturne in D flat, Op. 27, No. 2

About This Performance

A startlingly original blend of virtuosity and power has earned this Canadian artist legendary status. Long known for his matchless exploration of unfamiliar piano terrain, Hamelin is now universally recognized for the depth and originality of his interpretations of Classical and Romantic repertoire.

Read a preview and interview with Marc-André Hamelin in San Francisco Classical Voice.

Links/Downloads

artist biography

Marc-André Hamelin’s startlingly original blend of musicianship and virtuosity has earned him legendary status as a true avatar of the piano.  Long known for his matchless exploration of unfamiliar pianistic terrain, Mr. Hamelin is now recognized worldwide for the originality and technical brilliance of his performances of the classic repertoire.  

During the summer of 2009 Hamelin opens the Aspen Music Festival’s season, appears at the Ravinia, Salzburg, Aldeburgh, Domaine Forget, and Santa Fe Chamber Music festivals, and joins the New York Philharmonic for Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and I’ve Got Rhythm Variations.  

Highlights of the upcoming season include dates with the symphony orchestras of Boston, Montreal, San Francisco, Minnesota, and Indianapolis, and recitals for the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, San Francisco Performances, the Van Cliburn Foundation, La Jolla Music Society, Maine Center for the Arts, the 92nd Street Y in New York City, Club Musical de Quebec, and elsewhere.  

In Europe, Mr. Hamelin returns to Wigmore Hall and plays additional recitals in Amsterdam, Stuttgart, Glasgow, Berlin and throughout Italy and Spain.  Concerto dates include the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Orquesta Sinfonica de Valencia, and the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, with whom he performs and records the Strauss Burlesque and Max Reger Piano Concerto for Hyperion.  He also tours Australia in recital and orchestral performances.  

Recent notable appearances include a series of dates at New York City’s Lincoln Center – in recital and with orchestra for Mostly Mozart, in recital for the “Great Performers” series, in chamber concerts with Midori, and playing Haydn and Mozart concerti with Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin the Fields.  In recent seasons, Mr. Hamelin has made recital appearances for Chicago Symphony Presents, Celebrity Series of Boston, WPAS in Washington, D.C., San Francisco Performances, Wigmore Hall’s London Pianoforte Series, the Schubert Club in St. Paul, and the Irving S. Gilmore International Keyboard Festival, et al. Orchestral dates include the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Montreal Symphony, the National Arts Center Orchestra, the New Jersey Symphony, the North Carolina Symphony, the Pacific Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Saint Louis Symphony, the San Francisco Symphony and the Seattle Symphony.  Mr. Hamelin appears regularly in recital and with orchestras throughout Europe, in Australia, and in the Far East.  

In March 2009 the Pro Musica Society of Montreal marked its 60th anniversary season celebrating The Art of Marc-André Hamelin with a week of concerts, featuring Mr. Hamelin in chamber music, a solo recital and Beethoven and Haydn concerti.  Additionally, throughout 2008/09, Mr. Hamelin toured with the Takács String Quartet, performing the Schumann Piano Quintet in North America and in Europe, and recording the work for Hyperion Records.  In fall 2008 Mr. Hamelin embarked on a tour of Asia and Australia for concerts with the orchestras of Singapore, Malaysia and Melbourne, finishing with a pair of recitals in Hong Kong.  

Under exclusive contract with Hyperion Records, Mr. Hamelin has received 8 Grammy nominations including a 2009 nomination for Marc-André Hamelin in a state of jazz (CDA67656) released in May 2008. His latest release (January 2009), Chopin Sonatas Nos. 2 & 3, Two Nocturnes, Berceuse - Barcarolle (CDA67706), has received extraordinary critical and popular acclaim.   

He has recorded over thirty-five CDs for Hyperion, a collection that includes concertos and works for solo piano by composers such as Alkan, Busoni, Godowsky, and Medtner, as well as brilliantly received performances of Brahms, Haydn, Liszt and Schumann.

Mr. Hamelin was recently presented with a lifetime achievement prize by the German Record Critic’s Award (Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik) and was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2003 and a Chevalier de l’Ordre du Québec in 2004; he is also a member of the Royal Society of Canada.  He makes his home in Boston.