Marc-André Hamelin
Like the legendary pianists of the 19th and early 20th centuries, such as Sigismund Thalberg, Franz Liszt, Leopold Godowsky, and Ignace Jan Paderewski, it often sounds as if Marc-André Hamelin has more than ten fingers. His ability to play fiendishly difficult music, make it sound as if it's a stroll in the park, yet imbue it with musical sensitivity makes him worthy of the description "super-virtuoso" by The New York Times' Harold Schoenberg.
Hamelin was born on September 5, 1961, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He studied at the Vincent d'Indy School of Music in Montreal with Yvonne Hubert, a pupil of Cortot, then received bachelor's and master's degrees at Temple University, working under Russell Sherman and Harvey Weeden. In 1985, he launched his career with a first prize victory in the Carnegie Hall International American Music Competition. Since then, Hamelin has appeared in recital at a multitude of international venues, often with a thematically linked program of works. His solo turns with orchestras are no less far-reaching, covering major venues in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. He also finds time for a few chamber music performances and recordings with such colleagues as Jon Kimura Parker, Angela Hewitt, Midori, and the Takács Quartet, among many others.
His early recordings for the Altarus, New World, and Music & Arts labels featured music by Wolpe, Ives, Godowsky, and others. Hamelin then signed an exclusive contract as a Hyperion artist, and the frequency of releases and breadth of his repertoire helped propel his star higher. Covering concertos and solo works of composers such as Alkan, Busoni, Medtner, and Grainger -- just to name a few -- his recordings have been nominated for and won several prestigious awards, including seven Juno Awards and the 2003 Lifetime Achievement Prize from the German Record Critic's Association. The sonatas of Haydn would seem too tame for Hamelin compared to some of the other composers featured in his repertoire, but his 2007 volume of these was the year's best-seller for Hyperion. The 2010 release, Études, of his own compositions (bringing Hamelin even closer to the examples of Liszt and Godowsky), yielded the pianist his ninth (of 11) Grammy nomination and a first prize from the German Record Critic's Association. In 2019, he joined the Takács Quartet for a Hyperion album of Ernö Dohnányi's chamber music. In 2021, Hamelin premiered a Michael Gandolfi's Piano Concerto with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and conductor Robert Spano, who the work was commissioned for in celebration of his tenure with the Atlanta Symphony. The following year, Hamelin issued recordings of C.P.E. Bach's sonatas and rondos and the complete rags of Willam Bolcom.
Hamelin is an Officer of the Order of Canada, a Chevalier de l'Ordre du Québec, and a member of the Royal Society of Canada.
© Patsy Morita /TiVo
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Fauré: Nocturnes & Barcarolles
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 Sep 2023
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Hamelin: New Piano Works
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 2 Feb 2024
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Messiaen: Turangalîla-Symphony
Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Gustavo Gimeno, Marc-André Hamelin, Nathalie Forget
Symphonies - Released by harmonia mundi on 2 Feb 2024
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C.P.E. Bach: Sonatas & Rondos
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 7 Jan 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Busoni: Late Piano Music
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 3 Nov 2013
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: Piano Quintet & String Quartet No. 2
Takács Quartet, Marc-André Hamelin
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 29 Mar 2015
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Dohnányi: Piano Quintets & String Quartet No. 2
Takács Quartet, Marc-André Hamelin
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 Nov 2019
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Bolcom: The Complete Rags
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 3 Jun 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring, Concerto & Other Works for 2 Pianos
Marc-André Hamelin, Leif Ove Andsnes
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 2 Feb 2018
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Debussy: Images & Préludes, Book 2
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 2 Nov 2014
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rubinstein: Piano Concerto No. 4 – Scharwenka: Piano Concerto No. 1 (Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto 38)
Marc-André Hamelin, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Michael Stern
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 Oct 2005
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Franck: Piano Quintet – Debussy: String Quartet
Marc-André Hamelin, Takács Quartet
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 27 May 2016
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Haydn: Piano Concertos Nos. 3, 4 & 11
Marc-André Hamelin, Les Violons du Roy, Bernard Labadie
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 31 Mar 2013
Gramophone: Recording of the Month24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rzewski: The People United Will Never Be Defeated!
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 Apr 1999
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Liszt & Thalberg: Opera Transcriptions & Fantasies
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 28 Aug 2020
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Godowsky: Piano Sonata in E Minor; Passacaglia and 44 Variations
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 Jan 2002
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Scenes from Childhood; Waldszenen – Janáček: On the Overgrown Path, Book 1
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QobuzissimeGramophone: Recording of the Month24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3 – Medtner: Piano Concerto No. 2
Marc-André Hamelin, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Vladimir Jurowski
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 31 Mar 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Samuil Feinberg: Piano Sonatas Nos. 1-6
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 28 Feb 2020
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Morton Feldman: For Bunita Marcus
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 3 Jul 2017
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Franck: Piano Quintet in F Minor, FWV 7 (Live from Verbier Festival / 2014)
Marc-André Hamelin, Joshua Bell, Pamela Frank, Nobuko Imai, Steven Isserlis
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 24 Jul 2020
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo