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Track(s) taken from CDA67951/3

Kammer-Fantasie über Carmen, BV284

composer
1920; Sonatina No 6, based on themes from Bizet's Carmen

Marc-André Hamelin (piano)
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CD-Quality:
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Recording details: August 2012
Henry Wood Hall, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Andrew Keener
Engineered by Simon Eadon
Release date: November 2013
Total duration: 7 minutes 43 seconds

Cover artwork: Materia (1912). Umberto Boccioni (1882-1916)
Private Collection / Giraudon / Bridgeman Images
 

Other recordings available for download

Stephen Hough (piano)
Marc-André Hamelin (piano)

Reviews

‘Works where Busoni found his truest voice … Hamelin, playing with unfaltering lucidity and authority, achieves an astonishing triumph even by his exalted standards. As always, Hyperion has done him proud … an album that could never be bettered’ (Gramophone)

‘Marc-André Hamelin’s performance of the Busoni Piano Concerto for Hyperion is one of the finest ever recorded of that mammoth work, and now he has produced what is arguably the most important collection of the solo piano music since Geoffrey Douglas Madge’s epic six-disc survey for Philips in 1987 … All the most significant works are here … Hamelin includes some rarities Madge omitted, notably Busoni’s first foray into 'Red Indian’ music, the spellbinding Indianisches Erntelied (not published till 2001) … As to the performances, they are all you could hope from a player of such quality, laced with repertoire he might have been born to interpret. This is playing of a very high order, such as—despite the now numerous competing versions of the Elegies, Sonatinas and Toccata—one seldom hears. Hamelin is well-nigh ideal in sensitivity of phrasing, clarity of tone and delineation of voices, not to mention subtlety of pedalling … He reminds you that you are listening to one of history’s greatest piano composers, a philosopher of the piano to whose ear and mind the whole of European concert music seems to have been continually present. A fabulous set, almost beyond praise’ (BBC Music Magazine)» More
PERFORMANCE
RECORDING

‘What comes through on listening to Hamelin is the underlying consistency of his approach over this music as a whole and, above all, the singularity of Busoni's musical vision and its relevance to composers and pianists almost a century on’ (International Record Review)

‘Few pianists have the time and technique to devote to music that is so little-known. Marc-André Hamelin is the shining exception. He demonstrated his Busoni credentials more than a decade ago with an outstanding account of the Piano Concerto … Hamelin handles all with great intelligence. There's a swagger when the music demands it, a fabulously refined sense of sonority and transparency when required. The technical challenges are surmounted so effortlessly that you begin to take the confidence of his playing for granted, when in fact it's a remarkable achievement’ (The Guardian)» More

‘The gift I'd choose for myself would be Marc-André Hamelin's magisterial three-disc survey of Busoni's later piano music—elusive and haunting material from a pivotal figure’ (The Times)» More

‘Hyperion does Busoni a great service in issuing this magnificent three-disc box. Those readers who know Busoni mainly (or only) via his transcriptions will have a whole new world revealed to them. Hamelin, one of today’s super-virtuosos but also a musician of the highest rank, seems to be the ideal interpreter, and is captured throughout in superb sound’ (International Piano)» More

‘This three-CD set presents Marc-André Hamelin, another formidable pianist, in Busoni works from the first quarter of the 20th century. The music draws from the heritage of Bach, Liszt and Wagner, while taking modern paths and anticipating atonality. Even when a particular piece seems amorphous or elusive, these elegies, fantasias, sonatinas and more are continually fascinating, especially in Mr. Hamelin’s commanding performances’ (The New York Times)» More

‘Hamelin's recent release of three CDs devoted to the late piano music of Ferruccio Busoni represents another milestone in an outstanding career … These three discs contain a number of pieces not previously recorded and also include a sampling of the numerous Bach arrangements Busoni is best known for. The programming is exemplary, the sound is alluring (from a Steinway piano recorded in London’s Henry Wood Hall) and the program notes are excellent. Bravo Hamelin!’ (The Whole Note, Canada)» More

«L’impeccable virtuosité de Marc-André Hamelin se joue des pièges recélés par ces redoutables partitions; sa quête faustienne, à la fois analytique et méditée, assume la dimension philosophique quasi médiévale de cette alchimie sonore et nous en livre une référence absolue» (Classica, France)» More
PERFORMANCE
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„Marc André Hamelin ist derzeit unumstritten der König der Busoni-Interpreten. Triumphal meistert er die außerordentlichen technischen Schwierigkeiten und die komplexe Kontrapunktik der Musik Busonis“ (Class Aktuell, Germany)» More

„Marc-André Hamelin gelingt, alle Facetten in exzellenten Interpretationen darzustellen … seiner qualitativ hochwertigen Edition der Klaviermusik von Ferruccio Busoni dürfte deshalb über eine lange Zeit der Referenzstatus sicher sein“ (Piano, Germany)» More
PERFORMANCE
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Busoni was a big believer in the importance of transcription. As with the Chaconne, the Kammer-Fantasie über Carmen uses ideas present in repertoire he admired—in this case, Bizet’s opera. Bizet’s melodies are clay that, in Busoni’s hands, is sculpted with breathtaking creativity. This re-imagining forms the basis of Busoni’s sixth sonatina, completed in 1920. It was premiered by the composer in the same year at Wigmore Hall. The work takes its thematic material from the opening chorus of the fourth act, Don José’s ‘Flower song’ in Act II, the Act I ‘Habanera’ (in its minor and major forms), and the prelude to Act I. The Kammer-Fantasie über Carmen bears all the Busoni hallmarks: it begins with a twinkly melody that is quickly re-invented, appearing in all sorts of guises up and down the keyboard before launching into a dizzyingly complex version of the beloved ‘Habanera’. The kaleidoscope eventually slows to reveal the melody in a recognizable state.

from notes by Claire Jackson © 2021

Busoni croyait beaucoup en l’importance de la transcription. Comme dans le cas de la Chaconne, la Kammer-Fantasie über Carmen utilise des idées présentes dans le répertoire qu’il admirait—ici, l’opéra de Bizet. Les mélodies de Bizet sont de l’argile sculptée entre les mains de Busoni avec une créativité stupéfiante. Cette réinterprétation forme la base de la sixième sonatine de Busoni, achevée en 1920. Elle fut créée par le compositeur la même année au Wigmore Hall. L’œuvre tire son matériel thématique du chœur initial du quatrième acte, de «La fleur que tu m’avais jetée» à l’acte II, de la «Habanera» de l’acte I (dans ses formes mineure et majeure) et du prélude de l’acte I. La Kammer-Fantasie über Carmen présente toutes les caractéristiques de Busoni: elle commence par une mélodie scintillante vite réinventée, qui prend toute sorte de formes du haut en bas du clavier avant de se lancer dans une version d’une complexité vertigineuse de la bien-aimée «Habanera». Le kaléidoscope finit par ralentir pour révéler la mélodie dans un état reconnaissable.

extrait des notes rédigées par Claire Jackson © 2021
Français: Marie-Stella Pâris

Wie wir bereits gehört haben, war Busoni fest von der Bedeutung der Transkription überzeugt. Ebenso wie in der Chaconne werden in der Kammer-Fantasie über Carmen Motive aus einem Werk verarbeitet, welches er bewunderte—in diesem Falle Bizets Oper. Die Melodien Bizets werden hier, in Busonis Händen, mit atemberaubender Kreativität umgeformt und umgestaltet. Diese Nachschöpfung bildet die Basis der sechsten Sonatine Busonis, die er 1920 fertigstellte. Sie wurde noch im selben Jahr von dem Komponisten in der Londoner Wigmore Hall erstmals öffentlich aufgeführt. Das thematische Material des Werks stammt aus dem Eingangschor des vierten Akts, Don Josés „Blumenlied“ aus dem zweiten Akt, der „Habanera“ aus dem ersten Akt (sowohl in der Moll- als auch der Durversion) und dem Vorspiel zum ersten Akt. Die Kammer-Fantasie über Carmen enthält alle typischen Kennzeichen Busonis: sie beginnt mit einer funkelnden Melodie, die rasch umgearbeitet wird und dann in allen möglichen Gestalten die Klaviatur hinauf- und heruntereilt, bevor sie in eine schwindelerregend komplexe Version der beliebten „Habanera“ übergeht. Schließlich verlangsamt sich das Kaleidoskop und die Melodie tritt in erkennbarer Form hervor.

aus dem Begleittext von Claire Jackson © 2021
Deutsch: Viola Scheffel

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Marc-André Hamelin live at Wigmore Hall
CDA66765
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Studio Master: CDA68260Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available
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