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Track(s) taken from CDA67320

Impressions de la Tamise, Op 13 No 1

composer
Leo Ornstein (1893-2002)

Marc-André Hamelin (piano)
Recording details: August 2001
Henry Wood Hall, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Andrew Keener
Engineered by Tony Faulkner
Release date: August 2002
Total duration: 7 minutes 57 seconds

Cover artwork: Untitled painting (2001). Monika Giller-Lenz
 

Reviews

‘Stimulating and frequently astonishing music, ultimately unlike anyone else's’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘A tremendous tribute to a fascinating figure in 20th-century music’ (The Daily Telegraph)

‘Marc-André Hamelin plays magisterially, as ever. He clearly loves this music’ (International Record Review)

‘This is an essential release … realized with the dazzling virtuosity and preternatural clarity that we have come to expect from the enterprising Canadian … this exhausting, diverse, and technically astonishing recording is not one that I would gladly be without’ (Fanfare, USA)

‘Marc-André Hamelin plays Ornstein’s music with commanding savoir-faire’ (The Irish Times)

‘A provocative collection, brilliantly played and splendidly engineered’ (International Piano)

‘Marc-André Hamelin is spellbinding in his performance … this CD is an outstanding example of astonishing music’ (Hi-Fi Plus)

‘It almost goes without saying that Marc-André Hamelin plays the socks off this music, tackling the most knuckle-busting runs and cluster harmonies in Danse Sauvage and its fellow pieces with staggering virtuosity’ (Classics Today)

«Marc-André Hamelin, aussi à l’aise dans les déferlements rythmiques que dans les moments suspendus du temps, nous offer là un disque superbe» (Répertoire, France)
Impressions de la Tamise is tranquil and calm, depicting the broad nobility of a great river, perhaps seen in the cold light of morning: Ornstein’s Thames is a colder, more impersonal place than Smetana’s Vltava, and the ‘Molto animato’ middle section indicates that it is also dangerous—and why Ornstein should give his memories of the Thames a French title is unclear.

from notes by Martin Anderson © 2002

Impressions de la Tamise est tranquille et calme, évoquant la vaste et noble étendue d’un grand fleuve, vu, peut-être, sous la froide clarté de l’aube; la Tamise d’Ornstein est plus froide, plus impersonnelle que la Vltava (ou Moldau) de Smetana, et la section centrale, «Molto animato», suggère qu’elle est également dangereuse—sans compter que l’on ignore ce qui a incité Ornstein à donner un titre français à ses souvenirs de la Tamise.

extrait des notes rédigées par Martin Anderson © 2002
Français: Josée Bégaud

Impressions de la Tamise ist ruhig und gelassen in seiner Darstellung der großzügigen Erhabenheit eines breiten Flusses, wie er vielleicht im kalten Morgenlicht erscheint. Ornsteins Themse ist ein kälterer, unnahbarerer Ort als Smetanas Moldau, und der Mittelteil Molto animato deutet darauf hin, dass es ebenso ein gefährlicher Ort ist. Warum Ornstein seinen Erinnerungen an die Themse einen französischen Titel gab, bleibt unklar.

aus dem Begleittext von Martin Anderson © 2002
Deutsch: Elke Hockings

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