It’s All About the Music

Marc-André Hamelin: It’s All About the Music. Part I: It’s all about the music: the art of Marc-André Hamelin [documentary, 47:48]. Includes interviews with Ronald Stevenson, Robert Rimm, and Andrew Keener, plus Marc-André Hamelin performing music by Albéniz, Alkan, Busoni, Dukas, Godowsky, Hamelin, Kapustin, Liszt, Medtner, Rzewski, and Schubert. Part II: Recital: Hamelin in Charlevoix, Quebec [47:50]. Including interview with Marc-André Roberge (Professor of Musicology, Laval University). Godowsky/Chopin. Seven Studies on Chopin’s Études. Godowsky. The Gardens of Buitenzorg, from Java Suite. Wagner/Liszt. Isoldens Liebestod, S447. Verdi/Liszt. Ernani – Paraphrase de Concert, S432. Sciarrino. Anamorfosi. Antheil. Piano Sonata No. 4, ‘Jazz Sonata’. Part III: Extra Features [25:45]. Interview with Jay Reise (composer). Interview with Harvey Wedeen (Professor of Piano, Temple University). Interview with Robert Rimm (author of The Composer-Pianists: Hamelin and the Eight). Concert performance of Busoni’s Piano Concerto Op. 39, fourth movement, ‘All’ Italiana’, Marc-André Hamelin, Lahti Symphony Orchestra, Osmo Vänskä. Producer/Director: Robert Chesterman (Prometheus Productions). Executive Producer: Eleanor Wilson (Hyperion). One DVD, total playing time 121 minutes. Language: English. Subtitles: English, French, German, Japanese. All Regions. Filmed in Canada, USA, Scotland, and England in 2005. Hyperion DVDA68000

This film is divided into two parts, the first consisting of a 50-minute documentary, and the second including a recital of similar duration given by Marc-André Hamelin in Charlevoix, Quebec. With the assumption that most readers will be familiar with the pianism of Hamelin, it seems instructive not to spend too much time discussing the quality of the playing on the present DVD, but rather to focus more on the actual contents of the programme. Firstly, it should be noted that the documentary does not especially focus on Marc-André Hamelin himself; instead, as the blurb on the case state, it features Hamelin, but looks at ‘the music-making of virtuoso composer-pianists from both the present and the golden age’. After a brief introduction to some of these musicians, with short excerpts played by Hamelin, the pianist himself speaks about…

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