Kaleidoscope is a sampling of rather obscure, virtuoso, solo piano works that show Marc-André Hamelin's talents to their best advantage. The pieces selected by Hamelin may be called miniatures, but they are hardly miniature in any way except performance time. All were written by pianist/composers, including a couple by Hamelin himself. All but two were written in the twentieth century, although a couple are paraphrases on nineteenth century works and, in the case of Hamelin's Etude No. 6, a tribute to Scarlatti's eighteenth ...
Read More
Kaleidoscope is a sampling of rather obscure, virtuoso, solo piano works that show Marc-André Hamelin's talents to their best advantage. The pieces selected by Hamelin may be called miniatures, but they are hardly miniature in any way except performance time. All were written by pianist/composers, including a couple by Hamelin himself. All but two were written in the twentieth century, although a couple are paraphrases on nineteenth century works and, in the case of Hamelin's Etude No. 6, a tribute to Scarlatti's eighteenth century keyboard music (which apparently gets audience laughs at live performances because of the leaps and cross-hand maneuvers). Each one has the sound of the showcase pieces popularized by Liszt and others, with flying arpeggios, glissandos, complex ornaments, and the usual fireworks meant to impress audiences aurally and visually. Only toward the end of the disc do the harmonies and figurations become more modern. The last Toccatina, by Nikolai Kapustin, using jazz and swing...
Read Less
Add this copy of Kaleidoscope-Encores to cart. $9.21, like new condition, Sold by Wonder Book - Member ABAA/ILAB rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Frederick, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2001 by Hyperion.
