Hamelin in Stockholm - Saint-Saens-Godowsky - The Swan 2/14

[1862Debussy]

Il me rends fier d'être québecois!

[MalyshevEvgeniy]

I dedicate this piece to a very special friend who is now not among us.

[fredericfranc]

...a kind of mediocre composer, Saint-Saens, worked over by a more mediocre arranger, Godowsky...well, at least NOT a mediocre pianst here...close-ups of aristocratic-looking Nordic bitches, I guess, kinda fit in...

[RemovdSande11]

nice playing but I prefer Rachmaninov's transcription much more, stays true to the original.

[jeremiebazinet]

He play godowsky soo well!

[OrangeSodaKing]

BEAUTIFUL! Interesting arrangement, but still masterful nonetheless.

[klavierspieler72]

Frozentoes1 is exactly right. This proves to me that Busoni's dictum "To be more than a virtuoso, one must first be a virtuoso." Hamelin in his sheer technical wizardry may lack something in warmth occasionally, but this is extraordinarily beautiful playing, very sensitive, and pure--almost aristocratic.

[twooffour]

@klavierspieler72

What do people mean by "aristocratic" when talking about music?

I don't quite get this connection, because "aristocracy" is where music at this level usually emerged in the Renaissance - Classicism periods... but usually when people say something sounds "aristocratic", it's Romantic music.

does.not.connect?

[Frozentoes1]

This is a clear example of Hamelin as a poet of the piano. Those critics who continuously refer to Mr. Hamelin as a computer need to have a listen to this.

[Sword1479]

@Frozentoes1 How dare they call him a computer! Have they heard his preformance of Busoni's piano concerto?! Or Alkan's Symphony for Piano?!