Marc-André Hamelin - In a state of jazz (Flac)

Marc-André Hamelin's Hyperion disc in a state of jazz is not an example of a classical pianist letting his hair down, nor attempting to fuse jazz with classical music, or to create something a tad more commercial than, say, an album of Tausig transcriptions. This collection features works by four classical pianist/composers -- Friedrich Gulda, Nikolai Kapustin, Alexis Weissenberg, and George Antheil -- that fashioned piano music "in a state of jazz," though in fully notated form. The one exception to the rule is Alexis Weissenberg's Six arrangements of songs sung by Charles Trenet, which first appeared on a 45rpm record in the 1950s credited to "Mr. Nobody." This was Weissenberg, who was attempting to protect his career as a classical piano virtuoso through hiding under this made-up name; he did not write down these arrangements, and Hamelin has transcribed them from the record himself. Weissenberg's impulses were correct; had he released his jazz music under his own name it very well could have wrecked his career; Viennese composer Friedrich Gulda made major strides toward breaking down such barriers, and his work is represented through three exercises from his pedagogical collection Play Piano Play (1971) and a Prelude and Fugue (1965).

'Played with such astounding agility and aplomb that you end up mesmerised by virtually every bar. Indeed, it is no exaggeration to say that no other pianist could approach Hamelin in such music. Notes pour and cascade like diamonds from his fingers and he has an inborn flair for the music's wild, free-wheeling melodies and rhythms, for its glittering whimsy and caprice … superbly presented and recorded, this is a special addition to Hamelin's towering and unique discography' (Gramophone)

'Although this fine recording is entitled 'In a state of jazz' it includes no true jazz—every note is written down—but for all that it bursts with the daring vitality that is the hallmark of the best improvised music' (The Observer)

'The Canadian pianist Marc-André Hamelin possesses one of those musical brains that spark with maddening brilliance in whatever direction takes his fancy … it's hard to believe Hamelin didn't grow up within earshot of some dubious jazz haunt in New Orleans or Harlem … as Hamelin explains in his enjoyably lucid booklet notes, Gulda's astonishing pianistic pedigree deserves to be seen in a far wider context … Hamelin's evocations of these are wonderfully whimsical yet as crisp as celery. The syncopations 'sit' so comfortably under his fingers—exactly the right balance between ambition and restraint, warmth and edge—a pretty rare commodity in the performance of classical repertoire, let alone jazz-inspired music … this is a lovely, lovely disc; I highly recommend it' (International Record Review)

'Hamelin plays with such dexterous panache that he puts back much of the heat that the formalisation of jazz as 'composition' removes … dazzling and enchanting' (Classic FM Magazine)

'Nikolai Kapustin's remarkable Sonata No 2 is a convincing integration of classical form with jazz. Alexis Weissenberg's Sonate en état de Jazz, which evokes tango, Charleston, blues and samba in its four movements, is more idiosyncratic but no less dazzling' (The Scotsman)

'What an imaginative program Marc-André Hamelin has assembled: jazz-inspired works that are virtuosic like nobody's business and totally fun to listen to … technically, of course, Hamelin is beyond reproach … he's a serious contender for the first word in piano playing' (Classics Today)

1. Exercise No. 1 from Play Piano Play (Freiderich Gulda)
2. Allegro molto (Sonata No. 2, Op. 54 - Nikolai Kapustin)
3. Scherzo: Allegro assai
4. Largo - Allegro
5. Allegro vivace
6. Exercise No. 4 from Play Piano Play -Allegro ma non troppo (Gulda)
7. Evocation d'un tango (Sonata in a state of jazz- Alexis Weissenberg)
8. Remininscence d'un charleston
9. Reflets d'un blues
10. Provocation de samba
11. Exercise No 5 from Play Piano Play- Moderato poco mosso (Gulda)
12. Prelude and Fugue (Gulda)
13. Coin de rue (6 arrangements of songs sung by Charles Trenet - Alexxis Weissenberg)
14. Vous oubliez votre cheval (Trenet and Brachlianoff)
15. En Avril a Paris (Trenet and Eiger)
16. Boum ! (Trenet)
17. Vous qui passez sans me voir (Hess & Misraki)
18. Menilmontant (Trenet)
19. Jazz Sonata - (George Antheil)