CD review: Hamelin in a State of Jazz, performed on keyboard

[faulty_damper]

This is Hamelin's worst CD ever issued.

Sound
Instead of performing on a Steinway concert grand, Hamelin performs on a digital keyboard.   There is hardly any reverb so it's very dry.  The middle register sounds most like an acoustic but the upper register tinkles with the upper partials clipped off.  This works best for Weissenberg's Sonata where the range stays right in the middle registers but it works the most against the transcriptions of the songs sung by Trenet.  The tonal atmosphere is entirely absent.  It's lifeless.

The benefit of performing on a digital keyboard is the different tone options like different piano tones, harpsichord, strings, organ, etc.  Gulda's Play Piano Play has it set to "electric piano."  Just listen to exercise No.5 for full effect.

Considering the quality of sound, there is no doubt that this disc was commissioned by Muzak to be played in an elevator.

Program order
Another problem is the program order.  The three short pieces from Play Piano Play are interspersed between larger works.  Kapustin's Piano Sonata No.2 follows Exercise No.1 of Play Piano Play.  The character and tonal relationship just doesn't work between them and the change is so abrupt that confusion sets in.  After the rather slow and careful performance of the Perpetuum mobile, Exercise No.4 starts.  Again, the character and tonal relationship leaves the Listener in a State of Confusion.


Performance
Kapustin's Piano Sonata No.2 is the worst selection on this disc.  The opening movement is incredibly rushed.  Just how fast is Allegro molto?  It's fast enough that articulation (and music) is sacrificed for speed.  The Scherzo sounds stuck on staccato and, at times, a confusing mess.  Largo... so largo.  There is hardly any interest in this movement.  The last movement, Perpetuum mobile: Allegro vivace, doesn't mobile or vivace enough.

In contrast to the Kapustin Sonata, the performance of the other pieces on this disc seem very well rendered.  None are placed in the best light considering the poorly recorded sound but this is not the problem of the performer.


Summary
This disc serves as an example of what poor sound engineering can do to (mostly) good performances of some very interesting pieces.  None are aurally pleasing and it's a shame that the sound engineer, Simon Eadon, has some very unique ideas of what an acoustic grand piano sounds like.  This disc should also serve as an example of poor programing order.  When pieces are served without much consideration to the aural palate, the pieces do not connect to form a whole - it's a jagged rock with barely any footholds.

Lastly, this issue is just a prelude to Hamelin's next Hyperion issue, Godowsky: Strauss transcriptions and other waltzes.  Hamelin again returns to performing on a digital keyboard.

Recording details: December 2007
Henry Wood Hall, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Andrew Keener
Engineered by Simon Eadon
Release date: August 2008

[mephisto]

Are you serious, is the recording done on a digital piano?!

[Kassaa]

In the sleeve notes it says: Piano: Steinway and Sons so my guess it's a normal acoustic one, but I don't have the CD so I can't hear it myself.

[retrouvailles]

What is the source for this review? For all we know, you're making this up.

[franzliszt2]

Why did he perform on a digital piano? Becasue he has an awful sound and wants to hide it!

Hamelin plus Jazz= Worst form of piano playing imaginable!

[retrouvailles]

Yeah, this has to be fake. The cover says its a Steinway Piano. And why would anyone record in Henry Wood Hall if they're on a digital piano? It doesn't make any sense. And why would they lie on the CD cover. I personally think this reviewer is full of sh.it.

Also, check the covers for the Godowsky disk:

https://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/notes/67626-B.pdf

It also says its on a Steinway in Henry Wood Hall.

I don't think Hyperion would allow one of their greatest artists to play on an electric piano.

[thalbergmad]

Why did he perform on a digital piano? 

He makes a Steinway sound like a digital piano, so i guess he might just as well use one.

Thal

[faulty_damper]

Did anyone actually read the review or just the subject title?

[retrouvailles]

Did anyone actually read the review or just the subject title?

What are you getting at here?

[mephisto]

Did anyone actually read the review or just the subject title?

I don't have this CD yet so it was the only thing I could comment on.

[retrouvailles]

I have this CD and frankly I think this is a fake review. The piano does not sound digital. The first movement of the Kapustin is not rushed at all, in comparison to Osborne and Kapustin's recordings. The last movement is also on par with their speeds. And there is no sound variation of the actual piano between the tracks. This review cannot be real. Or it cannot be serious.

[faulty_damper]

I have this CD and frankly I think this is a fake review. The piano does not sound digital. The first movement of the Kapustin is not rushed at all, in comparison to Osborne and Kapustin's recordings. The last movement is also on par with their speeds. And there is no sound variation of the actual piano between the tracks. This review cannot be real. Or it cannot be serious.

You mean to say you can't hear the difference in tone between the different pieces?

And just how familiar are you with Kapustin's second piano sonata, especially the first movement?  Osborne's rendition of this sonata is indeed superior in terms of music-making.  The last movement is indeed faster than Hamelin's and much more musically appealing.

[retrouvailles]

Well, I admit I haven't heard it many times, for I have not had the CD that long. I haven't heard the pieces by Gulda (Play, Piano, Play) much because I don't really like them. But I will go back and listen to them and see if I can hear the difference in tone.

And you never did give me the source of this review. I would like it, if it does exist.

[faulty_damper]

Source of the review: faulty_damper. 

The review was not really about Hamelin's performance though I was completely disappointed with the Kapustin sonata (the main reason I made this purchase).  It was about the sloppy sound engineering by Simon Eadon, if anyone bothered to read the summary (or the review).

Having had some recording experience, I know that sound can be manipulated with certain ranges enhanced or swallowed.  Even pitch can be adjusted without speeding up or slowing down the audio.  The engineer has an incredible amount of control over the performer in the way he sounds.  He can make good performances sound bad (as is the case here) and he can make poor performances sound great!  (Too many examples.)

In this case, Eadon clearly swallowed the upper range, was negligent in the midrange, and tuned down the bass.  He focused mainly in the midrange and sacrificed the outer range, perhaps the most important for a piano to sound like an acoustic piano.

[mephisto]

So you mean that the engineer MAKES it seam as if Hamelin is playing on an electric piano?

[tompilk]

i'd admit the kapustin isn't the best performance by hamelin, but I still think it's better than Osbornes...
Also, I do somewhat agree that this recording sounds "clinical"...

[faulty_damper]

So you mean that the engineer MAKES it seam as if Hamelin is playing on an electric piano?

No, not electric piano.  Electric piano is just one tone setting on a digital keyboard.

[franzliszt2]

All of Hamelin's live performances are messy, and his recordings clinical. I don't see why people think he's great. He has fast fingers....that is all.

[tompilk]

you seem to be insistant on starting an argument. do you purposefully go and find threads about hamelin to irritate people about?
and you can't say his live perfs are messy. perhaps if you've only heard his Alkan symphony from Adelaide... but his live Kapustin 2 performances are stunners...
what is it with Hamelin-bashing?!!? 

[franzliszt2]

erm...his Alkan concerto on youtube is all over the place! His Norma fantasy is a massive mess, his Brahms 2 live was a mess, his Chopin sonata is machine like and the end is a mess. Just to name a few..

Why do you love his playing? Apart from the fact he plays fast.


Look at his age....he is still not mature in any way shape or form compared to the likes of Zimerman. Look at all the musicians music he plays...Godowsky, Medtner etc.....what were they obsessed with......singing tone, legato, beauty. Does Hamelin have a singing tone....I believe it is actually impossible to even attempt to argue yes. He does not play legato EVER! Hence his machine like sound (which is very impressive in the right places) and beauty....Hamelin has never made me feel anything towards a piece of music or a moment in music.


So far in my life I have met about 4 pianists who are good and like his playing. The rest are all amateuer pianists who like him.

[mephisto]

No, not electric piano.  Electric piano is just one tone setting on a digital keyboard.

Sorry I ment digital piano. Is he playing on a digital piano or not?

[franzliszt2]

I also find it very amusing that we are discussing whether or not it is a digital piano....I mean there is a large difference in sound......but obviously not with Hamelin

[mephisto]

All of Hamelin's live performances are messy, and his recordings clinical.

Actually the opposit is true. His live-recordings are on a higher technical level than almost any pianist who have ever been recorded live. This is even more amazing when you remember that he has got a huge repertoire.

Listen to his live at Wigmore Hall Cd, and tell me he is playing sloppy! I have about 54 different complete bootleg recitals and concert by Hamelin and the technical level is extremely high in almost all of them.

You may of course not like his playing at all, I respect your opinion.

 

[richard black]

So far in my life I have met about 4 pianists who are good and like his playing. The rest are all amateuer pianists who like him.

I'm not going to name names, to avoid dragging some quite senior figures in the piano world into this unseemly little spat, but I have spoken personally to some _very_ well-known pianists (I suppose you may still wish to dispute, from your moral high ground, whether they're any good, but let's not go there) who regard M-AH as The Guv'nor - including some whose repertoire and playing style are diametrically opposed to his, as far as that's possible. Of course not everyone likes him - why would they? Can you name even one musician (any voice/instrument/conductor), living or dead, who is _universally_ admired?

But as for the recording, which I have, it's a perfectly decent recording of a perfectly decent piano in the normal style, as far as sound quality goes. I actually really like the performances, too. If you don't, well, er, bad luck, buy something else by someone else and better luck next time.

[tompilk]

hurrah!

[rc]

What first made me a fan of Hamelin is when I turned on the radio and heard one of Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies and was enjoying the music so much that it didn't even occur to me until after the fact that it was technically amazing, or even a piano at all.  All I heard was music.  Then the radio host comes on and says it was played by some fellow names Hamelin.  "Hamelin eh? I'll remember that name"

So I just can't relate when somebody says his only appeal is speed.

[faulty_damper]

Sorry I ment digital piano. Is he playing on a digital piano or not?

You mean you can't tell (from the review)?

[mephisto]

You mean you can't tell (from the review)?

I have read the review 4 times, and I can't make up my mind.

This sentence:

the sound engineer, Simon Eadon, has some very unique ideas of what an acoustic grand piano sounds like

can be understood to mean two different things. That he makes a good acoustic piano SOUND like a digital piano, or that he tries to make a digital piano sound like an acoustic one but fails completly.

[retrouvailles]

Read the liner notes for the CD (on Hyperion's site). It is on a Steinway. But Mr. faulty damper here is convinced that the engineer makes it sound like a digital piano, which I think is ridiculous on his part. This whole review is pretty stupid. It is, of course, only an opinion, one which would have been better kept to himself.

[faulty_damper]

You can listen to audio clips either from Hyperion's website or from Amazon to judge for yourself.  At first I thought it was the low quality of the audio stream but when I received and listened to the CD the quality was very similar so I it wasn't the audio steam quality but the original source quality.

[piano_ant]

There has always been something very cold about hamelin in the way he plays. Even when he speaks, it's like he is a robot.

[retrouvailles]

There has always been something very cold about hamelin in the way he plays. Even when he speaks, it's like he is a robot.

What!?!? When he speaks? I think not. I think he is one of the most articulate and enthusiastic musicians when it comes to talking about music. He also has a good sense of humor. Perhaps you haven't heard enough of him talking. Also, I bet you haven't met him. His playing style is up for debate, I will admit though. I don't think his playing is cold, but that is my opinion.

[piano_ant]

He is very articulate, but I can't seem to see any of the warmth even present in gould's mannerisms when he is being interviewed.

But anyway...yeah, I Love some of his playing, but a lot of it i just don't care for.

[franzliszt2]

What first made me a fan of Hamelin is when I turned on the radio and heard one of Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies and was enjoying the music so much that it didn't even occur to me until after the fact that it was technically amazing, or even a piano at all.  All I heard was music.  Then the radio host comes on and says it was played by some fellow names Hamelin.  "Hamelin eh? I'll remember that name"

So I just can't relate when somebody says his only appeal is speed.

A Hungarian Rhapsody?? Good for you! So musically aware! A Hungarian Rhapsody! I mean WOW!!! Have you heard Cziffra play them??? That is amazing....not boring Hamelin! Anyone can play a rhapsody! It's really not hard if you have any technique. Why not listen to Hamelin play Schubert? Or Schumann? then we shall talk about music.

Compare him to Rachmaninoff.....

[rob47]

A Hungarian Rhapsody?? Good for you! So musically aware! A Hungarian Rhapsody! I mean WOW!!! Have you heard Cziffra play them??? That is amazing....not boring Hamelin! Anyone can play a rhapsody! It's really not hard if you have any technique. Why not listen to Hamelin play Schubert? Or Schumann? then we shall talk about music.

Compare him to Rachmaninoff.....

Is your best only friend in the whole wide world your piano teacher?

[retrouvailles]

Nah, I'd say that it's his mother. Oh no, wait, even she probably hates him.

[thierry13]

Nah, I'd say that it's his mother. Oh no, wait, even she probably hates him.

That was completly mean, stupid, and toughtless. Saying this because someone does not like a pianist is dumb.

[faulty_damper]

That was completly mean, stupid, and toughtless. Saying this because someone does not like a pianist is dumb.

This is how the world works.  If you disagree with someones opinion, you kill him so there is one less person in the world to disagree with you.  And if it's on an internet forum you just say mean and stupid things about him.

[tds]

If you disagree with someones opinion, you kill him so there is one less person in the world to disagree with you. 

  creativo molto..

[retrouvailles]

Hey, it's the internet. You don't have to respect anyone, really. You don't see anyone face to face, so you have really nothing to go on but a username, which doesn't necessarily mean you're talking to the same person twice.

[faulty_damper]

Hey, it's the internet. You don't have to respect anyone, really. You don't see anyone face to face, so you have really nothing to go on but a username, which doesn't necessarily mean you're talking to the same person twice.

As long as you are on the internet, respect, good manners, & common courtesy don't exist.  You can say whatever you want to say and offend whoever you want to offend because it's just a user name.

[tds]

how about virtue and integrity?

[retrouvailles]

As long as you are on the internet, respect, good manners, & common courtesy don't exist.  You can say whatever you want to say and offend whoever you want to offend because it's just a user name.

Precisely. Of course it doesn't hurt to be courteous, but it should not be expected from a person.

[m]

Anyone can play a rhapsody! It's really not hard if you have any technique.

Well, I would not go that far. I mean... how many have a good technique, and how many can play a good rhapsody?  I can count on one hand.

Why not listen to Hamelin play Schubert? Or Schumann? then we shall talk about music.

Compare him to Rachmaninoff..... 

To be fair, with all my love and admiration to Rachmaninov's genius (meaning I still consider him as one of the most amazing pianists ever), his Schubert renditions (as few, as he's recorded) are... let's say not my favorite. I have to say, if he would've ever played Rzewsky variations I might very well prefer Hamelin's version.

For a record, I am not a Hamelin fun... just trying to be balanced.

Best, M

[general disarray]

As long as you are on the internet, respect, good manners, & common courtesy don't exist.  You can say whatever you want to say and offend whoever you want to offend because it's just a user name.

What?  WHAT?  A "username" means we're all fair game for nastiness?

What about strangers on the street?  They don't even HAVE a username.  I guess we can just beat the crap out of them for looking like someone we hate, right?

I guess politeness (i.e., "social lube") means nothing anymore, huh?  You think life gets easier when people are nastier?   

[thalbergmad]

For a record, I am not a Hamelin fun... just trying to be balanced.

Best, M

I do not agree.

I challenge you to post recording.

Thal

[m]

I do not agree.

I challenge you to post recording.

Thal

I do not have to prove myself.








































































OK, here we go  :

[thalbergmad]

When are you going to post your Tausig-Weber??

PLEEZE PLEEZE

Thal

[faulty_damper]

What?  WHAT?  A "username" means we're all fair game for nastiness?

What about strangers on the street?  They don't even HAVE a username.  I guess we can just beat the crap out of them for looking like someone we hate, right?

I guess politeness (i.e., "social lube") means nothing anymore, huh?  You think life gets easier when people are nastier?   

I suppose certain usernames on this forum would beat the crap out of strangers if they had a differing opinion.  Really, do you think this thread has actually gone with the original idea?  You always have certain idiots making unrelated comments because they are probably jealous of a certain pianist's musical and technical abilities.  Then you have idiots saying this behavior is acceptable.  Then these same idiots want to challenge individuals to show they are (falsely) superiority.

[pies]

This review reminds me of one of industrial's posts:

Critics and audiences are two of the least valuable sources of artistic truth since the former are a bunch of self-promoting dickweeds who are just trying to out-sass other critics and the latter is often just an entertainment-hungry mob that lines up for beer and M&Ms at the intermission and forgets to turn off their cell-phones at the performance.

faulty_damper, you are a dickweed.