And what the pianist, born in Montreal in 1961, hammered into the keys made the concert an unforgettable, breathtaking evening. In any case, he is considered by far the best Canadian pianist since Glenn Gould, as piano expert and enthusiast Gregor Willmes describes him in his insightful Pianist Profiles. Hamelin is also one of the very few pianists who dare to tackle this excessively virtuosic, even monstrous work. As early as 1985, Harold C. Schonberg, then America’s leading music critic, referred to him as a super-virtuoso. Although, as Hamelin himself admits, he doesn’t particularly like that term.

Anyone who experiences Hamelin in concert will never witness exaggerated displays of virtuosity. For him, the focus is always on the musical aspect of virtuosity rather than the purely physical. Virtuosos are often perceived by the public as performers who prioritize sheer physical execution over conveying the emotional essence of the works they play. They are frequently seen as mere keyboard athletes. When Hamelin steps onto the stage, he is not concerned with demonstrating physical abilities. For him, the only goal is to convey to the audience the miracle of human creativity through sound, making full use of everything at my disposal.

For him, virtuosity is not a competitive discipline but rather a means of conveying music artistically. Or, as he puts it: I define virtuosity as a profound intellectual command of all aspects of music and the ability to efficiently utilize all one’s resources—musical, emotional, and physical—to bring this music to life. And this is precisely what makes Marc-André Hamelin so extraordinary: even the most technically challenging passages seem effortless when he plays, and he maintains a remarkable inner calm even in the most physically demanding sections. Again and again, one gets the impression that Hamelin truly thrives where other pianists have to give up, as Gregor Willmes aptly puts it.

For almost 20 years, audiences at the Klavier-Festival Ruhr have been able to witness the exquisite artistry of this exceptional musician. He made his debut there in Herten in 1997, and in 2024, he will perform at the festival for the 20th time—on multiple occasions. Having already been honored with the Klavier-Festival Ruhr Prize in 2013, Marc-André Hamelin now returns as a portrait artist, showcasing multiple facets of his artistic work. What he particularly appreciates about this long-standing relationship with one of the world’s most important festivals is that my colleagues and I are always treated with the greatest respect and kindness. Additionally, I have been granted considerable freedom in selecting my repertoire over the years—so how could I not return?

Speaking of repertoire, this is another area where Marc-André Hamelin stands out from most of his pianist colleagues. Of course, he is at home in the so-called standard repertoire. At the Klavier-Festival Ruhr, he has performed works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Beethoven’s Hammerklavier Sonata, Debussy, and pieces by the composer-pianists Chopin, Liszt, and Rachmaninoff. But he truly thrives off the beaten path of piano literature, displaying an almost missionary enthusiasm for forgotten composers and their works. For example, his recordings of the piano concertos of Sophie-Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatté, for which he was awarded the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik for the first time in 1992—many more such awards would follow. His dedication to the piano works of Charles-Valentin Alkan is equally exemplary, as is his commitment to composers such as Bolcom, Catoire, Godowsky, Ornstein, Roslavets, and Sorabji.

My programs always offer the opportunity to discover one or two things that are relatively unknown but, in my opinion, deserve to be heard and shared, he says, adding that variety and balance are fundamental to good programming. His approach to program selection is also guided by the following principle: Listen deeply to yourself: Why am I playing this? Am I playing it simply because it was requested? Or do I genuinely want to play it? What do I hope to achieve? What do I want to express? For whom do I want to play? These are all questions one must ask oneself before sitting down at the piano. For a pianist with such an extensive and diverse repertoire, his absolute pitch and exceptional memory are invaluable. He is an incredibly fast learner, even capable of internalizing pieces without physically playing them on the piano—leading Die Zeit to once refer to him as a virtuoso devourer of sheet music.

Following the monumental Busoni concerto, Hamelin’s next festival program will deviate slightly from my usual solo recitals, as it features a lot of more recent music. The program is framed by the Viennese classicist Haydn and the Romantic Rachmaninoff, while also including 20th-century composers such as Frank Zappa, John Oswald, and Stefan Wolpe. But it is all music that I truly believe in, and I hope to share my enthusiasm for these pieces with the audience. Once again, he invites listeners to embark on a journey of discovery with him and experience something new. In his second recital as part of his festival residency, Hamelin will reveal a lesser-known side of himself: chamber music, which he does not often perform. For this occasion, he has chosen cellist Johannes Moser as his duo partner. Great repertoire and the opportunity to share this experience with a colleague—what could be better?

Photo: Christian Palm