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12/03/2024
Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Sonatas n° 29 in B‑Flat major “Hammerklavier”, opus 106, & n° 3 in C major, opus 2, n° 3
Marc-André Hamelin (piano)
Recording: St. Silas the Martyr, Kentish Town, London, England (September 18‑20, 2023) – 68’59
Hyperion CDA68456 (Distributed by Universal Music Group) – Booklet in English, French and German
 
Montreal-born pianist, Marc-André Hamelin, has amassed an impressive discography since he began recording a stunningly diverse repertoire in 1988. A recent addition to this on‑going schedule of recordings is Beethoven’s Piano Sonata n° 29 “Hammerklavier”. The album also includes an early Beethoven work, the Piano Sonata n° 3.
The Hammerklavier is indeed a sonata to be performed during an artist’s mature years. Beethoven was in his late 40s when he composed this, the longest and most complex member of his 32‑sonata canon. The work is massive, bursting at the seams with innovations and adventurous explorations of harmonies, abrupt key changes, and rhythmic ingenuity. There are also editorial disputes, the most noteworthy of these being the insanely fast metronomic marking (half note=138), which most pianists, Hamelin included, take with a grain of salt, allowing their own interpretative powers to sort things out. Taking between 40 and 45 minutes to perform, the Sonata bristles with early Beethoven bombastics, only to melt, page after page, into the celestial tenderness we associate with the composer’s final sonatas and string quartets.
The challenges for the pianist are to master the almost superhuman technical demands of the score and to develop an interpretive scheme that is at once logical and appeals to our sense of beauty. Very few of the finest pianists of our time have mastered this essential step vis‑à‑vis the Hammerklavier. Marc‑André Hamelin provides fresh insights into this work, a cohesive vision with a decidedly refined sensibility and evidence of decades of practice and reflection. This is a worthy addition to any collector’s library, although, after the opening salvo, a milder voice takes over. There is a vein of impressionism running throughout, a soft palette that deserves to be heard, but which may not satisfy listeners craving the musical heroics that distinguish Beethoven’s music from all others.
The Hammerklavier consists of four movements: an “Allegro” which includes a fugato; a short “Scherzo”; an “Adagio”; and a “Largo” leading to a “Fuga: Allegro risoluto” in conclusion. In a sense, I found the notoriously difficult fugue in movement four a model of clarity and elegance, though somewhat subdued in overall feeling. The seemingly endless strings of triplets and 16th notes, not only in the fugue but throughout the entire Sonata could have been realized with a little more gusto, I thought. However, Hamelin’s touch is consistent and focused and does not muddy the score with a mass of unnecessary effects.
While this performance may not deliver Herculean struggle, it does suggest that the artist has had struggles of his own over the decades understanding and coming to grips with this monumental work, struggles which have been largely overcome in true heroic Beethoven style. The result may be less imposing than some other performances, but is full of integrity and a style that is true to the artist’s experience and his understanding of the composer.
Also encompassing four movements is Beethoven’s second mature Sonata, the Opus 2, n° 3. Hamelin attacks this complex, good‑natured Sonata energetically, acquiescing to its many moods, sometimes with vigor, other times with flowing lyricism and an otherworldly sense of mystery. The pianist offers the first movement with a cheerful attitude, paying homage as it were to Haydn and Mozart. The second movement is one of my favorites with two seemingly unconnected sections. The first is a graceful dance, a wisp of a melody with a gentle lilt. The second arrives in the form of a dark, mysterious cloud, more poignant than sad. Hamelin balances these two sections with technical ease and interpretive grace. After a puckish third movement, the work concludes with an “Allegro assai” full of Beethovenian witticisms and good humor, a satisfying conclusion to an album of charm and great interest.
Linda Holt
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