ProStudioMasters.com

"Given Marc-André Hamelin's unimpeachable technical prowess, it is no surprise that he tackles the epic Hammerklavier Sonata for his first recording of music by Beethoven. Hamelin's tempos are rapid, though well under Beethoven's unreasonably fast metronome markings. This allows lyrical passages to breathe expressively, and for Hamelin to apply a variety of colouring to Beethoven's many surprising harmonic shifts … unsurprisingly, the wild fourth movement fugue of the Hammerklavier is dispatched with exciting technical security. More surprisingly, this does not conclude the album, but instead we jump back 23 years to continue with Beethoven's third published sonata, Op 2 No 3 in C Major. This early work benefits from Hamelin's crisp articulations and sparkling passagework." - The Whole Note, Canada The transcendental difficulties of Beethoven’s ‘Hammerklavier’ sonata will always deter all but the greatest pianists of the day, with only a select few able to master its formidable musical, emotional and technical challenges. Marc-André Hamelin is of course very much of their number, and his performance—one which relishes all the work’s glory and grandeur—is simply stupendous.