Internationally acclaimed pianist Marc-André Hamelin returns to the Gilmore Piano Festival this weekend for a solo recital Saturday at 4 p.m. at Stetson Chapel on the campus of Kalamazoo College, followed by a master class Sunday morning at 10 am in the Dalton Center Recital Hall.
Hamelin speaks warmly of the festival, calling it "a mecca for pianists" where he feels he belongs. "The audience is very, very deeply appreciative," he tells Cara Lieurance. "And that's always something to look forward to."
The recital program moves from Haydn and Beethoven in the first half to Nikolai Medtner and Rachmaninoff in the second. Hamelin describes Medtner — a contemporary and close friend of Rachmaninoff — as a composer whose rewards require patience. "You really have to be willing to penetrate his world," he says.
For the Rachmaninoff, Hamelin performs the revised 1931 version of the Second Sonata, which the composer edited down from his original 1913 score. Hamelin says he prefers the later version for its conciseness, though he notes Rachmaninoff himself remained unsatisfied, once remarking that Chopin said more in a similarly-lengthed sonata.
The Beethoven and Haydn works are old friends in Hamelin's repertoire, pieces he has carried since boyhood that have, he says, lost none of their freshness.
Hamelin's Kalamazoo appearance is the launch point for a month-long tour that takes him to Leipzig, the Chipping Campden Music Festival in the Cotswolds, Bremen, and Vienna, with a mix of chamber music and concerto appearances along the way.
On master classes, Hamelin — who only began giving them in his 50s — reflects that he has come to appreciate their power. "Sometimes it can only take a moment to light a light bulb over the pianist's head," he says.
For tickets and more information, visit the Gilmore Piano Festival website.
The interview was summarized by Claude AI and edited by the author.
