Albéniz: Iberia [Import]

Isaac Albeniz (Composer), Marc-André Hamelin (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Marc-André Hamelin
• Composer: Isaac Albeniz
• Audio CD (May 10, 2005)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Import
• Label: Hyperion UK
• ASIN: B0007WFWPY
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #198,634 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Evocacion

2. El Puerto

3. El Corpus En Sevilla

4. Rondena

5. Almeria

6. Triana

7. El Albaicin

8. El Polo

9. Lavapies

Disc: 2

1. Malaga

2. Jerez

3. Eritana

4. La Vega

5. La Reverence!

6. Joyeuse Rencontre Et Quelques Penibles Evenements!!

7. Preludio

8. Asturias

9. Navarra

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easily the Equal of Larrocha's Third and Best 'Iberia', May 19, 2005

By 

J Scott Morrison (Middlebury VT, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Albéniz: Iberia (Audio CD)

I never, ever thought I'd write anything like this: This traversal of Albéniz's masterpiece, 'Iberia,' is the equal of, perhaps even better than, the third and last recording of these works by Alicia de Larrocha. As recently as last October I wrote a glowing review of a release of Larrocha's digital recording and honestly felt it would never be superseded. Then I heard that Marc-André Hamelin was recording the set -- actually he told me backstage after a recital some months ago that it was already 'in the can' -- and I eagerly anticipated its release, wondering how it would be. I am a huge admirer of Hamelin's playing. For me, he represents the ne plus ultra of technical skill coupled with the soul of a true musician. He has always been given superb sound by the engineers at Hyperion; I knew the set would sound fabulous, and it does. The piano is surrounded by ambient space and has a warmth and body that only the best piano recordings have. But much more important is the thoughtfulness, the grace, the virtuosic fire Hamelin brings to these pieces. Especially in Books III and IV Hamelin outplays de Larrocha. The six sections of Books III and IV were written at a much more virtuosic level by Albéniz; he wrote them for the technically superior Catalan pianist, Joaquim Malats, whereas the first two books had been for the more modestly skilled Blanche Selva. Just listen to the fireworks in the final piece, 'Eritaña,' and you'll see what I mean. But also in the more melancholy, lyrical pieces, such as 'Jerez,' Hamelin imbues the music with such utter musicality that one simply sits back, soaks it up and notices the tears beginning to form in one's eyes. I may have skipped over mention of Books I and II, but they, too, are all one could ask for. The first piece, 'Evocación,' is so inward and melancholy, and so languorous, that one knows we're in for a lovely journey. It is followed immedidately by 'El puerto,' whose boisterous high spirits is infectious. Hamelin may not be Spanish but he manages the tricky Spanish rhythms here and throughout the set with aplomb and abandon. And so on to the end of Book II in 'Triana,' with its tricky cross-rhythms.

The big surprise for me, aside from the superb quality of Hamelin's 'Iberia,' are the other pieces included here, some of which I'd never heard before. 'La vega' (1897) is generally considered Albéniz's first characteristic piano piece. It was to have been part of a never-written series called 'Alhambra,' but it stands alone. He wrote that in this piece one can see 'the entire plain [vega] of Granada, as contemplated from the Alhambra.' It is a sixteen-minute evocation of that landscape and is utterly lovely. It is mostly serene music with occasional interruptions. 'España: Souvenirs' is also from 1897, a two piece set comprising 'Preludio' and 'Asturias.' It, too, is mostly serenely reflective, like 'La vega,' and given a haunting reading here. A bit of a ringer in this recital is the two-piece set, 'Yvonne en visite!,' written for 'children large and small' for the Schola Cantorum in Paris, where Albéniz lived after 1894. Particularly amusing is the Satiesque second piece, 'Joyeuse rencontre et quelques pénibles événements!!' ('Merry meeting and some painful events!!'), with its imitation of the halting playing of a young student pianist.

Even more interesting is Bill Bolcom's completion of 'Navarra,' left incomplete at Albéniz's tragically early death at 49. It is generally heard in a completion done by Albéniz's student, Déodat de Séverac, who pretty much brought the piece to a sudden end after about five minutes. Bolcom extends it, composing an extended (and bang-up) recapitulation of Albéniz's opening material so that the piece feels more formally complete, lasting about nine minutes. It is a neat job, and Hamelin plays it beautifully.

Urgently recommended, even to fans of de Larrocha's 'Iberia' recordings.

TT= 126'

Scott Morrison

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fluid and sensitive, June 7, 2005

By 

philvscott (Marrickville, New South Wales Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Albéniz: Iberia (Audio CD)

Great to hear Marc-Andre Hamelin tackle this beautiful and tremendously difficult pianistic masterpiece. (Quite a lot of it is written on three staves: there's too much going on for the usual two.) Actually, "tackle" is hardly the word. As you would expect, the more demanding the piano writing becomes, the more fluid is Hamelin's response. There is never a sense of strain, or that he is coping with the notes at the expense of rhythmic crispness. All the bass lines, melodies and rhythmic figures are caressed and outlined, regardless of the torrents of scale passages which may be happening at the same time (for example, in Book 2's Triana and Book 3's Lavapies.) Hamelin is a sensitive virtuoso.
That's not to say de Larrocha is outclassed. She still has an authentic Spanish bravura. In the Double Decca release of her 1973 recording of Iberia, she also has a far better coupling in her masterly rendition of Granados' Goyescas. Hamelin's couplings are interesting but not essential listening. Larrocha's earliest recording, now on EMI, is more devil-may-care. Her playing back in the 60s was brilliant and the piano has a slightly out of tune tang: it could be in the back of a Spanish tavern (which is right, in a way).
Barenboim doesn't quite achieve this level of technical prowess, but his heavier touch and great musicality make his Iberia (Books 1 and 2 only) a serious masterwork: there's not a whiff of the salon about his version- which can't always be said for Hamelin. I haven't heard Nicholas Unwin, but judging from his playing of the music of Joachim Nin he is well worth hearing too.
This is great music, filled with tunes you can't get out of your head. Virtually every version available has 5 stars. Hamelin should have 6: his control and dexterity are phenomenal.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A real rival to de Larrocha, August 23, 2005

By 

Klingsor Tristan (Suffolk) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Albéniz: Iberia (Audio CD)

Alicia de Larrocha has held the field in this towering piece of piano literature for what seems like forever (personally, I've always had a soft spot for her Erato recording, the middle of her three versions). Pretenders have come and gone, but no-one has come near her innate understanding of the idiom combined with the ability to encompass all the work's prodigious virtuoso demands, despite her relatively small hands.

Until now.

Which is not say that Marc Andre Hamelin's performance supersedes de Larrocha. It is just different and, on its own terms, equally valid; it provides a revealing new light on the many facets of this ever-fascinating set of pieces - much praised by Messiaen amongst others. De Larrocha captures the essence of these Spanish landscapes with a crystalline brilliance that perfectly reflects the brightness and heat of the Spanish sun, the clarity of its skies and the earthiness of the land and its people. Hamelin, on the other hand, is more impressionist in his approach. He makes these works cousins to the Debussian or Ravelian view of Spain - think Debussy's Iberia or Ravel's Rapsodie Espagnole. Try the first piece of the Suite, Evocacion, for a flavour of what I mean. With Hamelin there is a little more heat-haze over the landscape than there is with de Larrocha: speeds can be a little slower, a little more languorous: there is time to take in a little more of the detail of Albeniz's often daring harmonies as they shift and change and inner voices come to the fore. When virtuoso technique is called for (which is pretty often and not only in the louder faster pieces), Hamelin is, as you would expect, more than equal to the task - and it is never virtuosity for virtuosity's sake, but always at the service of the music.

The extra pieces are all worth hearing and wonderfully played, if not in the same class as Iberia. The completion of Navarra makes a more balanced and satisfying piece of it than we're used to - but why leave it to the end of the disc (where it admittedly makes an exciting finale) instead of attaching it to the end of Iberia where it really belongs? That quibble aside, this is a highly commendable disc. Hamelin has clearly thought through his interpretations very carefully and presents a thrilling range of colour, harmony and melody - though I wouldn't want to be without one of the de Larrocha performances as well.