Reger: Variations and Fugue on a Theme of J. S. Bach / Humoresques / Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Telemann [Import]

Max Reger (Composer), Marc-André Hamelin (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Marc-André Hamelin
• Composer: Max Reger
• Audio CD (February 9, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Hyperion
• ASIN: B00000I4JQ
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #147,238 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #35 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Modern, 20th, & 21st Century > Composers > Reger, Max
  • #86 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Fugues

Track Listings

1. Variations And fugue On A Theme Of Johann Sebastian Bach, Op 81: Theme Andante

2. Variations And fugue On A Theme Of Johann Sebastian Bach, Op 81: Variation I L'istesso tempo

3. Variations And fugue On A Theme Of Johann Sebastian Bach, Op 81: Variation II (sempre espress. ed assai legato)

4. Variations And fugue On A Theme Of Johann Sebastian Bach, Op 81: Variation III Grave assai

5. Variations And fugue On A Theme Of Johann Sebastian Bach, Op 81: Variation IV Vivace

6. Variations And fugue On A Theme Of Johann Sebastian Bach, Op 81: Variation V Vivace

7. Variations And fugue On A Theme Of Johann Sebastian Bach, Op 81: Variation Vl Allegro molto

8. Variations And fugue On A Theme Of Johann Sebastian Bach, Op 81: Variation VII Adagio

9. Variations And fugue On A Theme Of Johann Sebastian Bach, Op 81: Variation VIII Vivace

10. Variations And fugue On A Theme Of Johann Sebastian Bach, Op 81: Variation IX Grave e sempre molto espressivo

11. Variations And fugue On A Theme Of Johann Sebastian Bach, Op 81: Variation X Poco vivace

12. Variations And fugue On A Theme Of Johann Sebastian Bach, Op 81: Variation XI Allegro agitato

13. Variations And fugue On A Theme Of Johann Sebastian Bach, Op 81: Variation XII Andante sostenuto

14. Variations And fugue On A Theme Of Johann Sebastian Bach, Op 81: Variation XIII Vivace

15. Variations And fugue On A Theme Of Johann Sebastian Bach, Op 81: Variation XIV Con moto

16. Variations And fugue On A Theme Of Johann Sebastian Bach, Op 81: Fugue Sostenuto

17. Five Humoresques, Op 20: No 1 Allegretto grazioso - piu meno mosso - tempo primo

18. Five Humoresques, Op 20: No 2 Presto - Andante - Presto

19. Five Humoresques, Op 20: No 3 Andantino grazioso - Meno mosso -Tempo primo

20. Five Humoresques, Op 20: No 4 Prestissimo assai - Meno mosso - Prestissimo assai

See all 46 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hamelin-Reger?, March 13, 2001

By 

John G. Harkness "John Harkness, movie buff" (Toronto, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Reger: Variations and Fugue on a Theme of J. S. Bach / Humoresques / Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Telemann (Audio CD)

Every classical music fan has a short list of "missing" ecordings -- dream pairings of artist and repertoire that for one reason or another, never materialized. Why, we ask, is there no pirate tape of Furtwangler conducting Beethoven's Missa Solemnis? Or, to go to my list, no Glenn Gould recording of Max Reger's monumental Variations And Fugue On A Theme Of Bach. Reger was a very serious German composer at the turn of the century with a Bach fixation that extended to writing six extended pieces for solo violin.

His piano music, which is playful in an academic way, leans towards variation sets and fugues, an odd place indeed to find Canadian pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin, a specialist in the strange byways of the romantic piano. This is a typically good-sounding Hyperion piano recording, and Hamelin's playing has a romantic richness of tone that I'm not sure is entirely appropriate to the music, but I was raised on the austerity of Rudolf Serkin's rather severe 1986 CBS recording. The coupling is a similarly grand traversal of the Telemann Variations, which to my ears lacks the playfulness of Jorge Bolet's London recording.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Virtuosic and permanently satisfying also, March 17, 2004

By 

R. J. Stove (Gardenvale, Victoria Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Reger: Variations and Fugue on a Theme of J. S. Bach / Humoresques / Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Telemann (Audio CD)

There are pianists and then there is Marc-Andre Hamelin. This man's reputation for technical genius is justified, but he's got brains too. Which is only appropriate, as Reger's sheer braininess is his best-known characteristic.

Ordinarily I should have preferred a slightly more resonant recording than Hyperion's - if Hamelin's tonal palette didn't have such a Richter-like range, he would run the risk of dryness - but at least with such hyper-lucid sound you get to hear every, and I mean every, detail in a permanently satisfying manner. The playing is stunningly virtuosic. Hardly any other pianist in any era could play this music at all; no other pianist, it's safe to conclude, could play it better.

When I hear CDs like this one, I bend the knee to thank God that I have no ambitions of earning my living at the piano. Very illuminating booklet notes complete a superb package.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding, simply outstanding!, May 23, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Reger: Variations and Fugue on a Theme of J. S. Bach / Humoresques / Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Telemann (Audio CD)

Reger's "Variations and Fugue on a Theme by G.P. Telemann" ranks as one of the finest large scale sets of piano variations ever composed. Interestingly, both the original theme and the set of variations represent the work of two highly prolific composers born nearly two centuries apart. The performance of this work, and its companions - "Variations and Fugue on a Theme by J.S. Bach" and five "Humoresques" - are interpreted with utmost sensitivity and intelligence by the Canadian born pianist, Marc-Andre Hamelin. The recording is outstanding in every way. An essential CD, even if this is the only Reger you have in your collection!