Marc-André Hamelin - Ives: Concord Sonata – Barber: Piano Sonata (2004)

Tracklist

01. Ives: Piano Sonata No. 2 "Concord": I. Emerson
02. Ives: Piano Sonata No. 2 "Concord": II. Hawthorne
03. Ives: Piano Sonata No. 2 "Concord": III. The Alcotts
04. Ives: Piano Sonata No. 2 "Concord": IV. Thoreau
05. Barber: Piano Sonata in E-Flat Minor, Op. 26: I. Allegro energico
06. Barber: Piano Sonata in E-Flat Minor, Op. 26: II. Allegro vivace e leggero
07. Barber: Piano Sonata in E-Flat Minor, Op. 26: III. Adagio mesto
08. Barber: Piano Sonata in E-Flat Minor, Op. 26: IV. Fuga. Allegro con spirito

America’s two greatest twentieth-century piano sonatas are here given predictably stunning performances by Marc-André Hamelin. This is the pianist’s second recording of the Ives ‘Concord Sonata’, a piece he has played for over twenty years in performances that have often been regarded as definitive. As his thoughts on this landmark work matured, Marc became very keen to revisit the work in the studio in this 50th anniversary year of Ives’s death.

The Barber is an apt if unusual coupling. Premiered by Horowitz, with a blisteringly virtuosic final fugue written specially at his suggestion, this is one of only a few modern piano works to have become a genuine audience favourite.

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