Marc-André Hamelin – New Piano Works
By Claire Jackson
The jaunty theme from Paganini’s Caprice No. 24 has long provided a musical diving board: composers from Brahms to Beamish have plunged the melody beyond the violinist’s own brilliant variations. Rachmaninov’s rhapsodic experiment furthered the work’s pianistic possibilities; that dramatic lyricism is matched by Marc-André Hamelin’s grittier 2011 set, recorded for the first time here by the composer. The original melody is sharpened by rapid development; the tonality is ultimately discoloured by cluster chords and flitting harmonies.