CD · 1 disc
Vinyl · 1 disc
Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, 1/93; Gramophone nomination as best recording of the year in its class, 1993. '...monumental (and genuinely virtuoso) reading of Alkan's Concerto for Solo Piano. This truly phenomenal recording will surely remain a yardstick in Alkan performances for many years to come...' -Michael Stewart in Gramophone '...the outstanding pianistic event of the year...Marc-André Hamelin [is] a superman of the piano and a titanic presence in concert.' -Adrian Corleonis in Fanfare '...blazing conviction and superhuman virtuosity. One of the great piano recordings of the century...' -Donald Manildi in American Record Guide
CD · 2 discs
The transcendental difficulties of Beethoven's Hammerklavier sonata will always deter all but the greatest pianists of the day, with only a select few able to master it's formidable musical, emotional and technical challenges. Marc-André Hamelin is of course very much of their number, and his performance - one which relishes all the work's glory and grandeur - is simply stupendous.