HELMCHEN, Martin: Live at the Verbier Festival (2011)
Soloist:
Helmchen, Martin
Composer:
Bach, Johann Sebastian
Composer:
Liszt, Franz
Composer:
Beethoven, Ludwig van
Venue: Eglise de Verbier
Date of Concert: 23-07-2011
Festival: Verbier Festival
Playing Time: 01:22:25
Television Director:
Juban, Pierre-Martin
Catalogue Number: EUROARTS7980
The programme which Martin Helmchen devised for his recital at the 2011 Verbier Festival is like a statement of probity: a carefully constructed selection of works by three composers, Bach, Liszt and Beethoven. The chosen compositions place demands on the pianist in terms of keyboard control, whilst not actually being virtuoso showpieces per se. The challenge they impose on the performer lies in the mastery of sound and form, whether in short pieces which offer "no place to hide" such as Nuages gris and the rarely performed Vexilla regis prodeunt, or in the daunting "Hammerklavier" Sonata, Beethoven's most revered piano sonata which is also his longest, culminating with a stupendously difficult fugue.
