{"id":118639,"date":"2025-10-16T14:21:20","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T18:21:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=118639"},"modified":"2025-10-16T14:21:20","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T18:21:20","slug":"interview-pianist-composer-marc-andre-hamelin-talks-upcoming-release-found-objects-sound-objects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/10\/16\/interview-pianist-composer-marc-andre-hamelin-talks-upcoming-release-found-objects-sound-objects\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Pianist &#038; Composer Marc-Andr\u00e9 Hamelin Talks About His Upcoming Release Found Objects \/ Sound Objects"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_118641\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-118641\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-118641\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/Copy-of-PREVIEW-44.jpg\" alt=\"Pianist &amp; Composer Marc-Andr\u00e9 Hamelin (Photo credit: Sim Canetty-Clarke)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/Copy-of-PREVIEW-44.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/Copy-of-PREVIEW-44-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/Copy-of-PREVIEW-44-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/Copy-of-PREVIEW-44-768x402.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-118641\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pianist &amp; Composer Marc-Andr\u00e9 Hamelin (Photo: Sim Canetty-Clarke)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Marc-Andr\u00e9 Hamelin, OC, OQ, needs little in the way of introduction to any fan of Western classical music. The Canadian virtuoso is renowned for his technical mastery of even the most difficult of works. He\u2019s been nominated for a GRAMMY Award no less than 11 times, and teaches on the faculty of the New England Conservatory of Music.<\/p>\n<p>His upcoming release, Found Objects \/ Sound Objects (Hyperion, October 31, 2025) features the world premiere recording of Hamelin\u2019s own work Hexensabbat, along with music by Cage, Wolpe, Zappa, Martirano, Oswald, and Wyner.<\/p>\n<p>Along with his stellar career as a concert and recording artist, he\u2019s garnered recognition for his own compositions.<\/p>\n<h2>Marc-Andr\u00e9 Hamelin, piano<\/h2>\n<p>Hamelin was born in Montr\u00e9al, and his father, a pharmacist by profession, was a devoted amateur pianist. Marc-Andr\u00e9 began piano lessons at the age of five, eventually graduating from the \u00c9cole de musique Vincent-d&#8217;Indy. He went on to study at Temple University in Philadelphia, and in 1989, received the <a href=\"https:\/\/canadacouncil.ca\/funding\/prizes\/virginia-parker-prize\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Virginia Parker Prize<\/a>, awarded to outstanding musicians under the age of 30.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s gone on to a storied career that has seen him release several albums on the Hyperion label, along with performing across the globe. Hamelin is particularly known for his focus on lesser known composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and for tackling uber-difficult pieces that few others perform, such as the notoriously challenging work of composers Charles-Valentin Alkan and Samuil Feinberg.<\/p>\n<p>Marc-Andr\u00e9 has composed several works of his own, including a set of piano \u00e9tudes, Con Intimissimo Sentimento, a seven-piece cycle, and many others.<\/p>\n<p>Among his many accolades, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and a Chevalier de l&#8217;Ordre national du Qu\u00e9bec (National Order of Qu\u00e9bec), and has won seven JUNO Awards.<\/p>\n<p>Hamelin\u2019s piece Hexensabbat began as a sketch first written during his student days. It turned into a commissioned work from Le Piano Symphonique Festival in Lucerne.<\/p>\n<p>Along with his own piece Hexensabbat, the album Found Objects \/ Sound Objects includes an arrangement of Frank Zappa&#8217;s Ruth is sleeping, Stuck on Stella by Salvatore Martirano, John Oswald&#8217;s Tip, John Cage&#8217;s The perilous night, Passacaglia by Stefan Wolpe, and Yehudi Wyner&#8217;s Refrain.<\/p>\n<p>The release date for his 92nd recording is October 31, 2025.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Vq2wb3TGZ9w?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<h3>Marc-Andr\u00e9 Hamelin: The Interview<\/h3>\n<p>Hamelin began playing the piano at age five. When did he add composition to his music practice?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was 1993,\u201d Hamelin says. \u201cWell at the beginning it was very embryonic,\u201d he explains. \u201cI started playing when I was five.\u201d It was all about emulating what his father the amateur pianist was doing. \u201cAs a little boy, what do you want to do? You want to do the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Naturally, his early compositions were&#8230; unsophisticated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI started to scribble things that didn\u2019t make any sense,\u201d he says. It began with imitation, developing slowly over the years. \u201cThe impulse was always there, but it took many, many years,\u201d he says, \u201cbefore someone would want to listen to it. When you&#8217;re a child, you don\u2019t really realize that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He began to think more seriously about composition while still a student. \u201cIt wasn&#8217;t until my late teens maybe. My first piece was a fugue. A Canadian publisher agreed to publish it.\u201d That was back in 1993.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Oo6HgSm2pwc?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<h3>The Pianist-Composer<\/h3>\n<p>The pianist-composer as a figure flourished in the 19th century before, for whatever reason, that career was discouraged.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think over the course of the 20th century, there was a gradual entropy,\u201d Hamelin says. \u201cIt was encouraged less and less in the curricula.\u201d As he points out, a good pianist in the 19th century would have been able to arrange music for the instrument, and probably also compose, as a matter of course. \u201cThat somehow got eroded over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s an attitude that has been changing over the last few years. \u201cIt&#8217;s only recently. I think there&#8217;s been a sort of revival,\u201d he says. \u201cThere&#8217;s even a few improvisers on the scene, which is even better.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He began writing for a simple reason. \u201cI started, really, and I confess, I started writing because I wanted something of mine that I could play.\u201d That remained his focus for years. \u201cMy intentions have been shifted for other people to play principally.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While he does admit that his earlier works were often technically very challenging, and tended to frustrate other musicians, he\u2019s focused more on expression these days. As he points out, many composer-musicians of previous eras, while they may have been virtuosi in their own right, wrote music for everyone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere&#8217;s plenty of music that&#8217;s written by these people that isn&#8217;t virtuosic at all,\u201d he notes. \u201cYou have to write for pianists of lesser ability than theirs. The music is very approachable. I should emphasize that I don&#8217;t seek to write music that is difficult to play,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n<p>In his very early compositions, he explains, he didn\u2019t have the ability to distill his thoughts in a way that would make them more approachable pianistically.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhich is why some early pieces, like those 12 Etudes in All the Minor Keys are attempted by very few people,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_118642\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-118642\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-118642\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/Marc-Andre-Hamelin-PC_-Sim-Canetty-Clarke-1.jpg\" alt=\"Pianist &amp; Composer Marc-Andr\u00e9 Hamelin (Photo credit: Sim Canetty-Clarke)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"799\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/Marc-Andre-Hamelin-PC_-Sim-Canetty-Clarke-1.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/Marc-Andre-Hamelin-PC_-Sim-Canetty-Clarke-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/Marc-Andre-Hamelin-PC_-Sim-Canetty-Clarke-1-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/Marc-Andre-Hamelin-PC_-Sim-Canetty-Clarke-1-768x511.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-118642\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pianist &amp; Composer Marc-Andr\u00e9 Hamelin (Photo: Sim Canetty-Clarke)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>His Own Music<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cI&#8217;m a bit of a lazy sort. I don&#8217;t have to live from performances. Composition for me will always be secondary to my performing career, but I regard it really as essential,\u201d he says, \u201cand I do feel like I do have something to say.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s found his work gets a positive response. \u201cI&#8217;ve generally been well received,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI always have something to express, and the language that I use, I think, is an unconscious, or a subconscious distillation of everything I\u2019ve been exposed to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His music is largely tonal, even though he\u2019s thoroughly modern in approach. \u201cI use the tonal language very, very freely,\u201d he adds. \u201cAs far as a detailed explanation of my language, that&#8217;s for others to say.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While he naturally wants his intentions to come across, in the end, you have to allow for others to interpret as they will.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou&#8217;re in a situation where it&#8217;s very easy to either overlook or willfully ignore what the composer has put on the page. What can you do?\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/m54gLJk_BTY?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<h3>The Album &amp; Beyond<\/h3>\n<p>The album includes unusual choices, like the Frank Zappa piece, which began as a work for synthesizer, then two pianos, before ending up as an arrangement for one piano. In the album notes, he writes,<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt may be surprising to many who think of Frank Zappa as a rock musician that among his early inspirations were such composers as Stravinsky, Webern and Var\u00e8se. His early attempts at composition were strongly influenced by these figures and, despite achieving his greatest fame in the pop world, he never abandoned writing for the concert stage. Those among my colleagues who share my fascination for the man lament the fact that he never wrote for solo piano, save for a tidbit called Piano introduction to \u2018Little house I used to live in\u2019 and the more substantial enclosure here, Ruth is sleeping.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As he explains it, the material for the album was culled from performances over the last couple of years, and even beyond.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Zappa and others were part of last season&#8217;s programs,\u201d he says. Many were recorded live on location. The John Cage work, which requires a prepared piano, comes from a taped live performance back in 2013.<\/p>\n<p>As for next plans, he\u2019s focusing on another more obscure composer, Brazilian Radam\u00e9s Gnattali.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it&#8217;s going to be a very interesting,\u201d he says. \u201cHe\u2019s one of the major figures in [South America]. He wrote a lot of concert music, but also, he was very active on the popular side,\u201d Hamelin explains. \u201cA prolific arranger. He wrote a lot of pieces in the lighter vein, choros, waltzes, and that&#8217;s what I wanted to centre on.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hamelin says he\u2019s performed Gnattali\u2019s work as encore pieces in performances, and they\u2019ve always been well received.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just want Gnattali to be better known,\u201d he says. \u201cI think the repertoire is choice and very attractive.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Find Marc-Andr\u00e9 Hamelin Found Objects \/ Sound Objects on Hyperion [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hyperion-records.co.uk\/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA68457\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a><\/strong>].<\/li>\n<li>Toronto residents can look forward to catching Hamelin live on stage in a duo piano recital with Charles Richard-Hamelin (no, they are not related!) on March 29, 2026. Details [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rcmusic.com\/events-and-performances\/marcandre-hamelin-and-charles-richardhamelin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a><\/strong>].<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em>Are you looking to promote an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/advertising\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #0e101a;\"><u>event<\/u><\/span><\/a>? Have a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/masthead\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>news tip<\/u><\/a>? Need to know the best\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/events\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>events<\/u><\/a>\u00a0happening this weekend? Send us a\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><a href=\"mailto:anya@ludwig-van.com?subject=Let's%20chat\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><em><u>note<\/u>.<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><em><b>#LUDWIGVAN<\/b><\/em><\/h3>\n<p class=\"western\"><em>Get the daily arts news straight to your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><em>Sign up for the Ludwig Van Toronto e-Blast! \u2014 local classical music and opera news straight to your inbox <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/583e6ce0-dfd0-48be-8a33-61256b3c58e3.mlbtlr.com\/p2\/Fbd8jWoWQQ6CdBcLIvut3Q\/02E3cYaETqaj4Xm087cpSg?contactid=S3HHYfHY5rZv5f94S15MnA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/583e6ce0-dfd0-48be-8a33-61256b3c58e3.mlbtlr.com\/p2\/Fbd8jWoWQQ6CdBcLIvut3Q\/02E3cYaETqaj4Xm087cpSg?contactid%3DS3HHYfHY5rZv5f94S15MnA&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1695737525351000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0QTqKRwRJQFGK3KoJYigxX\">HERE<\/a>.<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Canadian piano virtuoso Marc-Andr\u00e9 Hamelin, OC, OQ, talks about composition and his upcoming album, Found Objects \/ Sound Objects, available October 31.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":118641,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[41660,77,18,29,9567,81,47,51],"tags":[621,2061,42350],"yst_prominent_words":[28384,6902,8975,6715,23035,23038,11613,6616,7141,9960],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/Copy-of-PREVIEW-44.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-uRx","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118639"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118639"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118639\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":118643,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118639\/revisions\/118643"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/118641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118639"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=118639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}