Reger's music is an amalgam of Bachian counterpoint and chromatic Romantic harmony – the result is writing of great density. This is particularly true of the 'Bach' Variations, Reger's piano masterpiece. Hamelin's superb virtuosity allows him to focus purely on the music, so keeping any sense of heaviness from infiltrating piano writing which, in other hands, can sound merely laboured. The 'Telemann' Variations are much less chromatic, more decorative, and as a result are much closer to the Baroque concept of 'variation'. Their virtuosity is more obvious, with many opportunities for the soloist to display his fingerwork. The Five Humoresques reveal Reger in lighter mode. Here the inspiration is surely from Brahms.
GRAMOPHONE CRITICS' CHOICE; PENGUIN GUIDE ROSETTE
'Others have courageously fought the cause of this complex and neglected repertoire but few, if any, have brought to it such compelling fusion of temperament, intellect, and prodigious pianistic fluency' (Gramophone)
'This is a marvellous disc' (BBC Music Magazine)
'An embarrassment of riches. This is absolutely first-rate playing. Quite simply this is a stunning recital' (The Scotsman)
'I was enthralled' (Classic CD)
'I have never heard Reger played with greater imagination or persuasive eloquence. Hamelin seems to command an almost limitless range of keyboard colour. Those who have yet to be won over by Reger's keyboard music should start here' (Classic FM Magazine)
'This is playing such as you seldom hear. First-rate Hyperion recording; boring superlatives, as usual, for this least boring of contemporary keyboard giants' (Hi Fi News)
Recording details: April 1998; St George's, Brandon Hill, United Kingdom; Produced by Andrew Keener; Engineered by Tony Faulkner; Release date: January 1999;
Track 1
