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About
The pianist Martin Helmchen has now joined Alpha for several recordings. Acknowledged as one of the leading pianists of his generation, an eminent interpreter of the German repertoire, Helmchen will explore various periods and composers (including Messiaen!), but Beethoven will have a preponderant place in his forthcoming recording projects. Before the complete concertos, planned for 2020, he tackles the Diabelli Variations, ‘a climax in the life of a pianist’. He sees these variations as ‘a voyage to the very heart of the infinity of human feelings and moods, by turns profound, philosophical, satirical’. He regards the cycle as a visionary work that heralds future developments in music, containing the first stirrings of twentieth-century minimalism, atonality and abstraction. This recording is the end result of a long personal association and numerous concerts; a powerful version in which each variation emerges as a masterpiece in its own right.
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Reviews
Recording of the Month
“This recording is a revelation and, if not exactly the announcement, then certainly the confirmation of a major new voice in contemporary pianism. Martin Helmchen has already been turning heads among the piano cognoscenti, and this sensitive, hyper-intelligent account of the Diabellis confirms him as a mighty talent to watch…”
Simon Thompson – MusicWeb-International.com – 25 April 2018
Editor's Choice - Instrumental Section
Jed Distler - Gramophone magazine - April 2018
“…what a performance! Beethoven’s diverse and imaginative Variations are each given their full flavour by Helmchen and, for all the extremes, are also integrated across the whole. Throughout one is astonished at Beethoven’s magnanimous response to Diabelli's trifle, and in turn by Helmchen’s insight into Beethoven’s ingenuity. Helmchen is as interpretatively persuasive and as technically commanding as any pianist in this music, and more so than many in terms of revelations, in conquering this Everest among piano literature – tempos are ideally judged, dynamics, touch and clarity are discriminatingly realised and illuminating, characterisation is vivid, and listening is a compelling experience… this is a great recording.” *****
Colin Anderson – ClassicalSource.com – March 2018
“...Helmchen is alive to the music’s ever- changing drama; the clarity of his playing brings out every ingenious detail of harmony and rhythm. A delight.”
David Cairns – The Sunday Times (Culture magazine) – 11 February 2018
**** (Superb Album) Sound: 3.5/5
Patrick Szernovicz - Diapason magazine (France) - February 2018
“..The pianist Martin Helchen brings wit and wonder to his first Beethoven recording.” ****
Geoff Brown – The Times – 26 January 2018
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