Masterclass e concerto di Kenneth Hamilton

Ronald Stevenson

(1928-2015)
Three Scottish Ballads:

1. 1  Lord Randal
2. 2  The Dowie Dens of Yarrow
3. 3  Newhaven Fishwife’s Cry

Heroic Song for Hugh MacDiarmid

Fryderyk Chopin

(1810-1849)

Preludio in do maggiore op. 28 n. 1

Franz Liszt

(1811-1886)

Funérailles

Fryderyk Chopin

Preludio in mi maggiore op. 28 n. 9 Polonaise-Fantasia op. 61
Preludio in la maggiore op. 28 n. 7

Chopin/Liszt

My Joys (versione 1886) Fryderyk Chopin

Preludio in mi bemolle minore op. 28 n. 14

Chopin/Busoni

Polonaise op. 53

Kenneth Hamilton

Described after a concerto performance with the St Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra as “an outstanding virtuoso- one of the finest players of his generation” (Moscow Kommersant), by the Singapore Straits Times as ‘a formidable virtuoso’; by Tom Service in The Guardian as “pianist, author, lecturer and all-round virtuoso”, Scottish pianist Kenneth Hamilton performs worldwide as a recitalist, concerto soloist and broadcaster. He has appeared frequently on radio and television in Britain, the US, Germany, France, Singapore, Canada, Australia, Turkey, China and Russia, including a performance of Chopin’s first piano concerto with the Istanbul Chamber Orchestra on Turkish Television, and a dual role as pianist and presenter for the television programme Mendelssohn in Scotland, broadcast in Europe and the US by Deutsche Welle Channel. He is a familiar artist on BBC Radio 3, Radio 4 and the World Service, and has numerous international festival engagements to his credit.

His recent recordings for the Prima Facie label: Kenneth Hamilton Plays Ronald Stevenson and Back to Bach: Tributes and Transcriptions by Liszt, Rachmaninov and Busoni have been greeted with critical acclaim: “played with understanding and brilliance” (BBC Radio 3 Record Review); “an unmissable disk…fascinating music presented with power, passion and precision” (Fanfare);“played with precise control and brilliance” (The Guardian); “thrilling” (Gramophone); “a gorgeous recording and excellent performance” (American Record Guide); “provides the ultimate in energetic impact, taut tempi and gripping creative command” (Klassik Heute—CD of the Week). His latest recording, released this month, is Preludes to Chopin.

Kenneth Hamilton is Head of the School of Music at Cardiff University in Wales, UK, and is a well-known expert on the history of piano performance, a topic on which he has published widely both in scholarly publications and for newspapers such as The New York Times. He was himself a student of Lawrence Glover and Ronald Stevenson. He is especially fascinated by the varied performance styles of the pianistic “Golden Age” from Liszt to Paderewski, which he does not seek to imitate directly, but admires as imaginative sources of inspiration for present-day playing. His last book, After the Golden Age: Romantic Pianism and Modern Performance (Oxford University Press) was a classical music best-seller, welcomed as “full of wit and interest, and written with passion” by Charles Rosen (Times Literary Supplement), as a “deft and sympathetic account of the old school virtuosos” by Alex Ross (The New Yorker). It was a Daily Telegraph Book of the Year in the UK, a recipient of an ARSC award, and a CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title in the US.