András Hamary is an exceptional composer. Not only because he has remained faithful to composing despite his earlier successful career as a pianist, which earned him numerous awards, but also because he has managed to reject the Adornian “canon of the forbidden” that still exists in New Music. In this, he follows his compatriot György Ligeti, who in his later works, beginning with the scandalized Trio for Violin, Horn, and Piano from 1982, supposedly dealt with the parameter of harmony only in a backward-looking manner. For Ligeti, however, this backward glance was merely a different way of looking forward, and András Hamary has followed him in this.
Hamary attempts to revive supposedly past or even dead forms, symbols, and ciphers in search of a language in which European music history is preserved in the best sense of the word, with a focus on the prélude. The prelude is thus replayed.
András Hamary and Markus Bellheim got to know and appreciate each other while teaching in Würzburg. “Dedicated to Markus Bellheim in friendship” is written in the dedication of Hamary's 24 Préludes. In addition to personal sympathy, this friendship is based on shared interests such as a love of modern and contemporary art and music and a keen interest in the musical world of France, especially the music of Debussy and Messiaen. After his retirement, Hamary moved from Würzburg to Berlin, and in the solitude of the years made difficult by Corona, he wrote his 24 Préludes in the tradition of Chopin, Scriabin, and Debussy, tailor-made for Bellheim.
Bonus DVD
“24 Video Animations”
On the bonus DVD, András Hamary presents a selection of a series of his video animations.
The images and music were created entirely or almost entirely simultaneously. Most of the music pieces are computer-generated (Sibelius Sounds), and the animations were created using Corel Painter, Moho, and Final Cut.
Programme
András Hamary (*1950)
24 Préludes for piano
First booklet
[01] 1. Präambel 02:43
[02] 2. Stop and Go 01:20
[03] 3. Sad Echoes 02:55
[04] 4. Terramoto 04:06
[05] 5. Intermezzo 1 02:10
[06] 6. Funeral 1 04:43
[07] 7. Ringató 03:29
[08] 8. Intermezzo 2 01:29
[09] 9. Funeral 2 04:02
[10] 10. Csillagszóró 02:32
[11] 11. Funeral 3 02:38
[12] 12. Mandolin 03:23
Second Booklet
[13] 1. Csendes Korál 03:38
[14] 2. El milagro secreto 03:39
[15] 3. Schwarze Trompeten 02:38
[16] 4. Alla marcia 01:16
[17] 5. Inventio im Nebel – Hommage à Dimitrij Schostakowitsch 02:34
[18] 6. Der Trommler 02:54
[19] 7. Ritornello (Chopin) 02:33
[20] 8. Sarabande pathétique 04:08
[21] 9. Zengö skálák 01:46
[22] 10. Paganini met Gershwin on 5th Avenue 02:10
[23] 11. Ostinato arrabbiato 03:40
[24] 12. Farewell 03:43
total playing time: 70:21
Markus Bellheim, piano
Pressestimmen
The New Listener
13.05.2023
Markus Bellheim celebrates András Hamary's excellent cycle of preludes
András Hamary's cycle of 24 Preludes for piano (2021/22) has now been released by NEOS in a co-production with BR Klassik, performed by Markus Bellheim, to whom the work is dedicated. Both the music and its performance can only be described as outstanding.
[…] With 24 piano preludes, one almost inevitably follows in the footsteps of a number of historical role models: in Hamary's case, these are primarily Chopin, Scriabin, Rachmaninoff, Debussy, and Shostakovich (Op. 34). In addition, the listener senses influences from various composers, not only piano composers, who did not write prelude cycles. In their rhythmic complexity or motoric nature, some sections point to Hamary's compatriot György Ligeti – especially his piano études. Schubert, Schumann, even Mahler and Nancarrow also shine through in places. Not that the composer literally quotes from them in the 70-minute work consisting of 2 x 12 pieces; however, there are numerous allusions that tie in with specific musical Situations in the works of those colleagues, which of course cannot and should not all be listed here. It is clear that Hamary confronts this indispensable musical-historical awareness without simply imitating or “incorporating” elements. Thus, the supposed “ballast” becomes a source of inspiration all its own. Literature forms the starting point for at least two preludes: Attila Jószef's poem Ringató for the “Lullaby” (Book 1, No. 7) and the story El milagro segreto by Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges (Book 2, No. 2). […]
Markus Bellheim plays this tour de force with absolute brilliance. The enormously demanding piano part, which seems to have been written especially for him, never sounds strained under his hands – and feet! Bellheim's concentration and highly differentiated touch, which we have long been familiar with from his Messiaen performances, come into their own in each of the 24 pieces. He succeeds admirably in the fast-paced numbers (such as No. 10 Csillagszóró [“Sparklers”] or No. 12 Mandolin, which is initially reminiscent of Ligeti but later becomes unrestrainedly tonal), as well as in the perfectly presented, often mirage-like overtone feats mentioned above. The immediate unfolding of the musical ideas behind the individual pieces and the grasp of the big picture – Hamary often demands Attacca transitions between two preludes – always go hand in hand and maintain the tension throughout: empathy that is immediately transferred to the listener. […]
Martin Blaumeiser
www.the-new-listener.de
