Haydn: Piano Concertos Nos. 3, 4 & 11

Marc-André Hamelin (piano) & Les Violons du Roy, Bernard Labadie

Marc-André Hamelin has proved himself—in three lauded volumes of Haydn’s piano sonatas—to be a formidable Haydn pianist, combining style, exuberance and dazzling technique with a palpable sense of joy in the music. Now he has recorded the composer’s three most popular concertos.

This release is the fruit of a partnership with the award-winning Canadian chamber orchestra Les Violons du Roy and their director Bernard Labadie, whose previous recordings for Virgin Classics and other labels have received the highest critical acclaim.

Haydn:
 Keyboard Concerto No. 11 in D major, HobXVIII:11 - cadenzas by Wanda Landowska
 Keyboard Concerto No. 3 in F major with French horns and strings, Hob.XVIII:3 - cadenzas by Marc-André Hamelin
 Keyboard Concerto No. 4 in G major, Hob.XVIII:4 - cadenzas by Marc-André Hamelin

"Hamelin and Les Violons du Roy play that gypsy finale [of the D major Concerto] with irresistable verve...If there's an incongruity between the sound of Hamelin's modern piano and that of the period-band that accompanies him, it's one that's easy to get used to...it's hard not to enjoy Hamelin's showmanship and the eloquence of his slow movements is an added bonus."
BBC Music Magazine - May 2013 ****

"[in the F major] Hamelin weaves an enchanting spell, approaching an almost Mozartian pathos...[in the finale of the D major] he pushes forward without dropping the tempo, heightening the delirium of this whirling gypsy dance. Add to that some unmarked col legno earlier in the same movement for an authentic touch of Hungarian paprika and the result cannot fail to raise a smile."
Gramophone Magazine - May 2013