by Mike Telin
“This marks a major change in the evolution of his piano concertos,” Marc-André Hamelin said during a telephone conversation from St. Louis. He was referring to Mozart’s Concerto No. 9 (“Jeunehomme”), which he will perform with The Cleveland Orchestra under the direction of Nicholas McGegan on Friday, November 17 at 7:00 pm and Saturday, November 18 at 8:00 pm.
“The concerto is such an incredible departure from what he did before. There’s an explosion of activity from the very beginning, and the way that he inserts a second slow movement in the middle of the rondo — that’s really quite exceptional.”
Hamelin said that he looks forward to working with Nicholas McGegan for the first time. “Nic is amazing, I was with him at the Van Cliburn back in May and June. He conducted all of the Mozart concerti during the competition, and just to see him at work told me a lot about what our rapport will be this weekend. I anticipate nothing but a delightful experience.”
A full evening devoted to the music of Joseph Haydn is sure to be filled with sophisticated musical rhetoric, and at least a good handful of surprises. Last Thursday evening at Severance Hall, visiting British conductor Matthew Halls and The Cleveland Orchestra dug deeply into the fabric of an overture and a symphony, and with the help of the fastidiously exciting pianist Marc-André Hamelin, into one of the Austrian master’s piano concertos. Though the fourth work was obviously not by Haydn, its performance by duo hornists Richard King and Jesse McCormick would have deeply impressed whoever actually wrote it.