I can see a thread about this music started by SE about 20 years ago, when Hamelin had just release his recording. But not much subsequent discussion.

I must say, I've started to enjoy Hamelin playing op 50. The music is not uninteresting - like a game of hide and seek with tonality: as soon as you sense a home key, it disappears. Written in 1924 -- about the time that Schoenberg wrote the piano suite
and about 10 years after Scriabin Sonata 10 -- clearly a time of musical experimentation. Naïve motifs, piano often used percussively like in Bartok - in fact (pre?) echoes of Bartok occur quite often. There seems to be quite a bit of variety in the
music - I mean, I sense a composer with things to say, not just someone blustering or repeating himself. Hamelin seems on good form. Sound is quite listenable for 20 mazurkas, so it can’t be bad!

Anyway here's a thread in case anyone has any ideas.

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On Sun, Nov 13 2022, Mandryka <howie.stone01@gmail.com> wrote:

I can see a thread about this music started by SE about 20 years ago,
when Hamelin had just release his recording. But not much subsequent discussion.

I must say, I've started to enjoy Hamelin playing op 50. The music is
not uninteresting - like a game of hide and seek with tonality: as
soon as you sense a home key, it disappears. Written in 1924 -- about
the time that Schoenberg wrote the piano suite and about 10 years
after Scriabin Sonata 10 -- clearly a time of musical
experimentation. Naïve motifs, piano often used percussively like in
Bartok - in fact (pre?) echoes of Bartok occur quite often. There
seems to be quite a bit of variety in the music - I mean, I sense a
composer with things to say, not just someone blustering or repeating himself. Hamelin seems on good form. Sound is quite listenable for 20 mazurkas, so it can’t be bad!

I'm in the midst of writing programme notes for a piano diploma exam
and was looking into Szymanowski's piano music - I'm playing the etude
op 4 no 3 (used to be well known! may still be..) and came across this conjunction
https://photos.app.goo.gl/N1M63Z2tumMjFqsh8
top image is Szymanowski's the bottom the Scriabin Op 8 No 11 written
10 years earlier, same key v similar theme, hands in both getting tangled in the middle of the keyboard

There's a recent Zimerman disc of a selection of the piano works
including the op 50 mazurkas which I need to get to know!

Robert
--
Robert Marshall twitter: @rajm

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On Friday, November 18, 2022 at 7:20:12 PM UTC, Robert Marshall wrote:

On Sun, Nov 13 2022, Mandryka <howie....@gmail.com> wrote:

I can see a thread about this music started by SE about 20 years ago,
when Hamelin had just release his recording. But not much subsequent discussion.

I must say, I've started to enjoy Hamelin playing op 50. The music is
not uninteresting - like a game of hide and seek with tonality: as
soon as you sense a home key, it disappears. Written in 1924 -- about
the time that Schoenberg wrote the piano suite and about 10 years
after Scriabin Sonata 10 -- clearly a time of musical
experimentation. Naïve motifs, piano often used percussively like in Bartok - in fact (pre?) echoes of Bartok occur quite often. There
seems to be quite a bit of variety in the music - I mean, I sense a composer with things to say, not just someone blustering or repeating himself. Hamelin seems on good form. Sound is quite listenable for 20 mazurkas, so it can’t be bad!

I'm in the midst of writing programme notes for a piano diploma exam
and was looking into Szymanowski's piano music - I'm playing the etude
op 4 no 3 (used to be well known! may still be..) and came across this conjunction
https://photos.app.goo.gl/N1M63Z2tumMjFqsh8
top image is Szymanowski's the bottom the Scriabin Op 8 No 11 written
10 years earlier, same key v similar theme, hands in both getting tangled in the middle of the keyboard

There's a recent Zimerman disc of a selection of the piano works
including the op 50 mazurkas which I need to get to know!

Robert
--
Robert Marshall twitter: @rajm

Yes, I enjoyed discovering the variations on that CD. Of course, everyone knows that op 4 Etude -- it was a one of Van Cliburn's signature encores, by the way, and I think it's worth finding a record of him playing it. I like the op 33 etudes too,
more in fact.

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