Work: Légende no. 2 "Saint François de Paule marchant sur les flots", S 175

Here's a winning formula to pack a concert hall for a Saturday night organ recital: book one of the country's best-known actor-managers to front the evening, invest in televisual effects, and write a good script. 

In a setting Liszt himself would have approved of – the grand hall, the plush red velvet swags and tails, the full nine feet of gleaming Steinway stretched across a stage bathed in a curious blue light, the eager Prommers craning in expectation – Canadian pianist Marc-André Hamelin celebrated the composer’s 200th birthday in a recital of coruscating virtuosity and extreme pianism.

Lauréate du Concours Chopin en 2010, la pianiste russe a admirablement recréé la galaxie des Préludes op. 28 du compositeur, après une première partie Bach-Liszt déjà très consistante.