Frederic Rzewski: The People United Will Never Be Defeated Marc-Andre Hamelin, piano (Hyperion)
Frederic Rzewski (born in Massachussets in 1938) describes his post-serial style as "human realism", freely mixing elements of popular and folk music, jazz and improvisation with advanced compositional technique. He's an avowedly political composer, also active as a pianist of rare virtuoso ability. His mammoth 1975 variations on the Chilean resistance anthem, The People United Will Never Be Defeated, were commissioned to share a programme with Beethoven's Diabelli Variations. Freewheeling eclecticism and daunting technical demands are held together in a tight structure which MarcAndre Hamelin conveys as one of the great original works of our time. Two equally impressive North American Ballads complete the disc.
Michael Dervan