Hamelin plays Grainger - In Dahomey LIVE Audio + Sheet music

Percy Grainger's jaw-dropping In Dahomey, "Cakewalk smasher", performed by Marc-André Hamelin as an encore. Not as immaculate as his studio recording, but perhaps more "lively" - I hope you, as well as the dedicatee, will like it! :)
In an interview, Hamelin was asked about this piece:
Interviewer: So, how many of you were playing? It sounded like, at least two...
MAH: Well, I wish I had some help, actually!

[@samueld8751]

I snapped a black key straight off the piano playing this piece. Bravo Mr Hamelin!

[@Rafaga777]

No pianos were harmed in this jaw dropping performance...

[@musiclover148]

Surprisingly. But how can you know? There is no American society for the prevention of cruelty to pianos.

[@tfpp1]

Maybe not...but cuticles, on the other hand...OUCH!!!!!

[@marcrajotte5369]

Awwww very good one. TY

[@VTownGregory]

Yvette Loriod, wife of Messiaen, broke down in tears after he presented her with the gift of a new piano composition. She cried because she realized all the pain she would need to endure learning to play it. I would have the same reaction if I had to learn this. I know it's Hamelin, but I still can't imagine how he does it.

[@leandrogulrt]

Yvonne Loriod

[@erikfreitas7093]

I would cry too if I knew I was expected to learn and perform Messiaen...

[@pavlosgermanidis2754]

I bet he kept his calm posture and a little smile while his fingers were gliding all over the keys :)

[@zachyarrow296]

This was Boulez' 2nd Piano Sonata was it not?

[@beckerhanshermann8372]

@@zachyarrow296 You are right, this is Boulez's second sonata before he moved on to Beethoven's op 106.

[@andrewbarrett1537]

+Gamma1734 I believe Mr. Hamelin's "rushing" as you call it, or breakneck accelerandos, are meant both to be similar to the way Grainger actually played (listen to his Columbia and Decca recordings), and also for comedic effect. A great deal of what I hear in both the piece and the performance seems to be deliberately comedic, and I think it comes off well.

[@lepredator189]

I'm scared.

[@mr.anonomousanynonomous455]

We all are... We all are

[@akselai]

You should be.

[@thebatman6991]

Not me sorry..It is MAHamelin the performer 😆😆

[@RobinPratt]

SPECTACULAR ON ALL COUNTS!!!

[@jdbrown371]

This piece certainly takes the cake.

[@Yubin_Lee_Doramelin]

Hamelin doesn't smash the cakewalk, but smashes the piano, especially at the last moment.

[@thatromanticpianist3177]

Amazing how something can be this unnecessarily hard but yet deal with sounding good and amusing.

[@Errant-Errand]

I have listened to this performance about once every month or two for the past 3 years

[@OntarioBirding7538]

Listen to it more!

[@timothyj1966]

anyone who takes on a Grainger piece is gutsy! Very complicated timing- phrasing- feeling- technical - takes a true musician to interpret - just like Chopin pieces.... so well played! Amazing!

[@isaacdorio]

It's actually really funny. The pianist barely has to interpret the piece themself because Grainger adds all sorts of instructions on how he wants it played 😂

[@andrewbarrett1537]

@atheodora lastname Well, it's an arrangement of a piece by Will Marion Cook from the show "In Dahomey", coupled with the trio part of Arthur Pryor's ragtime-cakewalk for band called "A Coon Band Contest", from 1899, which was a big hit in its day. (Actually, both the show and that piece were).

[@andrewbarrett1537]

The "rips" in the 'trio' part (key of F major), are actually the 'trombone smears' that the trombonists in the band would play in that piece (Pryor was a famous trombonist). Listen to Mr. Pryor's band recording of it online.

[@aileen694]

​@@isaacdorio Yeah, while being shocked by MAH's fabulous fingers, I got distracted by the hilarious "directions" inserted!!!🤣 e.g. "viciously" Percy 😁

[@brianandrewleahy1]

That is one of the kindest, sweetest things anyone has ever done for me and i am honored and humbled to have my name attached to such a brilliantly vibrant and vivid reading of this treacherous piece. I am speechless Balint. : )

[@KawhackitaRag]

Re-watching and re-reading this (after reading the priceless video "About" section), I realize now that Mr. Hamelin is playing the ossia from measures 78 to 84 (and possibly in other places, but that's where it's most pronounced). During these few bars, it really DOES sound like there are two pianists playing, even to my "experienced" ear (which is by now used to picking up on many piano tricks that classical and pop pianists used to simulate a third or fourth hand). I believe this is due to Mr. Grainger's writing of putting the main melody in the left hand, where it is not only accompanied by some incredibly complex things in the right, but also accompanied by some bass notes and chords here and there, ALSO played by the left hand, adding to the illusion of an extra hand or pianist!!! I believe Mr. Bach (the elder) would have approved of the way Mr. Hamelin brings out these melodic lines as though they're totally independent, yet still woven together in the manner of a superb duo or ensemble.

[@BalletBabyBoy]

Oh my god, it is miraculous what 2 hands can do! How I wish I could play like that.

[@sebthi7890]

don't wish, don't prey... practice... 🖐🤖👍

[@madlovba3]

My pleasure, Brian. :)) I'm glad you enjoyed this flabbergasting rendition of this superb piece - better than his studio recording in a way, isn't it? This live recording just makes me want to have an actual video of Hamelin butchering this work - that would definitely be one of the most sicknasty things ever caught on camera!

[@PiotrBarcz]

Percy Grainger was a great composer, he wrote some of the best music of the 20th century! It's funny, Hamelin might not be a jazz pianist but he certainly does this one justice!

[@brooksiefan]

I am inclined to think that many of the pieces in Hamelin's repertoire were never intended to be actually played - the point is he didn't get the joke and... voilà!

[@notahandle965]

To paraphrase Selina Kyle - "Oops. Nobody told me it was unplayable."

[@wilh3lmmusic]

@@notahandle965 i heard that Argerich learned Gaspard de la Nuit in a week, not knowing it was supposed to be hard

[@Sid_music]

Hahahahaha

[@shilloshillos]

HOLEE GUACAMOLEE!!! That is stunning!!!

[@sergio6357]

2:52 🥶

[@KawhackitaRag]

Now, this sounds much more human than the studio recording, but still... IMPOSSIBLE for me to play! And those thirds at bar 65 are still RIDICULOUS!

[@luketuke02]

2:51 HOW????

[@Whaijorhujishkomunyk]

lmfao

[@soli040919]

1:13 bbiigg natural lol

[@Eorzat]

"dished up by Percy Grainger" lmao

[@midnightrider7190]

It's so crazy！

[@jsky1940]

I love his playing no matter which genre. His Gershwin is the best and must be delightful to perform. It certainly seems joyous to my ears..

[@samanthatabasa501]

Amazing glissando.

[@dominicuchanhart8369]

Not many people know this but grainger hated the piano. He said this in an interview

[@isaacdorio]

Maybe that's why this piece is so percussive 🤣

[@maxabeles]

He was professional concert pianist in his life time tho, that's how he made his bread. Maybe he was just burnt out? hmmmm

[@herobrine1847]

How tf does he do glissandos so fast without hurting himself

[@jacobschiller4486]

I've wondered the exact same thing.

[@LisztAddict]

@Schuyler Bacn Yah

[@andrewbarrett1537]

Not sure without video footage, but I have been taught to play them using the tops of the fingernails rather than the ends or the pads of the fingers. You have to flip your hand almost completely over and lightly glide the fingernails over the keys. Glissandos only work on pianos with the keyboard in perfect condition (and regulation), so If your piano isn’t, save some dough and call your local reputable piano tech to have this remedied.

[@andrewbarrett1537]

Frank Banta Jr (Frank E Banta) the 1920s studio pianist, had a “trick” where he could play fingered scales so fast (in any key) that they sound like glissandos! I presume Mr Hamelin can do similar, since his technique is even better. Whether he’s doing that here, I’m not sure.

[@Whaijorhujishkomunyk]

​@@LisztAddictschuyler bacn

[@tomekkobialka]

Gosh...Hamelin is slightly madder in this rendition, don't you think? :p Probably thanks to all those impossibly incredible and amazing performances he most likely executed just prior to the video, he's feeling more confident than ever! ;)

[@andrewbarrett1537]

I just noticed that Mr. Hamelin was born the same year that Grainger died...

[@joeyblogsy]

haha!

[@bubffm]

Andrew Barrett Someone had to take over 😎

[@jedrzejsteszewski6694]

He took only good Grainger's habbits 😉

[@andrewbarrett1537]

Thankfully!

[@Sneha_0428]

This piece is so crazyy. Gonna play this for my FLCM exam😭

[@yannaischrire7327]

How does it go?

[@zurnaik]

"Slide with fist on black keys" lol...Luckily it's some random Steinway concert grand that's getting a beating not his own personal piano :)

[@youbelle3437]

aaaaaaaaauuuuuu

[@lukasmiller486]

I have a Yamaha grand and I still wouldn’t want to try that.

[@NOSEhow2LIV]

MAH on speed...? Wow! One of his best.

[@johnvalentine4720]

Pretty sure at 1:15 Grainger alludes to 'Whistling Rufus', a piano rag of 1899 by Kerry Mills.

[@classicfan4683]

Zirkusnummer, virtuos geboten. Chapeau vor der technischen Leistung...

[@CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabji]

Nice

[@musiclover148]

Percy Grainger looked like the Jan Lisiecki of his time. Artur Rubenstein, who met him when they were both teenagers, I think, said Grainger's rapid octaves were frightening.

[@madlovba3]

It neutralizes all preceding sharps and flats.

[@user-sd3qp5mf3v]

Maybe No one can play with this tempo.

[@padraicfanning7055]

Grainger himself probably played it even faster than this.

[@schalkerasmus277]

with many inaccuricies@@padraicfanning7055

[@kacemchawqi5787]

1:32 i can hear some chopin in the bass line

[@teddythemlgcorgi7309]

2:52

[@PianoScoreVids]

I think it sounds very effective but in my opinion it is not that difficult as it seems. Some measures are tricky,but they dont have to be rushed like that i think. Still,it is a beautiful lively piece

[@AsrielKujo]

Well, Hamelin is a very jokingful and sarcastic pianist, even looking at his etudes. And he probably just had a lot of fun playing it (also he deviates a lot by the score and adds some insanely hard variations)

[@neilkilleen3911]

It says the last section (at least) as fast as possible !

[@shengkaili1228]

Is the last scene showing two 1961's trying to suggest something?

[@OntarioBirding7538]

noice

[@maxabeles]

Okay June Lee, transcribe this one!

[@June_Hee]

Max Email but it's already written...

[@maxabeles]

:)

[@maxabeles]

Four years later and still my humor falls on deaf ears. The fate of all great genius.

[@Wosudhehqaxb9169]

Does he play any of the ossias or does he go the direct the path?

[@tommasozucol4160]

knowing him, well you already know

[@deldridg]

No no noooo - this is not humanly possble. Please, someone confirm my suspicions! :-)

[@devosiagian9578]

01:47

[@justin-uc7pn]

My teacher told me, learn this...

[@oceanotter6337]

There is only Hamelin and other pianists.

[@mistertornado2303]

It appears as Hamelin isn't following some of Grainger's pedal markings.

[@nickthegreek5296]

Who cares?

[@mistertornado2303]

@@nickthegreek5296 Apparently you do since you felt the need to comment about it.

[@nickthegreek5296]

I only care abour pedantic people who care about fidelity in a light piece like Grainger's🤪

[@Varooooooom]

I will somehow always be amazed at how quickly a comment thread can spiral into degeneracy. @@nickthegreek5296 You’re being unnecessarily rude dude. Grainger was very (maybe even too) specific about what he wrote on the page. It’s not wrong for someone to express concern about that.

[@vinhtranhongphuc746]

lm s nổi tr

[@crazyorganist1609]

Bloddy hell

[@noodus777]

Можно всё изящнее и не так грубо

[@marktomas5245]

"slide with fist on black keys" ...um, excuse me Mr. Grainger. If this isn't an actual word like cresendo or pesante, don't you think it is too weird or maybe... um.. to hard?

[@andrewbarrett1537]

Grainger was well-known for loathing the use of Italian words in music (at least, in music that wasn't by Italian composers) and he insisted on making every single one of his score markings in English. I presume he wanted each composer from every country to write score markings in their own language rather than using a common language such as Italian, for some reason.... it might have had to do with his heavy-duty racism. Although Grainger was a racist nutbag, he was also a musical genius with a big heart (i.e. not actually an evil person despite having evil beliefs), and that's why his music is still played and heard today (kind of like Wagner).

[@LisztAddict]

His nuances are so much better than the traditional ones. He tells you exactly what he wants you to do

[@tudorcucer907]

The score looks awfully ridiculous

[@deldridg]

There is music for the masses of pianists such as Beethoven's piano concertos etc., and then there is music for *other* pianists, such as this... yikes!

[@jazzmusictheorist]

I'm sorry for the language but that piano got f**ked

[@SpiritHourglass]

He misses so many details

[@amerain1729]

this performance is probably for fun only

[@maxabeles]

your mom misses so many details

[@neilkilleen3911]

CAre to enumerate ?

[@JG_1998]

this is not a very subtle or detailed piece.... It's supposed to sound totally insane.

[@andrewbarrett1537]

It’s subtle, detailed AND insane. The detail takes place at a faster tempo and with harder attack (in many places) and flies by quickly. If you’re not used to this then go listen to one of the great old ragtime pianists like Luckey Roberts (although unfortunately most of his solo recordings date from after his stroke / hand damage from a car accident so aren’t totally accurate although jaw dropping). They also manage quite a bit of detail, technical complexity and nuance at furious tempos, which IMO pays dividends IF you are playing anything fast. Too many pianists can play slow things great and then either sound stiff and mechanical OR totally fall apart, at fast tempos. The best pianists make fast tempos sound easy, due to their massive technique and control. Of course a piece that is deliberately show-offy like this Grainger piece will stil sound difficult since it is meant to.

[@michaelbellingham719]

difficult piece for anyone to play..lots of sound, a bit of fun but nothing really there in terms of lasting interest.

[@andrewbarrett1537]

It is a bit of a pastiche. If you listen to the entire Will Marion Cook score for the Broadway production “In Dahomey”; and the entire Arthur Pryor band rag “A Coon Band Contest” from which this is derived, it will be much more coherent and make sense. I can’t tell if Grainger was making an absurdist parody of / critique of ragtime; proving his ragtime chops (“I bet you long hair musicians can’t play ragtime” “Oh yes I can!!!”); or he just liked these tunes so much he wanted to combine them into a “piece”, but regardless it’s one of the most virtuosic scores extant from the bonafide ragtime era and I’m happy it survives. Most of the virtuosic ragtime piano played in the era by the likes of “One Leg” Willie Joseph; Mike Bernard; Sam Davis; Willie Eckstein; and probably several dozen others in the ragtime era, was never written down as sheet music (as far as we know; at least PUBLISHED sheets), and only survives if the artist made a recording or piano roll of their arrangement. Many of those legendary performances are thus lost forever and only known from written recollections if at all. So again I am glad this exists.

[@RedZed1974]

I love Hamelin when he plays as written. But I despise those dissonant, wacky, Tom & Jerry arrangements he does of the standards. *cringe*

[@andrewbarrett1537]

Well the standards are possibly overplayed. So Mr Hamelin is no doubt making fun of this. Possibly he means something like “what is the use in playing X piece a millionth time in history, when there are tens of thousands of other worthy pieces that are rarely or never played?” If that’s the case, I must say I share the same philosophy. Perhaps he only makes the travesty-arrangements to protest being asked to play those pieces at all. It’s like the way the old ragtime pianists used to “rag the classics”. They almost never did this to a beautiful underplayed piece, but usually to an extremely well worn warhorse/chestnut.

[@mcbainst]

this stinks

[@czeynerpianistproducercomp7155]

This better than any chopin piece

[@mcbainst]

@@czeynerpianistproducercomp7155 well, you can't have your cakewalk and eat it too. ;)

[@czeynerpianistproducercomp7155]

@@mcbainst eres un idiot.a 😂 me da asco responderte.

[@singtatsucgc3247]

A true finger breaker for sure. But the music, oh gosh, I’ve never heard so much moronic nonsense that can only come from the Aussies down south. This could be more aptly entitled kangaroo boxing music.

[@vinhtranhongphuc746]

lm s nổi tr

[@ejb7969]

??

[@Whaijorhujishkomunyk]

bacn