Like the legendary pianists of the 19th and early 20th centuries, such as Sigismund Thalberg, Franz Liszt, Leopold Godowsky, and Ignace Jan Paderewski, it often sounds as if Marc-André Hamelin has more than ten fingers. His ability to play fiendishly difficult music, make it sound as if it's a stroll in the park, yet imbue it with musical sensitivity makes him worthy of the description "super-virtuoso" by The New York Times' Harold Schoenberg.
Hamelin was born on September 5, 1961, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He studied at the Vincent d'Indy School of Music in Montreal with...