Arts & Humanities Campus News

Leading piano virtuoso, composer returns to Athens with world premiere

Marc-André Hamelin will return to Athens on Oct. 15 at 7:30 p.m. at Hodgson Concert Hall for a solo recital. (Photo by Sim Canetty-Clarke)

Pianist Marc-André Hamelin is known worldwide for his unrivaled blend of consummate musicianship, brilliant technique and his intrepid exploration of the rarities of the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. He returns to Athens on Oct. 15 at 7:30 p.m. at Hodgson Concert Hall for a solo recital featuring works by Beethoven, Busoni and Liszt.

The performance also includes a rare treat: the world premiere of his own new piece, “Deploration sur la Mort de Chopin,” commissioned by the American Liszt Society. The concert is a part of the society’s annual festival.

An exclusive recording artist for Hyperion Records, Hamelin has released 89 albums to date, with notable recordings of a broad range of solo, orchestral and chamber repertoire. In October, Hamelin releases his recording of Beethoven’s imposing Piano Sonata in B flat major, “Hammerklavier,” Op. 106 (on this Hodgson Concert Hall program), coupled with the earlier Piano Sonata in C major, Op. 2, No. 3. In 2025, he releases “MixTape,” featuring 20th-century music.

Featuring nine original pieces, Hamelin’s 2024 album “New Piano Works” is a survey of some of his own recent works, exhibiting his formidable skill as a composer-pianist whose music imaginatively and virtuosically taps into his musical forebears. It was Hamelin’s first album of all original compositions since “Études” (2010). In 2023, Hyperion released Hamelin’s recording of Fauré’s “Nocturnes & Barcarolles,” with the four-hand “Dolly” suite, played with his wife, Cathy Fuller. A double album of C.P.E. Bach’s “Sonatas & Rondos” was released in 2022, and another of William Bolcom’s complete rags.

This performance is supported by The King Family Foundation in memory of the late Jane King, Patricia and Daniel Minkler, and Jed Rasula and Suzi Wong.

Three ways to get tickets

  1. Purchase tickets online at pac.uga.edu.
  2. Call the Performing Arts Center box office at 706-542-4400, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  3. Visit the UGA Performing Arts Center box office, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (five-minute parking is available in the drop off circle at the Performing Arts Center for purchasing or picking up tickets.)

To learn more about all UGA Performing Arts Center events, visit pac.uga.edu.