Pianist Marc-André Hamelin Plays the Merrill Auditorium, 2/16

Portland Ovations presents pianist, Marc-André Hamelin at Merrill Auditorium on Saturday, February 16th at 3 pm.

Marc-André Hamelin is known for his unique blend of musicianship and virtuosity, bringing forth interpretations remarkable for their freedom, originality, and prodigious mastery of the piano's resources. A musician of broad musical interests and curiosity, Hamelin is renowned in equal measure for his fresh readings of the established repertoire and for his exploration of lesser-known works of the 19th and 20th century. In recent seasons, Hamelin has performed at New York City's Lincoln Center; on the various stages of Carnegie Hall; and on an international tour of the Schumann Piano Quintet with the Takács Quartet. The Pro Musica Society of Montreal paid tribute to Hamelin with a six-concert series, "The Art of Marc-André Hamelin." A resident of Boston, Marc-André Hamelin is also the recipient of a lifetime achievement prize by the German Record Critic's Association, and is an Officer of the Order of Canada, a Chevalier de l'Ordre du Québec, a member of the Royal Society of Canada and has received nine Grammy Award nominations.

Alex Ross of The New Yorker states, "Hamelin's legend will grow - right now there is no one like him."

Marc-André Hamelin's Portland Ovations program will feature Piano Sonata, Op. 1 by Alban Berg; Impromptu No. 2, Op. 31 by Gabriel Fauré; Barcarolle No. 3, Op. 42; Maurice Ravel's Gaspard de la nuit; Hamelin's own composition Variations on a theme by Paganini and will conclude with three works by Sergei Rachmaninoff.

Ovations Offstage offers a pre-performance lecture, with Dr. Paul Christiansen, Associate Professor of Musicology at the University of Southern Maine who will discuss and contextualize the evening's program that includes the work of Alban Berg, Gabriel Fauré, Maurice Ravel, Niccolò Paganini, and Sergei Rachmaninoff.

Tickets for Marc-André Hamelin are $42 for Ovations' Members, $46 for the general public and a limited amount of $10 student tickets are also available. Support for the Marc-André Hamelin performance provided by New England Foundation for the Arts, Maine Humanities Council and Davis Family Foundation. To purchase tickets, contact visit www.portlandovations.org, call PortTix at 207-842-0800 or visit the box office window at Merrill Auditorium.