Marc André Hamelin: Toccata on "L’Homme armé"
Isabella X.
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Hamelin quoted the French tune “L'Homme Armé” in the Toccata he wrote for the 2017 Van Cliburn piano competition. 30 pianists participated and learned this challenging piece within a few weeks, then performed it. I was totally captivated by their performances and decided to challenge myself to learn it too! Hamelin transformed the simple French tune into a dramatic etude, filled with intricate technical passages, complicated polyrhythms and harmonies. When I first learned this toccata, my fingers bled due to heavy pounding chords. The loud dynamics made my head throb and my eardrums cry for silence. At times I was exhausted due to the extremely hard running passages. Eventually I realized, this is like real life, there are times I need to persevere through physical and emotional challenges in order to strive for success. As for my future, I will need to continue to work hard and never give up.
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Creativity symbolizes self-expression. It reflects the heart's emotions and thoughts. I see creativity as different in each person, depending on how they interpret each piece of art, whether abstract or concrete. It gives the soul somewhere to tell its own story. For me, I tell my own story through creativity.
