No.1 Spot for Professor Kenneth Hamilton’s Latest Liszt Album

Salon and Stage, the second volume of Professor Kenneth Hamilton’s series of albums devoted to the piano music of Franz Liszt, has been chosen by the Guardian as the Best Classical Recording of 2023.

Critic Andrew Clements praised the "huge verve and personality" of the playing, and commented, "Hamilton’s ability to combine pianistic flair and technical brilliance with an acute understanding of how this music came into existence makes these performances very special indeed."

The recording was also a best-seller, reaching no.3 in the UK Official Classical Charts, and has received a warm welcome from critics worldwide.

The album was launched at a concert in Liszt Memorial Museum in Budapest, which published an associated interview with Professor Hamilton on his interpretative approach to the repertoire.

Hamilton’s releases for 2024 will include an album of Romantic reworkings of the music of Handel; and, later this month, a recording of pieces by his Cardiff colleague Pedro Faria Gomes entitled Scenes from Childhood.