Charles Richard-Hamelin

Richard-Hamelin attracted attention right from his First Stage appearance. Ró ̋a Âwiatczyƒska, from Polish Radio 2, wrote in the Chopin Courier: ‘I had been waiting for such a performance since the beginning of the Competition. He is every inch the artist, an extraordinarily mature musician who focuses on the beauty of Chopin’s works, which he performs with a high degree of consciousness. He is one of the few who can find a wise balance between the spirit of Chopin and his own individuality, which he demonstrated, for instance, in his masterful interpretation of the Ballade in A flat major.’ After the Second Stage, Jakub Puchalski, in the same publication, praised his sense of construction and ‘compelling creations’. His Third Stage recital was commended in the same publication by Dorota Szwarcman, who singled out his Sonata in B minor in the wider context of an excellent programme.