CHARLES- VALENTIN ALKAN (1813-1888)
Twelve etudes in the minor keys, Op. 39 CD1 I. Comme le vent II. En rythme molossique III.Scherzo diabolico Symphonie for Piano Solo IV. Allegro V. Marche Funèbre VI. Menuet VII. Finale CD2 Concerto for Piano Solo VIII. Allegro assai IX. Adagio X. Allegro alla barbaresca XI. Ouverture XII. Le Festin d'Esope
In his notes for this disc, distinguished scholar and Alkan expert, Hugh Macdonald, describes Alkan's Studies in the Minor Keys as "the Alps and Himalayas of pianism, the one superimposed on the other...There can hardly be dispute, however, over the greatness of these Douze études dans les tons mineurs and their prodigious achievement. Defying normal pianistic moderation and rarely played, they are like a huge submerged ship whose immensity can only be grasped when from time to time the waters recede. This recording gives us a splendidly clear and thrilling picture of the whole vessel." The set of studies includes a four-movement Symphonie for piano solo and a massive three-movement Concerto for Piano Solo, the thirty-minute first movement of which is one of the most demanding and impressive piano works of the nineteenth century. More like a conventional study is the breathlessly fast, Comme le vent, while the final study, the darkly witty and demonically difficult set of variations, Le Festin d'Esope has come to be one of Alkan's most popular works.