Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Grand Duo Concetant For Violin & Piano, Op. 21: I Assez anime
2. Grand Duo Concetant For Violin & Piano, Op. 21: II L'Enfer Lentement
3. Grand Duo Concetant For Violin & Piano, Op. 21: III Finale Aussi vite que possible
4. Marche funebre, Op. 26
5. Trio For Piano, Violin & Cello, Op. 30: I Assez Largement
6. Trio For Piano, Violin & Cello, Op. 30: II Tres vite
7. Trio For Piano, Violin & Cello, Op. 30: III Lentement
8. Trio For Piano, Violin & Cello, Op. 30: IV Vite

Disc 2:

1. Douze etudes dans tous les tons majeurs, op. 35: No. 10 Adagio (Chant d'amour - Chant de mort)
2. Douze etudes dans tous les tons majeurs, op. 35: No. 11 Posement (La partie du milieu ressortnat contamment)
3. Douze etudes dans tous les tons majeurs, op. 35: No. 12 Andando (Etudes en octaves)
4. Ler recueil de chants, Op. 38 - 1(Largement, quoique assez vif)
5. Sonate de concert for cello & piano, Op. 47: I Allegro molto
6. Sonate de concert for cello & piano, Op. 47: II Alloegrettino
7. Sonate de concert for cello & piano, Op. 47: III Adagio
8. Sonate de concert for cello & piano, Op. 47: IV Finale alla saltarela. Prestissimo
9. Capriccio alla soldatesca, Op. 50 - 1

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #401454 in Music
• Released on: 2000-09-26
• Number of discs: 2

Customer Reviews

Famous Pianists
Unfortunatelly R Smith is not a good Alkan interpreter,he's a bit cold and dry. If you listen to his playing of Etude N#12 in E major and compare it to Bernard Ringeissen's, the latter is much better.The Naxus cd: The Railway and other piano works is inexpensive and really good. Alkan's chamber music can also be found on Timpani label. Hamelin is definitelly the best Alkan interpreter, it would be great if he ever decided to record all Alkan's work, like Leslie Howard with Liszt. R Smith is famous but just like the mainstream media, which is often off, the most known pianists are not always the best!

Good stuff for Alkan fanatics
If you're like me, you grab anything you can find with the name "Charles Valentin Alkan" on it, especially if it promises premiere recordings. There are plenty to be heard on this 2-CD release of (mostly) chamber music by the enigmatic French composer, most of which I haven't seen elsewhere. Of particular interest are the Grand Duo Concertante for Violin and Piano and the Sonata de Concert for Cello and Piano: two large-scale, intensely romantic and rhapsodic works of remarkable imagination. The Trio for Piano, Violin, and Cello finds Alkan in a more compact, classically elegant mode. Interspersed are some of Alkan's more characteristic virtuoso piano studies... the Marche Funebre Op. 26 is particularly interesting: a somber and subdued procession surrounding a startlingly lovely bell-like interlude. (Note: the Op. 39 #5 Marche Funebre from the "Symphonie" listed above is an error -- Op. 26 actually appears on this CD.)

The sound quality is very good if a bit distant... I believe the recording was made in a church, so there is lots of resonance. The pianist Ronald Smith, an Alkan expert and champion, navigates the complexities of all of this music with conviction.

While beginners should start with the Symphony or Concerto for Solo Piano, this release is a must for the converted Alkan enthusiast.