Alkan's Grande Sonate op.33

[stevie]

this work is particularly fascinating, and undoubtedly a masterpiece.

aside from the obvious greatness of the music itself - the most stiking thing is the structe , which is compleyel unique and innovative.

for those who dont know it goes like this -

1st mvt - man at the age of 20, proud and romantic(in the love-theme)
2nd mvt - man at the age of 30, battling with demons and struggles
3rd mvt - the happy family man with kids
4th mvt - the grumpy old man who is suffing torment and a slow painful death

this is very intreaguing, but also i think its one of the reasons its so seldomly played.
the 1st 2 movements are flashy and very difficult, and the last 2 movements are slow and inward, something that would be quite awkward to program...

the VERY END of this work is a stroke of genius, not flashy in any way, but incredibly chilling and powerful, it has to be heard to be believed.

i understand and appreciate the way this work is layed out, and the very moving finish(and purposely painful final movement in general, which is difficult to listen to), but how will normal audiences respend to it?

will it ever be played as much as it deserves? and it's uniqueness appreciated?

i hope so..

[thierry13]

By now, I know Libetta and Hamelin play it... and I know I sure will play it eventually when I'll be done with my current waitlist. I hope Alkan will become one of the greatest, and will become as played as Liszt. He's the hardest romantic composer, tough.

[Skeptopotamus]

I think that the Symphonie pour Solo Piano will probably always sort of get outplayed just because everyone seems to like it more =(

[stevie]

By now, I know Libetta and Hamelin play it... and I know I sure will play it eventually when I'll be done with my current waitlist. I hope Alkan will become one of the greatest, and will become as played as Liszt. He's the hardest romantic composer, tough.

he is already one of the greatest, what we hope is he will become one of the most famous and popular.

libetta and hamelin arent enough, we need really famous pianists to stop being cocky assholes and start playing alkan.

yundi li, langlang, evgeny kissin, YES I MEAN YOU!

[Skeptopotamus]

mmmmmm we need alkan to hit the competition circuit; bring attention to it from all sorts of pianists.  hey!  If i win the missouri southern or hilton head or e-comp with my Symphonie maybe alkan will get a bit popular in comps!  yay!


awwwww too bad i suck and wont win ^^

[mlsmithz]

There's also a recording of the Grande sonate and Sonatine in A minor, Op.61, by Pierre Reach, but it doesn't seem to be as highly regarded as Hamelin's recording (which includes, in addition to the Grande sonate and the Sonatine, the Barcarolle Op.65 No.6 and 'Le festin d'Esope').  As for the sonata itself, I think it's an extraordinary piece of work if only for being able to pull off a programme in which each movement is slower than the last, until the final movement, despite being only 72 bars of 2/4 long, takes eight or nine minutes to perform, almost twice as long as the first movement (which lasts over 600 bars including the two repeats) - and rather than ending with a crash, it ends with a muted thud, as though the suffering of old age is destined to last beyond the final chords.

But all four movements are intriguing in and of themselves - perhaps 'Quasi-faust' most of all, which is why it is sometimes recorded separately from the other three (that eight-voice fugato is a marvel - he introduces a new countersubject with each entrance of the subject, until on its seventh entrance it plays against six countersubjects!).  But the sheer energy of the opening scherzo, the tranquility of 'Un heureux menage', and the anguish of 'Promethee enchaine' merit more attention than these three movements seem to receive.

(Uninteresting trivium: though I can't play it very well in any key, I can only get through any of 'Quasi-faust' if I transpose it down a semi-tone into D minor/F major.  No idea why.)

According to a reviewer on Amazon, there are quotations, or perhaps paraphrases is a better word, of 'Quasi-faust' in Liszt's B minor sonata.  Anyone know if this is true, and if so, which passages are quoted where in the Liszt?

[brewtality]

This is probably my favourite Alkan piece, absolutely love it. It would be great is more pianists played it but then again I really wouldn't want to hear Kissin ruin it 

[chromatickler]

in terms of recital programing, it appears the concerto is at least as if not more popular than the symphonie.

[Skeptopotamus]

the solo concerto?

XD XD XD XD XD


the 60 minute solo concerto?  uh..........................no?

[stevie]

the solo concerto?

XD XD XD XD XD


the 60 minute solo concerto?  uh..........................no?

its 50 minutes actually, and yes it is true

[Skeptopotamus]

wow..... who's learning that piece?  I see the symphonie on more records than the concerto though.

[faulty_damper]

The genre of the sonata met a revival in the19th century not just with Alkan but with other composers as well, almost all of them considered virtuosi, including Liszt, Thalberg, Kalkbrenner, et al.

Alkan can be regarded as one of the obscure composers who did not recieve much interest until recently.  More obscure than Alkan are Thalberg, Kalbrenner, Herz.

[stevie]

thalberg has his moments, some beautiful melodies, but he wasnt a GREAT composer.

the others are interesting, and good in some cases, but ALKAN is the true forgotten GENIUS among them.

[da jake]

Hamelin is going to be recording some more Alkan for Hyperion in February, which will include a new recording of the Concerto . 

[BoliverAllmon]

didn't he already record the concerto?

[da jake]

Yes, but he's doing it again apparently. I think he realizes he's one of the few who's able to  give the masterpiece the interpretations it deserves.

Lets hope he records it on a Steinway this time!

[BoliverAllmon]

I personally never notice the difference in pianos

[stevie]

I personally never notice the difference in pianos

well on the only recording you can tell its a yamaha, and that isnt helped by the somewhat boxed sound.

[chromatickler]

i notice a weak bass

[musicsdarkangel]

It is an amazing piece.


I've been listening to it a lot lately.

[faulty_damper]

Hamelin is going to be recording some more Alkan for Hyperion in February, which will include a new recording of the Concerto . 

Really?  Even after saying he wouldn't record Alkan?  I sure hope that he learned how to become a musician considering how terrible his previous recording was - all technician.  But in general, he isn't very musically expressive which would explain why he can't play Chopin well, or anything else with a singing line.

[tolkien]

Really?  Even after saying he wouldn't record Alkan?  I sure hope that he learned how to become a musician considering how terrible his previous recording was - all technician.  But in general, he isn't very musically expressive which would explain why he can't play Chopin well, or anything else with a singing line.

I have a video of him playing Medtner's Tale op.26 no.1 (a most gorgeously lyrical piece) in which he is sublime. I agree that there are some more "musical" performers than him around, I wouldn't go so far as to call him un-musical, though.

[chromatickler]

Really?  Even after saying he wouldn't record Alkan?  I sure hope that he learned how to become a musician considering how terrible his previous recording was - all technician.  But in general, he isn't very musically expressive which would explain why he can't play Chopin well, or anything else with a singing line.

[stevie]

Really?  Even after saying he wouldn't record Alkan?  I sure hope that he learned how to become a musician considering how terrible his previous recording was - all technician.  But in general, he isn't very musically expressive which would explain why he can't play Chopin well, or anything else with a singing line.

hahahahaha, my sides are splitting

[thierry13]

I have a video of him playing Medtner's Tale op.26 no.1 (a most gorgeously lyrical piece) in which he is sublime. I agree that there are some more "musical" performers than him around, I wouldn't go so far as to call him un-musical, though.

Do not , EVER, insult Marc-André Hamelin. He is VERY musical. You think Alkan is less musically demanding than chopin? Alkan is not only technically difficult. Hamelin is VERY musically expressive.

[BoliverAllmon]

someone's panties twisted?

[panic]

Sorry for the bump, but in my opinion Un heureux menage (the third movement) may well be the greatest piece ever composed for piano.
That may sound ignorant and pretentious as in "I've found the greatest piece!", but it's a piece that goes beyond being absolutely perfect and flawless in dimensions and execution: the imagery is pulled off so astoundingly well (the children playing about, the grandfather clock at the end) that it almost convinced me that I should get married someday instead of remaining single. Yes, I am insane.

The entire Grande Sonate could be the best "non-conventional form" sonata ever composed. Beethoven might have something to say about that, though.

[stevie]

im glad you mentioned that!

that movement is very underrated, even though its actually the longest of the 4 movements

its not what people expect of alkan, so they overlook it, he could compose some awesome intimate calm music aswell as explosive furious music.