Alkan: Many Great New Recordings!!

[orangesodaking]

As I have hoped, around 2013, the bicentennial of Alkan's birth, many pianists have come out of the woodwork to join Raymond Lewenthal, Ronald Smith, John Ogdon, Bernard Ringeissen, Laurent Martin Marc-Andre Hamelin, Jack Gibbons, and others as recorders and performers of Alkan.

-Stephanie McCallum has made multiple Alkan CD's before, but she has recently recorded the complete Thirty Chants, and the first volume is available here, as well as iTunes, Amazon, and probably other similar sites: https://www.toccataclassics.com/cddetail.php?CN=TOCC0157

-Vincenzo Maltempo recorded the Grande Sonate, Symphonie, and Hands Reunited etude, and as well as being a bright young virtuoso (his technical mastery of these pieces is staggering), he offers very stylistically pleasing and tasteful interpretations. Here is an Amazon link, but it's probably available on many other sites, too: https://www.amazon.com/Alkan-Grande-Symphony-Vincenzo-Maltempo/dp/B007O5CMNM
Note... Maltempo has FOUR more Alkan CD's forthcoming this year!! I'll talk about those more later

-Albert Frantz also recorded the Grande Sonate, and all three of the Op. 76 etudes. If you listen to his recording right after Maltempo's, you'll find that the tempi of Hands Reunited is a tad slower, but actually, Frantz is closer to Alkan's metronome mark. The Grande Sonate is remarkably done, and he never drags or surrenders to any technical difficulty of the work, and it's just as remarkable as any other great recording of it, in my opinion. Another personal note is that I really like the sound of the piano in this recording. The bass especially roars very well.

-Still want some more Grande Sonate? Try Pascal Amoyel, who has the Grande Sonate along with some smaller works (Nocturne Op. 22, Barcarolle 65/6, Madwoman on the Seashore 31/8, Esquisses "La Vision," "Les Cloches," and "Les Soupirs" 63/1, 4, and 11). Overall tempos in the Grande Sonate are sometimes a bit slower, but it's still a very well-done performance. The smaller works are all beautifully and enchantingly performed. Here is a link to the mp3 downloads, and I think the actual CD will be released in June (you can pre-order it now). I just purchased the mp3 files myself. https://www.amazon.com/Alkan-Piano-Works/dp/B00BKENFGG

-Steven Hough's French Album has the Madwoman prelude on it, and it's done well, but I think there is actually a misreading. If you want the whole CD, here is a link, though you can find individual mp3 download options in many places, too. https://www.amazon.com/Stephen-Houghs-French-Johann-Sebastian/dp/B008FR3ME6/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1369155357&sr=1-1&keywords=stephen+hough+french

-Alessandro Deljavan was a competitor in the 2009 Van Cliburn competition, and is also participating in the current competition again. He recently recorded the Sonatine, Op. 76 etudes, and two pieces Op. 60. I honestly haven't heard this recording, but if he was good enough to make it into the competition in the first place, these recordings must be worth it. It's also available on Amazon (I think on the UK site though, not sure about the American Amazon), but you can hear some sound previews here. It seems to be VERY good. https://www.onclassical.com/artists/deljavan/alkan/

Vincenzo Maltempo's upcoming recordings

I said above that Maltempo has FOUR (4!!!) more complete discs to be released (or at least recorded) during this calendar year, the last two on a period Erad that Alkan would have used!

CD 1 is the Grande Sonate/Symphonie/Hands Reunited disc that is already released that I already mentioned.

CD 2: Trois Morceaux Op. 15, Sonatine Op. 61, Overture and Le Festin d'Esope Op. 39/11 and 12

CD 3: Comme le Vent, En Rythme Molossique, Scherzo Diabolico, Concerto for Solo Piano Op. 39/1-3, 8-10. This completes Maltempo having done the complete Op. 39

CD 4: On a period Erad: Alleluia Op. 25, Marche funebre et triomphale Op. 26 and 27, Capricci Op. 50, Fantaisies Op. 41, Minuetto alla tedesca Op. 46, Le Preux Op. 17, and Le chemin de fer Op. 27 (yes, both Le Chemin de Fer and Marche Triomphale are both Op. 27. I believe this is because of rival publishing companies back when Alkan wrote these works).

CD 5: Josè Vianna da Motta's transcriptions for piano solo (and piano 4 hands) of 8 Prières Op. 64 and 9 Preludes Op. 66 by Alkan (originally for piano pedalier/Organ)

I'm excited for all of these upcoming CD's, and I hope you fellow Alkan lovers are, too!!

[j_menz]

Cool!!!! 

Marche Triomphale is also sometimes given as Op 26b (Marche Funebre being 26a). Not sure why the discrepancy.

Be interested particularly in the Alleluia - Hamelin is the only one I've heard and it's far from satisfactory.

[lighthand045]

Nice. I love all this performers,especially McCallum, Maltempo and Hough, listening to them playing Alkan is awesome, well, listening to everyone trying some Alkan is awesome.

I was thinking as of 30th of November of 2013, every video on the homepage of Youtube should redirect to Alkan's Festin de Esope or Allegro Barbaro, like an "Alkan-roll"  .

[orangesodaking]

j_menz, one of my friends performed the Allelujah and two Marches, and you might like that:

And lighthand045, that would be fantastic!!

[lighthand045]

Hey orangesodaking, have you learned some Alkan, maybe the Etude Op.35 No.3 or else?  .

I will be recording some myself and upload them into my youtube channel(a new year resolution), and also I am planning an Alkan only recital on his 200th bday(another new year resolution) but i'm looking for some suggestions on what is more "digestable" for people who haven't heard him.

Do you know his Etude alla barbaro(not to be confused with Op.35 No.5)? If so, do you know where to get scores for it?

[j_menz]

j_menz, one of my friends performed the Allelujah and two Marches, and you might like that:

Indeed I did. Very fine performance of all three, and the Alleluia is a vast improvement on the Hamelin, which is not something one gets to say often.  Thanks for posting the link.

[j_menz]

Do you know his Etude alla barbaro(not to be confused with Op.35 No.5)? If so, do you know where to get scores for it?

I'm not sure its different to 35/5 tbh - do you have a recording I could hear?

It's listed as you name it on both Boosey & Hawkes
https://www.boosey.com/shop/prod/Alkan-Charles-Valentin-Etude-Alla-Barbaro-Piano-Solo/695000

And through Billaudot:
https://www.woodbrass.com/en/piano-and-keyboard-billaudot-alkan-charles-valentin-etude-alla-barbaro-piano-p45913.html

EDIT:  OK - found it, it is different.

[lighthand045]

Yeah, j_menz, thats the one.

Youtube user gsarci2011 has the midi(only recording i've found) with scores.

Edit:
Don't worry, found it as a PDF.

[orangesodaking]

Regarding your recital, I most definitely recommend the Op. 22 nocturne. I played it at the Brevard Music Festival last year and everyone in the audience loved it. To my surprise, all the piano faculty welcomed playing an obscure composer, because it added a little variety and spice to the program.

35/3 is also good... It's a technically concentrated etude, similar to Chopin's etudes, but it's in a more expanded form, and it reaches deeper musically than Chopin's do.

Op. 38a. No. 1 Chant in E major is the perfect opener. I'm working on that one right now. The arpeggios are tricky to make perfect, yet out of the way of the melody in the right hand.

It would be hard to do a recital of his music without one of his major works. Think you could rattle of Le Festin d'Esope?

If you want to give them an idea of early Alkan, a nice short etude would be Op. 12 No. 1 in E flat major. I have actually played that one, and it's not too difficult if you can do leaps well. And to contrast, the Op. 13 No. 2 Andante Romantique, though all three would be wonderful in a set.

Some preludes would be important. How about three, and make sure one is a slower one and one a faster one? Madwoman (No. for a slow and "Rapidement" (No. 14) for a more upbeat? Or throw in some of his Jewish roots with the Ancient Synagogue Melody (No. 6) and go straight into "un Petit Rien" (No. 11)?

Let's pretend you pick all of that repertoire. If I did, I would organize it into a recital like this:

-Chant in E major (4-4:30)
-Nocturne in B major (5:30-6)
-Op. 12 No. 1 Etude (2)
-Op. 35 No. 3 Etude (4:30 no repeat, 6 with repeat)
-Three preludes (5-9, depending on which preludes chosen)
-Trois Andantes Romantiques Op. 13 (13:30)
-Le Festin d'Esope (9:30)

That is around 45-50 minutes of music. There will be time for applause between works, and if you wanted to say a few words, the time doing that really adds up (so I'd be incredibly brief if you do speak at all, and print detailed program notes).

Just a few ideas. I didn't even delve into the rest of the 30 chants, which are basically like Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words, or the Op. 63 Esquisses at all.

[indianajo]

Nice to know Alkan is on CD format, which was supported once by equipment assembled in okay countries to work in  like Singapore or S. Korea.
I had never heard of the composer until yesterday, on the "what is your ultimate goal piece " thread here. Lots of Alkan fans posted there. Before that I thought Alcan was a highway from Whitehorse to Fairbanks.  Looked Alkan up on Wikipedia.  They never play him on WUOL-FM or the nighttime service from WFMT-FM.  I never heard him on KLEF-FM in the decade I listened to that station.  Alkan sounds much more interesting than all the forgotten baroque string orchestra composers they play on the radio.  
I suppose there is no chance I'll see Alkan's work on LP's at the thrift store, either, my major form of pay entertainment since I retired.  ($.50 each for classical LPs).  You do find the odd jewel like Durufle playing live on the Aeolian Skinner Organ in NYC on Mercury Living Presence, but mostly you have to wade through tons of Montovani and tire store Christmas LP's which was the common taste around here.

[lighthand045]

Thanks for suggestions orangesodaking, i wasn't even thinking of the preludes or the andantes romantiques. That would make a nice program.

I actually have mastered almost all of them, except Le Festin de Esope, which would probably destroy my piano  .

I also have some other Alkan, like the third nocturne, the Grande Sonate and the Fantasy for Left hand.

[orangesodaking]

You played the entire Grande Sonate and etude for the left hand? Well, now it sounds like you have more than enough repertoire.

I also started on the Marche Funebre Op. 26, a wonderful, dark piece. You should be able to get it into your fingers within a day or two (at most a week).

[lighthand045]

I also started on the Marche Funebre Op. 26, a wonderful, dark piece. You should be able to get it into your fingers within a day or two (at most a week).

Yeah, i also have learned that, but by sight reading, not from memory.

[pianomilady]

Orangesodaking, thanks for your links & info.
It'll be interesting to listen different performers of Alkan's music, it's very enriching experience. Alkan's music have been like a goldmine for me. Every time I have thought I have heard his best compositions so far he always seems to be able to dazzle me again with something new that I discover. His music is so rich, it's exceptional and unique in so many ways, he is definitely an exceptional composer. The things and emotions he describes in his music are beyond average - for me, many of his pieces seems to describe and touch something unreachable in human soul and the longing of heart. Of course the characteristics of different pieces matters a lot, he has wide range of different characteristics in his pieces too. But each of his piece is high quality Alkan.
I know for different people Alkan's music speaks in different ways, but this is my experience and  what I have felt while listening and playing his music. His music will always have a place right next to my heart.

[accademiamurgantina]

As I have hoped, around 2013, the bicentennial of Alkan's birth, many pianists have come out of the woodwork to join Raymond Lewenthal, Ronald Smith, John Ogdon, Bernard Ringeissen, Laurent Martin Marc-Andre Hamelin, Jack Gibbons, and others as recorders and performers of Alkan.

-Stephanie McCallum has made multiple Alkan CD's before, but she has recently recorded the complete Thirty Chants, and the first volume is available here, as well as iTunes, Amazon, and probably other similar sites: https://www.toccataclassics.com/cddetail.php?CN=TOCC0157

-Vincenzo Maltempo recorded the Grande Sonate, Symphonie, and Hands Reunited etude, and as well as being a bright young virtuoso (his technical mastery of these pieces is staggering), he offers very stylistically pleasing and tasteful interpretations. Here is an Amazon link, but it's probably available on many other sites, too: https://www.amazon.com/Alkan-Grande-Symphony-Vincenzo-Maltempo/dp/B007O5CMNM
Note... Maltempo has FOUR more Alkan CD's forthcoming this year!! I'll talk about those more later

-Albert Frantz also recorded the Grande Sonate, and all three of the Op. 76 etudes. If you listen to his recording right after Maltempo's, you'll find that the tempi of Hands Reunited is a tad slower, but actually, Frantz is closer to Alkan's metronome mark. The Grande Sonate is remarkably done, and he never drags or surrenders to any technical difficulty of the work, and it's just as remarkable as any other great recording of it, in my opinion. Another personal note is that I really like the sound of the piano in this recording. The bass especially roars very well.

-Still want some more Grande Sonate? Try Pascal Amoyel, who has the Grande Sonate along with some smaller works (Nocturne Op. 22, Barcarolle 65/6, Madwoman on the Seashore 31/8, Esquisses "La Vision," "Les Cloches," and "Les Soupirs" 63/1, 4, and 11). Overall tempos in the Grande Sonate are sometimes a bit slower, but it's still a very well-done performance. The smaller works are all beautifully and enchantingly performed. Here is a link to the mp3 downloads, and I think the actual CD will be released in June (you can pre-order it now). I just purchased the mp3 files myself. https://www.amazon.com/Alkan-Piano-Works/dp/B00BKENFGG

-Steven Hough's French Album has the Madwoman prelude on it, and it's done well, but I think there is actually a misreading. If you want the whole CD, here is a link, though you can find individual mp3 download options in many places, too. https://www.amazon.com/Stephen-Houghs-French-Johann-Sebastian/dp/B008FR3ME6/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1369155357&sr=1-1&keywords=stephen+hough+french

-Alessandro Deljavan was a competitor in the 2009 Van Cliburn competition, and is also participating in the current competition again. He recently recorded the Sonatine, Op. 76 etudes, and two pieces Op. 60. I honestly haven't heard this recording, but if he was good enough to make it into the competition in the first place, these recordings must be worth it. It's also available on Amazon (I think on the UK site though, not sure about the American Amazon), but you can hear some sound previews here. It seems to be VERY good. https://www.onclassical.com/artists/deljavan/alkan/

Vincenzo Maltempo's upcoming recordings

I said above that Maltempo has FOUR (4!!!) more complete discs to be released (or at least recorded) during this calendar year, the last two on a period Erad that Alkan would have used!

CD 1 is the Grande Sonate/Symphonie/Hands Reunited disc that is already released that I already mentioned.

CD 2: Trois Morceaux Op. 15, Sonatine Op. 61, Overture and Le Festin d'Esope Op. 39/11 and 12

CD 3: Comme le Vent, En Rythme Molossique, Scherzo Diabolico, Concerto for Solo Piano Op. 39/1-3, 8-10. This completes Maltempo having done the complete Op. 39

CD 4: On a period Erad: Alleluia Op. 25, Marche funebre et triomphale Op. 26 and 27, Capricci Op. 50, Fantaisies Op. 41, Minuetto alla tedesca Op. 46, Le Preux Op. 17, and Le chemin de fer Op. 27 (yes, both Le Chemin de Fer and Marche Triomphale are both Op. 27. I believe this is because of rival publishing companies back when Alkan wrote these works).

CD 5: Josè Vianna da Motta's transcriptions for piano solo (and piano 4 hands) of 8 Prières Op. 64 and 9 Preludes Op. 66 by Alkan (originally for piano pedalier/Organ)

I'm excited for all of these upcoming CD's, and I hope you fellow Alkan lovers are, too!!

ALKAN
Vincenzo MALTEMPO

[accademiamurgantina]

LISZT
Vincenzo MALTEMPO

[g_s_223]

What's the story on Alkan scores these days? Urtext editions? In the past there were only ancient engravings, barely legible to modern eyes...

[j_menz]

What's the story on Alkan scores these days? Urtext editions? In the past there were only ancient engravings, barely legible to modern eyes...

Ballidout still publishes quite a lot of his work. They are the original editions (and I suspect the original plates).

Dover has done a volume, which is a reprint. It has a few errors, but is pretty legible.

Alfreds Masterworks has published quite a lot but the quality ranges from tolerable to unreadable. 

Bisel Classics has recently published new editions of a few of his works. Excellent editions they are, too though they employ some notational eccentricities.

[orangesodaking]

In regards to Alkan's notational eccentricities, I think it is impossible to fully avoid making it difficult to read his scores at first, unless one changes some of his written out trills/tremolos to short hand (for example, half note with a "tr" instead of 32nd notes alternating back and forth, haha)

Was hoping to hear Yuri Favorin's Alkan Symphony in the semi-finals of the Cliburn, but he did not advance into the semi-finals. I assume he will still program that work in upcoming recitals; let's hope and pray for a recording of some sort to surface!

Jonathan Powell, a well known advocate of Sorabji and a fantastic pianist, has been touring with the Alkan Concerto, so let's hope a recording of that comes up, too.

[ahinton]

Ballidout still publishes quite a lot of his work

Billaudot!...

Best,

Alistair

[j_menz]

Billaudot!...

Best,

Alistair

Indeed. 

For some reason I am constantly misspelling that!

[orangesodaking]

I just got Alessandro Deljavan's recording. After high expectations from his wonderful Cliburn performances, I was incredibly delighted that this CD is fantastic. Wonderful execution of the Op. 76 etudes, especially the knuckle-busting Hands Reunited. A very energetic Sonatine, and the other works on it are masterfully executed. Highly recommend buying this recording!!

[accademiamurgantina]

https://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2013/jul/18/alkan-le-festin-desope-review


https://www.piano-classics.com/#/pcl0056/4578223549

[accademiamurgantina]

World premiere - Vincenzo Maltempo, Piano

For fans of great music, the possibility of a new discovery is always tantalizing. However, there are times when a work is misattributed -- the famous 'Albinoni Adagio', for example, was written centuries after the composer died. The Italian critic, broadcaster, and musicologist Luca Chierici has ascertained that one work recently attributed to Chopin, the 'Valse mélancolique', was in fact composed by Charles Mayer.

[orangesodaking]

Thanks for sharing, accademiamurgantina! I just got Maltempo's new CD with Le Festin, Trois Morceaux, Overture, and Sonatine... It's spectacular, and I recommend it to any fan of Alkan (or anybody in general).