This is a bit of a departure from the usual style of these threads, but I believe that the finale of Alkan's magnum opus deserves a thread of its own.
So, what's your favorite variation/group of variations within this incredible piece?
Personally I believe that they're all amazing, but the sequence from variations IX to XVIII (2:34-5:21 in the video) is just downright incredible.
What do you guys think?
Some thoughts.
I can see why Alkan remained a relatively obscure figure during his time. So much technique, but no easily discernible melody. It also doesn't have the in-your-face bravura that other composers at the time mastered, like Liszt, Herz, and Thalberg.
Still, I guess the lasting appeal of this fellow is found in the depth of his work. I suppose it has that quality which rewards the listener after repeated hearings (something which was not a luxury people at the time could afford, and the added fact of the difficulty of his work meant that amateurs could not approach them and thus basically had no access to the music at all with the absence of recordings).
I remember reading somewhere that Cziffra was familiar with some Alkan - his name was what came to my mind during Variation XIX (5:20 in the video). One can only imagine how the master of interlocking octaves would breeze through that section with the flash and speed of lightning.
It's a pity that the Youtube algorithm won't help spread this video, which is the only decent Alkan compilation I know from the site:
The uploader put an effort to include his chamber works, which in my opinion are sorely underrated.
My favorite Alkan player is Yui Morishita. His performance of Le chemin de fer, I found to be stellar. He has that in-your-face adventurousness which I deem fit for the genre.
Topic: Alkan's "masterpiece within a masterpiece": Le Festin d'Esope (Read 4152 times)