Charles-Valentin Alkan
Charles-Valentin Alkan wrote piano music of extreme technical demand and disciplined vision: the Twelve Studies in all the Major Keys, the solo Symphony drawn from Op. 39, and programme pieces that move from thunderous drama to strange lyric stillness.
Almost all of his output is for keyboard. The Op. 35 studies cover every major key, from brief glittering showpieces to large-scale narratives such as L'incendie au village voisin and the paired Chant d'amour and Chant de mort. The minor-key études of Op. 39 include a full Symphony and Concerto for solo piano, works of orchestral scale that still ask for transcendental technique held in check by strict musical purpose. Elsewhere he turns inward: La chanson de la folle au bord de la mer is spare and unsettling. He was among the first to bring Jewish melodies into art music, and he wrote extensively for pedal piano as well as piano. Long neglected after his lifetime, the scores reward players who can meet the note-storm without losing character, élan, or clarity.
Charles-Valentin Alkan is featured on the following titles
Alkan & Magnard
Continuing her Alkan series, Stephanie McCallum takes on the monumental Symphony from Alkan’s Opus 39, with his slightly mad Chanson and the world premiere recording of Magnard’s Promenades.
Alkan: Twelve Studies in All the Major Keys, Op. 35
Alkan's monumental Twelve Studies in all the Major Keys, Op. 35, is a virtuosic tour de force for the pianist. Each study develops an aspect of technique, yet each is pure Alkan – millions of notes and thunderous drama. McCallum has been praised worldwide for her Alkan performances, with prodigious technique and poised musicianship.