Alkan: Etudes Op. 35 Grande Sonate Impromptus [CD]

The captivating and mysterious world of Charles-Valentin Alkan, explored by his most insightful modern interpreter, in recordings which have already won definitive status among international pianophiles. According to Liszt, Alkan possessed the finest technique he had ever seen - yet he preferred the life of a recluse. His compositional output comprises some of the most extraordinary music ever conceived for the piano. His mighty Douze Etudes dans tous les tons mineurs, Op.39 (1857) - the epic sequel to the Douze Etudes dans tous les tons majeurs, Op.35 (1848) - is the fullest embodiment of his creative powers. This monumental set of studies runs to 277 pages and comprises some of Alkan's finest music including a Symphony and Concerto for solo piano and a magnificent set of variations on an original theme, Le festin d'Esope. Other major works include the Trois Grandes Etudes pour les deux mains separees et reunies, (1840), the Grande Sonate, Op.33 (1847), the Sonatine, Op.61 (1861) and the 48 Motifs ou Esquisses, Op.63 (1861).All these works and many others feature in this compilation of Mark Viner's Alkan recordings for Piano Classics, now gathered as a budget-priced box. On their original release, each album garnered enthusiastic reviews, affirming Viner's status as not just a pianist committed to bringing this still unfamiliar music to wider attention, but an artist with the technique and the insight to present Alkan as the figure so admired by Liszt and many other contemporaries. Reviewing these albums in Gramophone, Jeremy Nicholas has remarked: 'The more one listens to Alkan, the more one realises what an extraordinary composer he is The album that captured my imagination and admiration like no other this year came from the extraordinary (and hugely under-rated) Mark Viner, whose playing of Alkan's early works is simply staggering, putting one in mind of Marc-Andre Hamelin and Earl Wild.' This set includes Viner's own introduction to Alkan's life and work, making it the definitive starting-point for any listener seeking to investigate one of the most fantastical figures of Romantic pianism.