Too much piano?

[ahinton]

The important thing to recognise at the outset is not to regard Alkan "in comparison to" Liszt and Chopin but "as well as" Liszt and Chopin. I don't think Chopin liked much of what he knew of Alkan's music but very much enjoyed his company, respected him and left his students to his tutelage upon his death. Liszt, though apparently wary of Alkan, also rspeted him. Liszt and Chopin apparently sat next to one another on the occasion when Alkan gave the world première of his 25 Préludes for piano (imagine permièring one of your piano works with those two sitting on adjacent seats listening to your music and your performance of it!). This triumvirate - Chopin, Liszt and Alkan - together constituted a massive thrust in 19th century paino music that can still be felt today.

[EdgeleyRob]

The important thing to recognise at the outset is not to regard Alkan "in comparison to" Liszt and Chopin but "as well as" Liszt and Chopin. I don't think Chopin liked much of what he knew of Alkan's music but very much enjoyed his company, respected him and left his students to his tutelage upon his death. Liszt, though apparently wary of Alkan, also rspeted him. Liszt and Chopin apparently sat next to one another on the occasion when Alkan gave the world première of his 25 Préludes for piano (imagine permièring one of your piano works with those two sitting on adjacent seats listening to your music and your performance of it!). This triumvirate - Chopin, Liszt and Alkan - together constituted a massive thrust in 19th century paino music that can still be felt today.

Fascinating ,thanks Ahinton.Love to have been a fly on the wall.

[Russ_H]

Any particular pieces you like and would recommend?

I'm very fond of his cello sonata:

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Harmonia%2BMundi/HMG501758

[BBMmk2]

I switched off after a while.

Too much piano.

Personally I would love Radio 3 CD Review to have a slot for serious band music, either wind or brass band would suffice. There is so much good stuff out there. Cory Band recently have released a really m,outh waterin g recording of serious brass band music, for example.

[rauschwerk]

It's been said that Beethoven was the first capitalist composer - sold his scores on the market.

Surely if anyone deserves that epithet it was Telemann!

[amateur51]

I thought the item in question was well thought out. A complete Beethoven piano sonata cycle from a 'new' interpreter offered at bargain price, a Beethoven piano sonata cycle completed by an admired British pianist, and a Beethoven piano sonata cycle in progress from a French pianist who has been playing Beethoven sonatas in public for quite a while. Plus a new recording of Beethoven's Bagatelles etc.

[EdgeleyRob]

I'm very fond of his cello sonata:

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/H...undi/HMG501758

His music other than for solo piano is on my radar,thanks Russ.

[Vile Consort]

I'm not knowledgeable on late 18th/early 19th century classical music - it not being really my scene - but I do tend to agree on Beethoven: the piano writing being often very heavy in the bass department - thick, masculine left handfuls of triads you don't get so much (or so emphaticaly) in Mozart, more suited to boogie woogie (cf Meade Lux Lewis: Honky Tony Train Blues).

It's not the writing that is heavy in the bass department, it's modern pianos. If he had been writing for the modern concert grand, he would have spaced the chords differently.

The difference in balance between bass and treble is one of the reasons why it's a travesty to play music written for the harpsichord on the piano.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

It's not the writing that is heavy in the bass department, it's modern pianos. If he had been writing for the modern concert grand, he would have spaced the chords differently.

The difference in balance between bass and treble is one of the reasons why it's a travesty to play music written for the harpsichord on the piano.

[JohnSkelton]

It's not the writing that is heavy in the bass department, it's modern pianos. If he had been writing for the modern concert grand, he would have spaced the chords differently.

The difference in balance between bass and treble is one of the reasons why it's a travesty to play music written for the harpsichord on the piano.

(Jörg Demus playing op. 111 on a Conrad Graf piano in 1970)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvVbiqyMvGM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlFi5zK2VBQ

[amateur51]

(Jörg Demus playing op. 111 on a Conrad Graf piano in 1970)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvVbiqyMvGM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlFi5zK2VBQ

Wunderbar!

[gurnemanz]

(Jörg Demus playing op. 111 on a Conrad Graf piano in 1970)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvVbiqyMvGM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlFi5zK2VBQ

Thanks for link. I got this Lubimov disc of the last three sonatas, where he plays a fortepiano by Alois Graff (no relation?), when it was CD Review disc of the week last year and got enthusiastic reviews elsewhere:

http://outhere-music.com/store-ZZT_110103

[Pianorak]

Wunderbar!

Wunder I'd certainly agree with - but wunderbar?

[Nick Armstrong]

I thought the item in question was well thought out. A complete Beethoven piano sonata cycle from a 'new' interpreter offered at bargain price, a Beethoven piano sonata cycle completed by an admired British pianist, and a Beethoven piano sonata cycle in progress from a French pianist who has been playing Beethoven sonatas in public for quite a while. Plus a new recording of Beethoven's Bagatelles etc.

I thought this was a great segment of CD Review. Some very interesting comparisons, as you say ammy. I've just caught up with is all. What shone out for me was the tremendous interpretation by Bavouzet - can that man do no wrong?! Electrifying Pathétique - familiar music, new minted with no extra effects, and beautifully recorded: real alchemy. Roscoe's work very good, a tad workmanlike. And the big cautionary tale: what is "HJLim" doing with a record contract?! Everything I hate: total lack of pulse, affected, crass phrasing and a ghastly acoustic

I liked very much AMcG's characterisation of the bagatelles - like piano sonatas distilled to concentrated form, like those tiny intense amuse-bouches you get in Michelin-starred restaurants

[Vile Consort]

I am afraid I find that sound quite difficult to take seriously. There are times when it sounds like two xylophones copulating on the garden decking. Is it really the sound Beethoven heard (or didn't, as the case may be)? Or has the material, and especially the wood, changed its physical characteristics over the last 200 years, leading to a quite different sound?