COMPOSERS: Alkan
LABELS: Appian
WORKS: 12 Studies, Op. 39
PERFORMER: Ronald Smith (piano)
CATALOGUE NO: APR 7031 ADD
Alkan’s solo piano music is the sort which, in its more monumental moments, sounds like two people playing a very difficult duet. When this recording was first issued (by EMI, in the late Seventies) it was acclaimed with enthusiasm, and Ronald Smith, whose towering virtuosity is an abiding miracle, established himself as an Alkan expert and put the composer on the musical map. Now the enterprising Appian has reissued it, polished for CD and with faithful sound. An admirable achievement. Wadham Sutton
Alkan: 12 Studies, Op. 39
Alkan’s solo piano music is the sort which, in its more monumental moments, sounds like two people playing a very difficult duet. When this recording was first issued (by EMI, in the late Seventies) it was acclaimed with enthusiasm, and Ronald Smith, whose towering virtuosity is an abiding miracle, established himself as an Alkan expert and put the composer on the musical map. Now the enterprising Appian has reissued it, polished for CD and with faithful sound. An admirable achievement. Wadham Sutton
Our rating
5
Published: January 20, 2012 at 2:38 pm