|
|
||
|
Brilliant Classics to release 13-CD box set: Alkan edition (Oct 2017) The set, to be released in November 2017, brings together Alkan recordings from the Piano Classics and other labels. The main works included are:
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
Alkan Society music publications: plans announced (Sep 2017) The Society plans to publish definitive versions of unavailable or hard-to-obtain works of Alkan under the editorship of Mark Viner. A series of separate volumes are anticipated. The first publication will be of Alkan's two Concerti da Camera (op. 10) and the Andante avec sourdines pour piano et quatour à cordes (of which op. 13/2 is a version). Click here for further details. |
|
|
|
|
||
|
New CD release: Concerti da Camera (Sep 2017) Giovanni Bellucci (piano) with Roberto Fores-Veses (conductor) and Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto. The CD (on Piano Classics PCL10135) includes:
|
|
Purchase through the Society |
|
|
||
|
Forthcoming CD release by Yui Morishita (Sep 2017) Yui Morishita’s third Alkan CD will be released (in Japan) on 7th October 2017,on ALM Records ALCD-7216. The CD includes:
Information on availability will be posted here in due course. |
|
|
|
|
||
|
Talk with CDs: C-V-Alkan - Neglected Genius (Jan 2019) Society member Alan Forshaw is giving a talk to the Salisbury Recorded Music Society on Monday 4th March at 7:30pm, in Salisbury, UK. Further details are available here. |
|
|
|
|
||
|
Forthcoming CD release by Mark Viner (Aug 2017) Mark Viner’s recording of Alkan’s Douze Etudes dans tous les tons majeurs (op. 35) will be released on 1 October 2017. The recording was made in December 2016 and is on the Piano Classics label (PCL10127) |
|
Purchase through the Society |
|
|
||
|
Premio Alkan per il virtuosismo pianistico (Aug 2017) On the 17th of June 2017, the first Alkan Award for piano virtuosity took place at the Castello di Castano, Agazzano in Italy. A report of the event will be published in the next issue of the Society Bulletin. The winner of the Alkan award was Raffaelo Battiloro (pictured right), and his recital included Le Festin d’Esope (op.39/12). The performance can be heared here (scroll down to video entitled “Serata Premio Alkan 2017”). Vincenzo Maltempo, the patron of the event, played Comme le vent and the Symphonie from op.39 at the same event. |
|
|
|
|
||
|
Alkan arrangements... (May 2017) Society member Paul Goold has drawn attention to some (more or less bizarre) Alkan arrangements:
|
Purchase through the Society |
|
|
|
||
|
Mark Viner’s debut Wigmore Hall recital (Feb 2018) Society chairman Mark Viner is performing Alkan, Chopin, Liszt and Thalberg at the Wigmore Hall, London, on Friday 2nd March. Society members are eligible to receive a “two for one” ticket discount for the event. If you have not received details already, please contact the Treasurer. For further details of Mark’s recital, click on the image to the right |
|
|
|
|
||
|
Alkan Society celebrates its 40th anniversary (Mar 2017) On 18th January 1977 four enthusiasts met with Ronald Smith to discuss the possibility of establishing an Alkan Society; this led to an inaugural meeting on 18th May 1977. At the Joint Societies Dinner Recital, on 17th January 2017, our ruby anniversary was celebrated with the cutting of a specially-designed cake. President Leslie Howard, Chair Mark Viner and founding member Peter Hick are pictured wielding the knife. For more details, see Bulletin 94. |
|
|
|
|
||
|
New CD release from TRPTK (Oct 2016) Works for 4 hands played by Stephanie McCallum & Erin Helyard, performed on Erard pianos:
The CD is available on Amazon (search for Meyerbeer) and from the Netherlands via TRPTK. |
|
Purchase through the Society |
|
|
||
|
New CD release from ALM records (Oct 2016) A second Alkan recording by Yui Morishita has been released in Japan:
Yui Morishita (piano) |
|
|
|
|
||
|
Third Alkan-Zimmerman International Piano Competition (Aug 2016) The third competition took place in Athens in April 2016 The Jury elected not to award a first prize More details here |
|
|
|
|
||
|
Paul Wee’s performance of Concerto for solo piano (Jul 2016) At the Society recital on 6 July, we heard outstanding performances of the Symphonie for solo piano (op.39, nos 4-7) played by Cowley Fu and the Concerto for solo piano (op.39, nos 8-10) played by Paul Wee. Paul Wee’s performance is available on Youtube. |
|
|
|
|
||
|
Score and performance of Brian Inglis’ Concerto (Homage to Alkan) (Feb 2016) Society member and composer Brian Inglis’ Concerto for Piano Solo (Homage to Alkan) – completed for Alkan’s bicentenary in 2013 – has been published by Composers Edition and is available here. A performance by Gabriel Keen can be heard here. Eagle-eared members may note brief quotations at the outset from Op39 Symphony (first movement coda) and Scherzo Diabolico (trio); more subtle allusions to Alkanian tropes are also apparent. |
|
|
|
|
||
|
New CD release from ALM records (Oct 2015) Debut recording of Alkan by Yui Morishita, comprising:
Yui Morishita (piano) |
|
|
|
|
||
|
New recording of Concerto for solo piano (Sep 2015) Michael Rose performs the Concerto for solo piano (op 39, nos 8-10), together with En Rhythme Molossique (op 39 no 2), Allegro Barbaro (op.35, no 5) and other works. The CD is published by the performer and is available via Amazon and CD Baby. |
|
Purchase through the Society |
|
|
||
|
Smalley (26 July 1943 - 18 August 2015) We are saddened to report the death of the composer and pianist Roger Smalley, an Honorary Vice-President of the Society and a great enthusiast and promoter of Alkan's works. As well as being a major supporter of and contributor to the Society in its early days, Roger arranged many of Alkan's works to broaden their appeal, including the Benedictus (op.54) and Impromptu (op.69) for piano duo, and some of the Esquisses for brass and for string quartet. Roger, who lived in Australia for the last 20 years, died in Sydney on 18 August. The Society will publish an appreciation of Roger Smalley in the next issue of the Bulletin. Members wishing to contribute their recollections of Roger are invited to contact the webmaster, |
|
|
|
|
||
|
Recordings of Alkan by Joseph Bloch come to light (Aug 2015) Joseph Bloch (1917-2009) was an American concert pianist and teacher based at the Julliard School of Music. His pupils included Emanuel Ax, Van Cliburn, Misha Dichter, Garrick Ohlsson, Jeffrey Siegel and Jeffrey Swann. He was an early advocate of Alkan; his Master's thesis at Harvard was devoted to Alkan, A tape with some of his Alkan performances has recently come to light; these can be heard on Youtube via the Members’ Youtube page.The history of these recordings is unknown: if you have anyone has further information, please contact the webmaster, |
|
|
|
|
||
|
International conference The conference focuses on the period which witnessed the Emancipation of the Jews, originating in Germany, from five perspectives: careers; Jewish themes; emancipation; circulation; collective representations. One topic is “Mendelssohn, Alkan & the Instrumental Music” |
|
|
|
|
||
|
New CD recording of Alkan’s “Halelouyah” (August 2015) This Naxos Deutschland CD, “O Crux”, performed by the Vienna Chamber Choir and Michael Grohotolsky, includes works by 14 composers, including Alkan. |
|
Purchase through the Society |
|
|
||
|
Recent CD release from Piano Classics (May 2015) Alkan Society Chairman Mark Viner’s debut recording of Opera Fantasies by Sigismond Thalberg (1812-1871):
|
|
Purchase through the Society |
|
|
||
|
Recent CD release from Toccata Classics (Apr 2015) Alkan: The complete transcriptions, volume 1: Mozart:
José Raúl López (piano) |
|
Purchase through the Society |
|
|
||
|
DVD release from Continuo (Apr 2015) Roberto Prossedo (pédalier, or pedal piano) performs works by Alkan, Boëly, Gounod and Schumann. The Alkan pieces included are: Benedictus (op.54); 11 Grands Préludes, no 3 (Andantino) & no 4 (Moderatamente) (op.66); 12 Études pour les pieds seulement, no 1 (Moderato) |
|
Purchase through the Society |
|
|
||
|
New CD release from Ligia Digital (Apr 2015) Alkan: “Ressouvenir”: Nocturnes No. 1 (op. 22) and No. 2 (op. 57/1); Impromptus, Op. 32 (I), No. 4 “La Foi” (op. 32/1 no 4), 4), “Air à 5 temps” and “Air à 7 temps” (op 32/2 nos 1 & 4); Duettino & Barcarolle (op. 70 nos 1 & 6); Adagio from Concerto (op. 39/9); Esquisses (op. 63 Nos. 12, 13, 18, 19, 30, 34, 43 & 46) Laurent Martin (piano) |
|
Purchase through the Society |
|
|
||
|
Announcement of 1919 Rachmaninoff recital with work by Alkan (Mar 2015) This recital announcement, published in the Elmira Morning Telegram of October 19, 1919, has recently come to the attention of the Society. The programme includes Alkan’s Marche Funèbre (op 26). See the full newspaper page for the context of the announcement. |
|
|
|
|
||
|
Call for cast for film “Liszt & Chopin in Paris”, including a portrayal of Alkan (Feb 2015) A unique opportunity for budding thespians to portray Alkan or others in Liszt and Chopin’s Parisian circle. See the call for applications and details of the proposed film. |
|
|
|
|
||
|
Recent CD releases from Piano Classics (Jan 2015) Alkan: “A collection of eccentric piano works”: Trois Petites Fantaisies (op 41); Minuetto alla tedesca (op 46); Marche Funebre (op 26); Marche Triomphale (op 27); no 6 from “Petits preludes sur les 8 gammes du plain- chant”; Capriccio alla soldatesca (op 50); Le tambour bat aux champs (op 50bis); “Chanson de la folle au bord de la mer” from the 25 Preludes (op 31 no 8); “Laus Deo” from the Esquisses (op 63 no 49) Vincenzo Maltempo (piano) |
|
|
|
Purchase through the Society |
||
|
|
||
|
La Société Alkan celebrates its 30th birthday... (May 2015) Date: 30 May 2015 at 20:30 |
|
|
|
|
||
|
Two workshops: Alkan vs Liszt and Alkan vs Chopin (Mar 2015) Two workshops taking a close look at the musical relationships between Alkan and his two contemporaries, Liszt and Chopin. |
|
|
|
|
||
|
Honorary Membership conferred on four Alkan experts (October 2014) The following have accepted Honorary Membership of the Alkan Society, offered in recognition of their advocacy and dedication in promoting Alkan and his compositions.
|
||
|
|
||
|
New CD release (October 2014) Alkan: Piano Music (Capriccio alla soldatesca, Op. 50 No 1; Le Tambour bat aux champs, Op. 50, No. 2; Menuets (3), Op. 51; Une fusée - Introduction et Impromptu, Op. 55; Deux Nocturnes, Op. 57; Sonatine, Op. 61) Costantino Mastroprimiano (piano)
|
|
Purchase through the Society |
|
|
||
|
Workshop announcement: C.V.Alkan - Portrait of a Genius (Dec 2014) Two-day workshop, dedicated to the personality of Alkan as a brilliant pianist and composer, providing insight into his person, his composing technique and his influences on piano virtuosity. |
||
|
|
||
|
Nominate “Alkan” as the name of a crater on the planet Mercury (Dec 2014) Craters on Mercury are named after well-known literary, graphic, or musical artists. The International AstronomicaI Union is currently looking for names for five recently discovered craters on Mercury. The public has been invited to submit suggestions for names. Members and friends of the Society are invited to nominate “Alkan” as a potential name: click here for details. Nominations must be made by 15 January. |
||
|
|
||
|
Alkan in the UK House of Lords! (July 2014) Reference was made to Alkan’s etude op76 no 1 ( for the left hand) in the House of Lords on the 30th July - surely a first mention for the composer in such august company. See the details in Hansard for the day (scroll down to 1.38pm) |
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
New CD release (June 2014) Alkan: The Complete Vianna da Motta Transcriptions Vincenzo Maltempo and Emanuele Delucchi (pianos)
|
|
Purchase through the Society |
|
|
||
|
Second Alkan-Zimmerman International Piano Competition (May 2014) Prize winners of the 2014 competition The Jury elected not to award a first prize More details here   |
||
|
Duc-Anh Nguyen Alessandro Marino |
||
|
|
|
|
 "Viner Wigmore Hall flyer")
 "Elmira NY Morning Telegram 1919 Rachmaninoff concert")
