Charles-Valentin Alkan: Complete Piano Duos and Duets
The piano works of Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813-88) are among the most demanding ever written — but they can also gleam with a fierce joy and twinkle with mischievous humour, so it's hardly surprising to find his works for piano duet bubbling with freewheeling energy. The two works for pedal piano — transcribed here for two pianos by Roger Smalley — show a more solemn side to this devoutly religious composer, though they, too, have their own charge of excitement and Alkan's trademark eccentric originality.
Anthony Goldstone and Caroline Clemmow, piano duo, piano duet
Listen To This Recording:
- Benedictus, Op. 54
- minim = 63
- L’istesso tempo (minim = 63)
- L’istesso tempo (minim = 63)
- L’istesso tempo (minim = 63)
- Saltarelle, Op. 47 for piano duet
- Introduzione
- Tema (‘Venite pur avanti’)
- Variation 1
- Variation 2
- Variation 3
- Variation 4
- Variation 5
- Finale (‘Finch’ han dal vino’)
- No. 1 in A flat major (Allegro)
- No. 2 in C minor/E flat major (Allegro moderato)
- No. 3 in B flat major (ModÈrÈment)
- Bombardo-Carillon, for piano duet
- Finale, Op. 17, for piano duet
Impromptu sur le Choral de Luther ‘Un fort rempart est Notre Dieu’, Op. 69
Fantaisie à quatre mains sur Don Juan, Op. 26
Trois Marches, Op. 40
Amazon Review :
“Superbly performed and recorded,this disc contains a couple of first recordings and demonstrates wonderfully what admirers of the composers find so appealing about his oeuvre – that amazing inventiveness and quirkiness of character is evident in abundance here.” —Amazon
MusicWeb International :
‘Husband and wife team Goldstone & Clemmow have been performing now for over 25 years and have recorded nearly 40 CDs. Their intuitive understanding of and interaction with each other is matchless, as indeed it needs to be to master music with such phenomenal technical demands. To come through Alkan’s Saltarelle, Impromptu and Fantasy unscathed is an almost superhuman feat.
As usual with Toccata, the booklet is a paragon of clarity and information, with an excellent essay on Alkan and these works by Malcolm MacDonald.’
—Byzantion, MusicWeb International