Alkan: Grande Sonata, Op. 33 & Trois Morceaux dans le genre pathétique

It takes a certain kind of temperament and a superior finger technique to take [Alkan] on. Those who cut the mustard are few and far between. Mark Viner is such a one and with this, the third... — Gramophone Magazine, August 2020 More…

Release Date: 13th Mar 2020
Catalogue No: PCL10209
Label: Piano Classics
Length: 67 minutes

Gramophone Magazine

August 2020

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Alkan: Grande Sonate 'Les Quatre Ages', Op. 33

Work length37:11

$9.00

$10.80

Mark Viner (piano)

I. 20 ans: Très vite

Track length5:39

$1.00

$1.20

II. 30 ans: Quasi-Faust: Sataniquement

Track length11:29

$3.00

$3.60

III. 40 ans: Un heureux ménage [a happy household]: Lentement

Track length10:49

$3.00

$3.60

IV. 50 ans: Prométhée enchaîné [Prometheus enchained]: Extrêmement lent

Track length9:14

$2.00

$2.40

Alkan: Trois Morceaux dans la Genre Pathétique, Op. 15

Work length30:11

$7.00

$8.40

Mark Viner (piano)

No. 1, Aime-moi

Track length9:41

$2.00

$2.40

No. 2, Le vent

Track length7:37

$2.00

$2.40

No. 3, Morte

Track length12:53

$3.00

$3.60

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• British pianist Mark Viner continues his Alkan project with a new recording of the towering Grande Sonate Op. 33 “Les quatre âges” (in which Alkan musically describes the several stages of Man’s Life in 4 movements, from exuberant youth to tragic old age), and the “3 Morceaux dans le genre pathétique”, three highly original tone poems, one evoking the howling winter wind, one a love poem and the third “Morte’ evoking a haunted cemetery, uncannily pre-echoing Ravel’s Le Gibet.

• “For the second disc in his gargantuan 17-CD project of recording all Alkan’s music Mark Viner gives us the 25 Préludes with an exemplary musicianship and assurance...makes you eager for further issues from this outstanding and most enterprising pianist” (Bryce Morrison in International Piano). Viner’s previous recording of the Alkan Etudes Op 35 received 5 stars and CD of the Month in BBC Music Magazine as well as 5 stars in The Guardian (“Viner rises to Alkan’s extraordinary challenges”).

• The booklet contains an excellent essay on Alkan and his works by the artist himself.

Reviews

August 2020

It takes a certain kind of temperament and a superior finger technique to take [Alkan] on. Those who cut the mustard are few and far between. Mark Viner is such a one and with this, the third volume of what will form the complete works, he can claim a place at the top table as one of the preeminent Alkan players de nos jours…His day is yet to come, but come it surely will. And whether or not you care for Alkan’s music, here is a disc of piano-playing out of the top drawer.

September 2020

The two works on this album reflect him in quintessential form. One doesn’t have to buy into Viner’s admiration for the Grande Sonate to agree that it’s an extraordinary work, whose meaning is encapsulated in a literary scheme intended to reflect the four ages of man. The Trois morceaux are, as Viner argues, a remarkable achievement for a 21-year-old, and they too have their charms. For Alkan fans this is required listening.

Alkan: Grande Sonata, Op. 33 & Trois Morceaux dans le genre pathétique

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