Alkan: Early Works & Juvenilia

Featuring

Mark Viner
Charles Valentin Alkan

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Composer Biography

Franz Liszt, a renowned pianist and composer, reportedly felt uneasy performing before Alkan and stated that Alkan possessed the finest technique he had ever seen.

Composer Biography

Charles-Valentin Alkan, born in Paris in 1813, was admitted to the Paris Conservatoire at age six and won numerous prizes, including first prize for piano in 1824.

Composer Biography

For many years, it was widely believed that Alkan died in 1888 when a bookcase fell on him, a rumor that has since been largely debunked.

Composer Biography

Alkan was a close friend of Frédéric Chopin and lived next door to him in the fashionable Square d'Orléans in Paris in 1842.

Performer Biography

Mark Viner, the pianist on this album, is undertaking a survey of Alkan's complete piano music, which is expected to span 18 albums.

Recording & Production

This album features several first recordings, including Alkan's 'Les omnibus, variations, Op.2' and 'Il était un p'tit homme, rondoletto, Op.3'.

Composer Biography

Alkan withdrew from public life for about twenty years after 1853, during which time he composed much of his finest music and translated the entire Bible into French.