Search - Ronald Smith, Charles Alkan :: Plays Alkan

A Great Recording

12/11/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Ronald Smith's recording of this amazing opus, if lacking in perfection, is a great version of these pieces. He seems to toss off "Comme le Vent" with no trouble at all, never losing speed. "En Rhythm Molossique is amazingly done, especially with his mixing of the first and second themes 2/3 of the way into the piece. "Scherzo Diabolico" is a nightmarish romp, in which he plays the gruesome arpeggios at a speed not thought to be possible, and he keeps the pianissimo ending nothing above a whisper, one of the most difficult tasks of piano playing. His Symphonie is exciting, and probably the most acurate of all of the pieces on the recording. His Finale, especially, is breathtaking and amazing. The Concerto is second only to Marc-Andre Hamelin's recording of the same pieces, although there is a lot of similarity between the two recordings. The overture seemed a little bit slow at the beginning maestoso section - not quite to the quarter note equals 100 mark, but the fiery Allegro section and its subsequent "Hunting Style" ending, is a wonder to behold. "Le Festin D'Esope" is an extremely difficult piece, but you hear no struggles from Ronald Smith. The only thing that kept this from being a 5 was obvious mistakes in the music, especially with wrong notes (two rather obvious ones are in the middle section of the Finale, and in the descending A Major chord section in Allegretto alla Barbaresca)."

Smith: A Great Scholar

James W. Iman | Pittsburgh, PA | 08/22/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"While Smith was the first to record a complete op.39 cycle (for which he will never be forgotten), and while I do dearly love this recording I still have a few critisisms. Smith is a phenominal player who hadles the virtuosic demands of Alkan better than any pianist from his generation could. And he has all the dignified restraint and control of a seasoned pianist. Alkan, however, is a composer (I feel) that is best played unrestrained. Smith just doesn't "cut loose" the way I like to hear. Whether it's becuase of the viruosic demands that Smith gets almost burried in the notes or whether it is his musical taste as the interperter, there are just tiems when I feel the music could be more exciting. By the recording BY ALL MEANS, it comes with my fullest approval and admiration. His playing of the Petit Fantasies is very wonderfully handled and I would buy it if only for those three small pieces! It is still a must for any Alkan lover."

Phenomenal

Alan Beggerow | Rock Falls, IL USA | 08/04/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I owned these recordings back in the LP era, and I literally wore them out. Alkan was a unique composer, and these pieces tell the tale. Their complexity is legendary. Ronald Smith was the first to record the entire set, and there is but one other complete recording of the minor key etudes. The sound to my ears is not as dynamic as on LP, but these recordings are still worth having. Smith is a great pianist, and while the technical problems on rare occasion get the best of him, he manages to put much music in the dense texture of some of these etudes. An historic recording of a forgotten master. Highly recommended!"