Alkan: Le Petit Concert

On April 29, 1844 in Paris's Salle Erard, Charles-Valentin Alkan returned to the platform after an absence of six years. Bach, Scarlatti, Beethoven and Weber featured, as well as four of Alkan's latest compositions. Two of these appear on Andrew Yiangou's remarkable recital - the Op.22 Nocturne and the Op.23 E minor Saltarelle. The centre piece in the program is the misleadingly titled Sonatina in A minor, Op.61. This is a large-scale sonata of huge technical challenges. Busoni claimed that Alkan was, along with Chopin, Liszt, Schumann and Brahms was one of the five greatest composers for the piano since Beethoven. Alkan certainly discovered unheard of sonorities imbued with a disturbing power, and a preoccupation with the darker shades of human experience. Andrew Yiangou's program is a fascinating view into the musical world of one of the most enigmatic composers of the 19th century.