Search - Alkan, Hoogland :: Alkan: Piano Miniatures

Not Particularly Inspired Playing, Music or Sound

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 01/24/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"This CD contains miniatures from the pen of Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813-1888) played on an 1858 Pleyel piano by Dutch pianist Stanley Hoogland. Amazon has not, as of the date of this review, listed its contents. The pieces are:



from 25 Préludes in Major Keys, Nos. 1, 6, 8 ('Song of the Madwoman at the Edge of the Sea'), 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 ('In the gothic genre').



from 'The Months', Suite 1: No. 1 'Une nuit d'hiver'

from 'The Months', Suite 4: Nos. 1 ('Gros temps') and 3 ('L'opera')



from Three Chants, Suite 3: Nos. 5 & 6

from Three Chants, Suite 4: No. 2



from 'L'Esquisses', Op. 63: Nos. 1, 4, 8 ('Pseudo-naïvité'), 10, 11 ('Les soupirs'), 35, 43 ('Notturnino innamorato'), 46 ('Le premier billet doux'), 48 ('En songe'), & 49



'Petite conte' (1859)



The sound of the Pleyel is rather clunky, although reasonably transparent. The pieces themselves are generally among the easier ones by Alkan. Hoogland's playing is not particularly characterful or graceful.



Scott Morrison"