Reclusive and eccentric, the French pianist-composer Charles‐Valentin Alkan was also undoubtedly one of the greatest
pianists who ever lived, and a composer who, like his friend and fellow-virtuoso Liszt, pushed the boundaries of what his instrument, and human pianism, could achieve. Again like Liszt, he composed music that was not merely flashy and difficult to play – it tapped a deep comprehension of music history and theory, a flair for the lyrical and the dramatic and of course a vast imagination.

Tackling these formidable pieces are eight pianists and one organist, along with the Trio Alkan piano trio and the Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto under Roberto Forés‐Veses, on recordings dating from 1989–2017. Alkan’s great cycles for the piano — the Études in all the minor keys (Vincenzo Maltempo), in all the major keys (Mark Viner), the Préludes in every key (Laurent Martin) – feature alongside other large‐scale works like the Grandes Études for hands separate and together (Alessandro Deljavan) and the Nocturnes (Alan Weiss, Costantino Mastroprimiano), as well as characterful miniatures like the Chants and Les Mois (Stanley Hoogland). Organist Kevin Bowyer demonstrates that Alkan was as much an organ prodigy as anything else, with performances of the Prières and Little Plainchant Préludes, as well as music for Alkan’s beloved pedal‐piano transcribed for the organ.