Alkan Nocturne in B Major Op. 22 - Sorcerer88
3,772 views · Published 17 August 2009 · 5:54 · Indexed 28 September 2026
Channel: Simon Piano · 2009 · Music
A beautiful piece by a forgotten master (not me ^^) that can in my opinion proudly stand beside the famous nocturnes of chopin. The ravishing second theme at 2:29 is something to die for! And how he combines it with the first in the coda at 4:57 is ingenious. Alkan is known for excruciatingly difficult music like the concerto and symphony for solo piano, but he has fantastic easier pieces like this one, too. (others are the Chant Op. 38/1, Canon Op. 65/3, Les Cloches, and one of his most well-known pieces, the Barcarolle Op. 65/6) Charles-Valentin Alkan is today nearly unknown as a composer, despite his beautiful miniatures and ingenious concert etudes. Factors contributing to that are the virtuosity he demands in many pieces, his secluded life as a jewish composer of mostly piano music, and his unusual style often ahead of his time. Even as a neighbour and friend of chopin, aquaintance and perhaps rival of Liszt and child prodigy, his career suffered failure after failure, often undeserved and unlucky. If you'd like to know more, see Jack Gibbons' article: http://www.jackgibbons.com/alkanmyths.htm I highly recommend checking out other Alkan recordings on Youtube, as all of Alkan's pieces are basically completely unique (he only wrote one sonata, one sonatine, etc): Alkan - Les Cloches (great depiction of church bells) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJvsFhlfs9s Alkan - Horace et Lydie (love poem, my recording): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QQ2EaNMC9c Alkan Concerto for Solo Piano (Hamelin): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3XKeqy8xd4 Grande Sonate "Les quatre ages": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxKVIHExv40 Fire in the Neighboring village (tone poem): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEPAFbwAyAY Alkan documentary! 45 minutes long, featuring many of his pieces (including this nocturne) and a lot of info. highly reccommended! (unfortunately not available right now) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSpKgQieegU A brief history of Alkan (casual vlog-documentary): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGZ5uW8b1Ws Op. 35 No 5 Etude Allegro Barbaro - Jack Gibbons As the name says, a brutal, barbaric octave etude that might seem of little substance. This is exactly the kind of thing Alkan is criticized for. Judge for yourself! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fA0XVVNJoFM Op. 39 No 7 Symphony for Solo Piano - Finale - Hamelin A furious end to a suite that makes an orchestra out of the piano http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n56OZBbpi5Y Alkan Grande Etude Duet A breathtaking recording of an etude that combines its previous two etudes for the left hand and the right hand separately, with each of the players playing one of them. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XIx0ILXODw Hamelin Etude No. 4 d'après Alkan probably first ever live recording of a hellishly difficult, but awesome tribute to Alkan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfQ-usrUHMc Op. 39 No 12 Festin de Esope A set of variations on a typically wicked, dark theme of Alkan http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQRlaADnZhw Op. 31 No 8 Prelude La chanson de la folle au bord de la mer An ingenious prelude called "Song of the Madwoman on the Sea Shore", consider the title while listening! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VO80Ras4dXE Alkan playlist: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=A73773FA5DE866E0 sheet music for this Nocturne: http://imslp.org/images/0/0e/Alkan_Op22_Nocturne.pdf What makes it difficult to play this is the fact that the entire accompaniment is written as triplets to the right hand melody, so that it's hard to play both fluently and evocatively together all the time. I'm also not sure about the dynamics in some places and some mistakes, 2 of them quite audible, inevitably crept in, but otherwise i'm quite satisfied with this recording.
