Charles Valentin Alkan

Symphonie op. 39 no. 4–7

Charles Valentin Alkan focused his work entirely on the piano, and one can hardly fill the page more densely with notes than Alkan did. With that he numbers among the breakneck piano virtuosos who left behind pieces that were long considered unplayable, but are now being rediscovered by more and more accomplished instrumentalists. The etude collection op. 39 is a curiosity, for the composer not only gave the twelve etudes eloquent titles (Le Festin d‘Ésope for no. 12, HN 1394, is particularly well known), but also grouped some of them together under their own headings. Thus, Etudes nos. 4–7 form a – pianistically very attractive – Symphony, which is presented here in highest quality notation. Although the autographs are lost, Alkan closely supervised the printing process, so that the first edition provides a reliable basis for a meticulous Henle Urtext edition. The fingerings stem from Alkan specialist Vincenzo Maltempo.