Alkan: Piano Works Pascal Amoyel

• Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813 - 1888): Nocturne in B Major, Op. 22:
• 1 Alkan: Nocturne in B Major, Op. 22 05:50
• Recueil de Chants, Op. 65:
• 2 Alkan: Recueil de Chants, Op. 65: No. 6, Barcarolle in G Minor 04:13
• 25 Préludes dans tous les tons majeurs et mineurs pour piano ou orgue, Op. 31:
• 3 Alkan: 25 Préludes dans tous les tons majeurs et mineurs pour piano ou orgue, Op. 31: No. 8, La Chanson de la folle au bord de la mer 05:22
• Grande Sonate "Les Quatre Âges", Op. 33:
• 4 Alkan: Grande Sonate "Les Quatre Âges", Op. 33: I. 20 ans. Très vite 07:20
• 5 Alkan: Grande Sonate "Les Quatre Âges", Op. 33: II. 30 ans. Quasi Faust. Assez vite 15:30
• 6 Alkan: Grande Sonate "Les Quatre Âges", Op. 33: III. 40 ans. Un heureux ménage. Lentement 12:31
• 7 Alkan: Grande Sonate "Les Quatre Âges", Op. 33: IV. 50 ans. Prométhée enchaîné. Extrêmement lent 10:20
• Esquisses, Op. 63: Première Suite:
• 8 Alkan: Esquisses, Op. 63: Première Suite: No. 4, Les Cloches 01:06
• 9 Alkan: Esquisses, Op. 63: Première Suite: No. 1, La Vision 03:10
• 10 Alkan: Esquisses, Op. 63: Première Suite: No. 11, Les Soupirs 02:01
• Total Runtime 01:07:23

Info for Alkan: Piano Works

An exceptionally gifted and vulnerable virtuoso piano, he was a demanding and inventive composer, a tormented artist who produced a kaleidoscopic and passionate body of work. Alkan is fascinating because of the mystery that still shrouds his life and his work; after a spectacular early career, he withdrew from society, taking refuge in his inner world.

«I wanted to showcase all the composer’s facets, in a multifaceted way. The Grande Sonate Les quatre âges, is a colossal, gigantic work, a sort of romantic ideal of the sonata, which undoubtedly influenced Liszt’s. As a counterpart to this great work, I selected shorter pieces, like the Esquisses, which show a composer who could capture a moment in time. And then I also selected a number of pieces that are both visionary and «anchored» in their era. The Barcarolle is reminiscent of Mendelssohn and prefigures Satie, as with les Soupirs for Scriabine and even Debussy. While the Nocturne is similar to Chopin’s opus 32, Les Cloches and the Prélude La chanson de la folle au bord de la mer illustrate Alkan’s fascination with realism, everyday life, the strange and the extraordinary.» (Pascal Amoyel)

Pascal Amoyel, piano

Pascal Amoyel
In September 2009, the magazine Classica-Le Monde de la musique considered his recording of the Funérailles (Franz Liszt) as one of the 5 best ever, beside Brendel, Horrowitz and Zimerman.

Voted “Solo Instrumental Discovery of the Year” by the French public and professionals at the Victoires de la Musique in 2005, Pascal Amoyel has established himself over the past few years as a significant personality on the musical scene.

As a teenager he was profoundly influenced by his encounter with György Cziffra, with whom he studied in France and Hungary for several years.

After receiving a Licence de Concert from the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris, he was awarded Premiers Prix in piano and chamber music at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in the same city, where he studied with Jacques Rouvier and Pascal Devoyon. He was awarded scholarships by the Menuhin and Cziffra Foundations, then won first prize in the Paris International competition for Young Pianists. He undertook advanced studies with Lazar Berman, Aldo Ciccolini, Pierre Sancan, and Charles Rosen, among others.

He appears as a recitalist and soloist with orchestra in Europe, the United States, Canada, Russia, and Japan, with such formations as the Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre National de Lille, Orchestre National de Montpellier, Orchestre National d’Ile-de-France, Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, Orchestre de Chambre d’Auvergne, Orchestre de Chambre des Pays de Savoie, Bulgarian National Radio Orchestra, and Moscow State Symphony Orchestra.

He is deeply interested in the links between music and spirituality, and particularly enjoys playing little-known repertoire of mystical inspiration (Bloch, Liszt, Scriabin, Alkan, Olivier Greif). He is a pioneer in the creation of new forms of concerts, working with such actors as Jean Piat, Brigitte Fossey, Robin Renucci, and Marie Christine Barrault. In 2005, with the cellist Emmanuelle Bertrand, he wrote Le block 15, la musique en résistance, a theatrical concert, directed by Jean Piat. He is catually working on a new theatrical concert, upon György Cziffra's life.

Pascal Amoyel is also a composer and improviser, whose important works include the cycle Job, ou Dieu dans la tourmente and the Lettre à la femme aimée au sujet de la mort (settings of poetry by Jean Pierre Siméon).

He gave the world première performance of Bilude by Pierre Schaeffer, and several works have been dedicated to him, including El Khoury’s Third Sonata and Lemeland’s Piano Concerto.

His recording as a duet with Emmanuelle Bertrand or as a soloist (on Calliope, including Chopin’s Nocturnes, Scriabin’s Poèmes, and Liszt’s Harmonies poétiques et religieuses) have received the most prestigious awards.

He is the artistic director of the festival Notes d’Automne, a meeting between Music and Literature, in Le Perreux sur Marne.

Pascal Amoyel has received the Premier Grand prix Arts-Deux Magots, awarded to “a musician with qualities of openness and generosity”. In 2006 the French Minister of Culture appointed him Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

Booklet for Alkan: Piano Works