Steibelt-Variationen op. 1; Les omnibus-Variationen op. 2; Rondoletto op. 3 "Il etait un p'tit homme"; Rondo brillant pour piano et cordes ad libitum op. 4; Variations a la vielle sur l’air chante par Mme. Persiani dans l’elisir d’amore de G. Donizetti; Donizetti-Variationen op. 16 Nr. 4; Bellini-Variationen op. 16 Nr . 5 Variations quasi fantaisie sur une barcarolle napolitaine op. 16 Nr. 6; Rondeau chromatique op. 12

In 1828, the Richault company published the Op. 1 of a 14-year-old child prodigy, Charles-Valentin Morhange, who had already begun to advertise himself as Alkan. After winning several first prizes at the Paris Conservatoire, "Alkan" began to attract attention in the aristocratic salons as a pianist of astonishing ability. It was at one of these salon evenings that he met Liszt, two years his senior, from which a cautious friendship, a lifelong rivalry and a cautious mutual respect developed. The runs and figurations that adorn this Opus 1 as if with silver garlands give an impression of Alkan's extraordinary playing feeling: a series of variations on a theme from a concerto by Daniel Steibelt. While Steibelt himself has long since passed into the music encyclopaedias, Alkan lives on as one of the most original composer-performers whose time has come belatedly in recent decades, most notably in the hands of Mark Viner. in 1828, the Richault company published the Op. 1 of a 14-year-old child prodigy, Charles-Valentin Morhange, who had already begun to advertise himself as Alkan. After winning several first prizes at the Paris Conservatoire, "Alkan" began to attract attention in the aristocratic salons as a pianist of astonishing ability. It was at one of these salon evenings that he met Liszt, two years his senior, from which a cautious friendship, a lifelong rivalry and a cautious mutual respect developed. The runs and figurations that adorn this Opus 1 as if with silver garlands give an impression of Alkan's extraordinary playing feeling: a series of variations on a theme from a concerto by Daniel Steibelt. While Steibelt himself has long since entered the music encyclopaedias, Alkan lives on as one of the most original composer-performers whose time has belatedly come in recent decades, especially in the hands of Mark Viner. The "Variations quasi fantaisie" on a Neapolitan Barcarolle hint at the darkness in much of Alkan's mature work, before Viner departs in the Rondo Chromatique Op. 12 with more flourishes and roaring keyboard lions. Many of the works are little known even to Alkan aficionados, making this latest volume an essential purchase for all adventurous pianophiles.