Alkan: Piano Concerto, Concerti da camera no 1-3
Dmitry Feofanov, piano
Robert Stankovsky, conductor
  Razumovsky Symphony Orchestra
Naxos 8553702

Marc-Andre Hamelin has recorded two of the concerti da camera (Nos. 1 and
2) but as far as I know No. 3 (as reconstructed by Hugh Macdonald) has not
been recorded before. It's a charming, lightweight piece. It is derived
from Alkan's 1837 Andante romantique. There are contemporary reports of
performances of the Andante with muted string accompaniment, but those
parts were lost. Macdonald supplied them for this recording. Hamelin's
performances of the other concerti outshine the present performances.

The big blockbuster on this CD is the arrangement for piano and
orchestra of Alkan's Concerto (the Etudes 8-10, from Op.  39) also known
as the Concerto for Piano Alone.  Alkan had composed a three-movement
concerto-like solo piano piece that gave piano, orchestral and tutti
passages to the solo piano itself, quite a feat for composer and pianist
alike.  Karl Klindworth, a German conductor and pianist from the late
19th-c., known primarily for his piano reductions of Wagner's Ring, made
this orchestration for piano WITH orchestra.  And it's quite nicely done.
The performances on this CD are good and the sound is fine.

Scott Morrison