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Date: | Tue, 29 Jun 2004 18:54:41 -0700 |
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I know there are a number of Alkan fans here, so I'm a little surprised
that no one has mentioned the death of Alkan specialist extraordinaire
Ronald Smith on May 27. For those who don't know the name: he was an
early advocate of Alkan's music on recordings, and many feel he was one
of the very best. There are excellent obituaries at:
http://www.fitz.cam.ac.uk/music/smith.htm
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/06/17/db1702.xml
I happened on them while researching the performances to be found on a
new EMI budget release of Smith performances from 1977 and 1984. It's
a 2CD set and gathers together much that has been rather hard to find
lately:
Nocturne #1, Op. 22
Gigue, Op. 24
Preludes, Op. 31/11-13,15,16
Marche, Op. 37/1
Symphony for Solo Piano, Op. 39/4-7
Concerto for Solo Piano, Op. 39/8-10
Etude dans les tons mineurs, Op. 39/11
Petites Fantaisies, Op. 41
Le Tambour bat aux champs, Op. 50/2
Esquisses, Op. 63
Toccatina, Op. 75
Fans will note with particular interest the inclusion of the magnificent
concerto for solo piano. These recordings have been newly remastered
and sound quite fine. I found mine at Border's for $11.99, and highly
recommend it. Here's a link to Amazon's listing:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000CE7FF/classicalnetA/
Dave Lampson
http://www.classical.net/
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