The Well-Tempered Ear

YOU MUST HEAR: Alkan’s ‘Barcarolle’

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By Jacob Stockinger

One of the standout recordings for The Ear this past year was “Waves.”

It is a recital of Baroque, Romantic and modern French piano music by Bruce Liu (below), who won the 18th Chopin Competition in 2021 and has since skyrocketed to fame.

Here is Liu’s story: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Liu

Liu’s first recording for Deutsche Grammophon was a memorable and highly acclaimed all-Chopin recital made up of excerpts from his competition appearances. Recently, “Waves” (below), his second solo recording, was released.

You can enjoy “Waves” for the crisply articulated Rameau theme-and-variations suite. Or for the nuanced Ravel in “Miroirs” (Mirrors).

But Liu — who was born in Paris to Chinese parents, who came of age in Montreal, Canada, and who speaks fluent Mandarin, French and English  — manages to unearth a piece that at least this pianophile never heard before and now wants to play.

It is the Barcarolle by the eccentric and misanthropic French-Jewish composer Charles-Valentin Alkan (1833-88, below).

I’m not usually a fan of Alkan.

He possessed a titanic keyboard technique and his music often sounds too much like simply a showcase for it, especially his Solo Concerto for Piano. Too often he sounds just too much over the top, too forced and virtuosic, not naturally lyrical or accessible.

Perhaps that stems from having so little social contact in his personal and artistic life.

Here is a walk-through narrative of his life: https://www.pianotv.net/2016/10/brief-history-charles-alkan/

And here is his Wikipedia biography: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles-Valentin_Alkan

But then I heard Liu playing Alkan’s Barcarolle — one of a set of pieces —and was joyfully surprised. It sounds mysterious and wistful, more like a nocturne than a rocking-boat barcarolle to me. And it even sounds playable by amateurs like The Ear.

So I intend to check out more Alkan, especially the short pieces like preludes.

Listen to the 4-minute Barcarolle in the YouTube video at the bottom.

What do you think?

Do you like it? Are you surprised by it?

Would you want to play it?

What do you think of Alkan?

Can you suggest other listenable and even playable pieces by Alkan?

The Ear wants to hear.