you know what fascinates me about Alkan? his pieces grow, grow, grow and grow in an unstoppable way in sonority and intensity. when you think it reached climax, there's one more soon. when you think the piano can't sound fuller, texture gets even thicker in a much greater effect than before. Alkan is the piano with NO LIMITS! A master!
Alkan also loved, and wrote music for, the "pedal piano". Which allowed even more textures, sonorities, and intensity, by enabling bass register notes to be played with the feet as well, like on an organ. The instrument just never caught on.
It makes me very happy that younger pianists are taking Alkan seriously. It's such a breath of fresh air, a walk away from the beaten track. Alkan was a very capable composer of unique genius. Thanks for this wonderful interpretation, Schaghajegh.
Anyone who is able to perform it is a kind of a god to me. this piece, and especially this movement, is one of the most difficult piano pieces ever written in the romantic repertoire. Bravo!
Played with absolutely breathtaking virtuosity and fascinating sound!!! Doubtless the greatest performance of this gigantic masterwork i've ever heard and i know meanwhile many of them
This is a great performance! It's clear that she puts an extraordinarily lot of effort into the practice of this movement. The clarity of her playing never lets up, and every passage is so carefully thought-out and executed -- to the point where she brings out certain colors, sonorities, and effects that I've never heard from any other performance/recording of this piece. The same applies to her recording of the entire Concerto on her CD. No note is ignored. And that's REALLY saying something for a work that is so long and so difficult to even play at all! I recently bought her CD and enjoyed reading her liner notes, which detail how she and her brother were, at a young age, introduced to Alkan by their piano teacher. It also gives a brief explanation of each piece on the CD and her reasoning for choosing each one, which I appreciated. We have Alkan's most-well-known work (the Concerto from the Op.39 Etudes), a first-recording (Etude alla Barbaro); one of Alkan's last works (Toccatina, Op.75); and a well-chosen selection from his Op.63 Esquisses, each demonstrating a different aspect of Alkan's writing. The entire album was well-worth my purchase! I couldn't help but notice, though -- and this is SUPER, SUPER nitpicky -- she misread the 2 triple-sharps in the Concerto. (They are at about 8:10 and 9:34 in the left hand, each the 3rd note of the 6-note run.) It's consistent across both performances, both this video and on the CD, so it's clearly a misreading, not a mistake. Again, not AT ALL a big deal, especially since the notation around that whole passage is confusing anyway. I just like listening for those triple-sharps ever since I heard they were in the score. (Just look at my profile pic, haha! I'm fascinated by them!)
great comment, thank you! I love the triple sharps, too. I develop music software, and many programs don't show triple sharps correctly, but I made sure our program does :D I'll have to check the recording out, thanks for the recommendation and great description. Up until a few years ago, i basically owned every Alkan recording in existence. Now they are starting to be too numerous for that, thankfully :)
@@alkankondo89 One of our projects is OpenSheetMusicDisplay, a free and open source MusicXML renderer for the browser. If you go to opensheetmusicdisplay.org/ and click on the Demo link, you can click on select score and select the OSMD Function Test - Accidentals, where it has triple sharp and triple flat ^^ Also, we develop apps, PhonicScore for Android, and PracticeBird for iOS. Both can also render and play back MusicXML, and give you feedback on your playing, scroll the score automatically, and otherwise help practicing.
Wonderful piece and I'm so pleased to see you are playing more of Alkan's music. It is also encouraging to see more female professionals taking on this repertoire! Brava!
congratulations for a sensitive performance of Allegretto alla Barbaresca. the difficult of this piece is outstanding, not only technical but very difficult musically.
Could hear Mrs. Nosrati yesterday evening in the "Kammermusiksaal" of the "Deutschlandfunk" in Cologne, playing Bach and...the concerto for piano solo of Alkan. Absolutely wonderful and breathtaking, what a technique and understanding of the music!Just amazing!!!
Leider ist Alkan nichts aber auch wirklch garnichts für den HobbyPianisten. Aber seine Musik ist einfach nur eine Sensation. Und das in jeder Hinsicht. Gibt es einen Pianisten aktuell der das Geamtwerk von Alkan live spielen kann/könnte? Alkan war ein Bekannter/Freund von Chopin. Liegt es wirklich nur daran das Alkan viel weniger bekannt ist als Chopin weil seine Stücke einfach SuperHammerSchwer sind. Joachim Kaiser bezeichnete das Klavierkonzert von Alkan mal als ein Monster oder Monstrum. Man denkt als HobbyPianist man kann vielleicht etwas Chopin spielen und dann schaut man sich Alkans Werk an und fällt halb in Ohnmacht. Ich finde es super,wundervoll und auch mutig sich an Alkan zu versuchen. Ogdon und Hamelin als bekanntere Pianisten fallen mir sofort ein aber dann wirds auch schon dünn.
Fantastic rendering here, only reservation is the humorous moments are missed or glossed over. Hamelin does a better job in bringing those out. Still A+ on everything else.
A lot of comments refer to this video as a 'performance'. But is it really? The playing is fantastic and the music comes across very well indeed. But I take 'performance' to mean one continuous unedited play-through of the piece in front of an audience (which exceptionally might be just the performer). We don't know if the audio has been edited, and the constant cutting of the video means we can't know for sure. I don't say this to detract from SN's amazing musicianship - her Bach recordings are as interesting and successful as the Alkan recordings - but I feel that videos of this kind are a bit misleading. The constant shifts of perpective, camera angle etc. are obviously designed to make the experience visually 'interesting' but at the same time they reduce a sense of continuity, make it easy to edit the audio to remove 'imperfections' like split notes, and in the end create a suspicion of inauthenticity: the kind of inauthenticity you associate with marketing or promotional material. Personally I find this a bit of a turn off. I wonder what others think?
She has played this piece several times at concerts. I was lucky to belong to the audience. Her performance was at least as magnificent as in this video. Her next concert with another remarkable piece of Allan will be next month in Vancouver in Canada. I hope you would be able to visit this concert!
@@faramohaj7631 I'm sure she plays this piece very well and I'm sorry not to have heard her live in concert yet (but I will do next year when she plays in London - programme not yet announced). She's a very fine pianist who is genuinely interested in unusual repertoire. Having recently heard Paul Wee play this live, I know the challenges it presents. He tried to impress the audience with speed but it wasn't entirely convincing. I much prefer the tempo SN takes in this movement. My original comment was not about her ability as a player, but about how videos can be misleading. I don't consider this a 'performance' in the sense most people understand the term. It's a constructed video which looks like a performance, if you understand the distinction I'm making.
you know what fascinates me about Alkan? his pieces grow, grow, grow and grow in an unstoppable way in sonority and intensity. when you think it reached climax, there's one more soon. when you think the piano can't sound fuller, texture gets even thicker in a much greater effect than before. Alkan is the piano with NO LIMITS! A master!
A virtuoso if there ever was one. Demonstrates a compositional mastery and brilliance that is unparalleled
Alkan also loved, and wrote music for, the "pedal piano". Which allowed even more textures, sonorities, and intensity, by enabling bass register notes to be played with the feet as well, like on an organ. The instrument just never caught on.
@@MrLextune yes!
@@pleasedpopper4521 his stricture is quite classical and restrict. I call him "Beethoven on acid" 🤣
@@LuisKolodin lmao quite literally. Like he made psychedelic sounding music centuries before the conception of Trance music
It makes me very happy that younger pianists are taking Alkan seriously. It's such a breath of fresh air, a walk away from the beaten track. Alkan was a very capable composer of unique genius. Thanks for this wonderful interpretation, Schaghajegh.
Wundervoll. Bitte, bitte noch viel mehr Alkan.
Definitely one of the cleanest, and most musical performances I've heard of this movement. Very interesting! Bravo...
I’ve been playing piano for roughly 7 years. I’ve always wanted to learn this piece! It’s gonna be much longer but I hope that I do one day.
Anyone who is able to perform it is a kind of a god to me. this piece, and especially this movement, is one of the most difficult piano pieces ever written in the romantic repertoire. Bravo!
Played with absolutely breathtaking virtuosity and fascinating sound!!! Doubtless the greatest performance of this gigantic masterwork i've ever heard and i know meanwhile many of them
@Enescu no
@Enescu 8 months 😡
@Enescu stru
This is a great performance! It's clear that she puts an extraordinarily lot of effort into the practice of this movement. The clarity of her playing never lets up, and every passage is so carefully thought-out and executed -- to the point where she brings out certain colors, sonorities, and effects that I've never heard from any other performance/recording of this piece. The same applies to her recording of the entire Concerto on her CD. No note is ignored. And that's REALLY saying something for a work that is so long and so difficult to even play at all!
I recently bought her CD and enjoyed reading her liner notes, which detail how she and her brother were, at a young age, introduced to Alkan by their piano teacher. It also gives a brief explanation of each piece on the CD and her reasoning for choosing each one, which I appreciated. We have Alkan's most-well-known work (the Concerto from the Op.39 Etudes), a first-recording (Etude alla Barbaro); one of Alkan's last works (Toccatina, Op.75); and a well-chosen selection from his Op.63 Esquisses, each demonstrating a different aspect of Alkan's writing. The entire album was well-worth my purchase!
I couldn't help but notice, though -- and this is SUPER, SUPER nitpicky -- she misread the 2 triple-sharps in the Concerto. (They are at about 8:10 and 9:34 in the left hand, each the 3rd note of the 6-note run.) It's consistent across both performances, both this video and on the CD, so it's clearly a misreading, not a mistake. Again, not AT ALL a big deal, especially since the notation around that whole passage is confusing anyway. I just like listening for those triple-sharps ever since I heard they were in the score. (Just look at my profile pic, haha! I'm fascinated by them!)
great comment, thank you!
I love the triple sharps, too. I develop music software, and many programs don't show triple sharps correctly, but I made sure our program does :D
I'll have to check the recording out, thanks for the recommendation and great description.
Up until a few years ago, i basically owned every Alkan recording in existence. Now they are starting to be too numerous for that, thankfully :)
Thank you for your response! What is the name of the music software you develop? I may look into it!
@@alkankondo89 One of our projects is OpenSheetMusicDisplay, a free and open source MusicXML renderer for the browser. If you go to opensheetmusicdisplay.org/ and click on the Demo link, you can click on select score and select the OSMD Function Test - Accidentals, where it has triple sharp and triple flat ^^
Also, we develop apps, PhonicScore for Android, and PracticeBird for iOS. Both can also render and play back MusicXML, and give you feedback on your playing, scroll the score automatically, and otherwise help practicing.
Wonderful piece and I'm so pleased to see you are playing more of Alkan's music. It is also encouraging to see more female professionals taking on this repertoire! Brava!
Camera man quit zooming damn. One or two is enough. Amazing performance tho wow
congratulations for a sensitive performance of Allegretto alla Barbaresca. the difficult of this piece is outstanding, not only technical but very difficult musically.
What a breathtaking and brilliant performance! Bravo!!
Could hear Mrs. Nosrati yesterday evening in the "Kammermusiksaal" of the "Deutschlandfunk" in Cologne, playing Bach and...the concerto for piano solo of Alkan. Absolutely wonderful and breathtaking, what a technique and understanding of the music!Just amazing!!!
This performance is just out of this world. Amazing stuff!
This is just perfect, simply unmatched!
again! I haven't listened to your performance for a while... it always fascinantes me! BRAVO!!!!!
Wow! Great virtuosity! Powerful and elegant :-)
I like this.
Like
Ahhh that's my favourite concerto. It truly something new to me and Alkans art is just takes your soul forever
Finally a good performance of the 3rd movement.
very stable performance! nice and warm sound :)
I dream with your Alkan grand sonata.
Very clear sound! Great performance ❤️
What a strong composition and an absolute gem of a performance
Very intelligent performance
I am stunned!
Incredible playing!
Awesome! More Alkan, please!
Beautifully done.
One of my favourite renditions other than Hemelin and Paul Wee. Slower but full of clarity!
great! brava!!!
Woah, brilliant!
Wow.
You are everywhere I go
Interprétation absolument remarquable, quelle lisibilité 😊
Leider ist Alkan nichts aber auch wirklch garnichts für den HobbyPianisten. Aber seine Musik ist einfach nur eine Sensation. Und das in jeder Hinsicht. Gibt es einen Pianisten aktuell der das Geamtwerk von Alkan live spielen kann/könnte? Alkan war ein Bekannter/Freund von Chopin. Liegt es wirklich nur daran das Alkan viel weniger bekannt ist als Chopin weil seine Stücke einfach SuperHammerSchwer sind. Joachim Kaiser bezeichnete das Klavierkonzert von Alkan mal als ein Monster oder Monstrum. Man denkt als HobbyPianist man kann vielleicht etwas Chopin spielen und dann schaut man sich Alkans Werk an und fällt halb in Ohnmacht. Ich finde es super,wundervoll und auch mutig sich an Alkan zu versuchen. Ogdon und Hamelin als bekanntere Pianisten fallen mir sofort ein aber dann wirds auch schon dünn.
Wow just wow.
genius
C’est fascinant !
Bravissimomamente ;-)
No one:simply Piano after 3 weeks. Honey how are playing so good I’ve been using simply piano for 3 weeks:/
Fantastic rendering here, only reservation is the humorous moments are missed or glossed over. Hamelin does a better job in bringing those out. Still A+ on everything else.
fascinating
Alkanの音楽に栄光あれ
7:32
nice.
A lot of comments refer to this video as a 'performance'. But is it really? The playing is fantastic and the music comes across very well indeed. But I take 'performance' to mean one continuous unedited play-through of the piece in front of an audience (which exceptionally might be just the performer). We don't know if the audio has been edited, and the constant cutting of the video means we can't know for sure.
I don't say this to detract from SN's amazing musicianship - her Bach recordings are as interesting and successful as the Alkan recordings - but I feel that videos of this kind are a bit misleading. The constant shifts of perpective, camera angle etc. are obviously designed to make the experience visually 'interesting' but at the same time they reduce a sense of continuity, make it easy to edit the audio to remove 'imperfections' like split notes, and in the end create a suspicion of inauthenticity: the kind of inauthenticity you associate with marketing or promotional material. Personally I find this a bit of a turn off.
I wonder what others think?
?
She has played this piece several times at concerts. I was lucky to belong to the audience. Her performance was at least as magnificent as in this video. Her next concert with another remarkable piece of Allan will be next month in Vancouver in Canada. I hope you would be able to visit this concert!
@@faramohaj7631 I'm sure she plays this piece very well and I'm sorry not to have heard her live in concert yet (but I will do next year when she plays in London - programme not yet announced). She's a very fine pianist who is genuinely interested in unusual repertoire. Having recently heard Paul Wee play this live, I know the challenges it presents. He tried to impress the audience with speed but it wasn't entirely convincing. I much prefer the tempo SN takes in this movement.
My original comment was not about her ability as a player, but about how videos can be misleading. I don't consider this a 'performance' in the sense most people understand the term. It's a constructed video which looks like a performance, if you understand the distinction I'm making.
Good