He was regarded as a child prodigy and outstanding pianist, counted Chopin and Liszt among his friends and yet, despite his virtuosic and richly sonorous works for piano and organ, has slipped into the second rank of major composers: Charles-Valentin Alkan. In her recital, the acclaimed organist Isabelle Demers turns to the music of the French composer whom Robert Schumann counted »among the ultras of the French Romantics«.
The fact that Alkan’s music never gained wider recognition was due above all to the composer himself: after a meteoric rise to fame, he withdrew increasingly from public life and distanced himself from the bustle of the Parisian salons. The works he wrote for organ, or alternatively for the pedal piano, bear witness to his extraordinary talent. Alkan’s astonishingly demanding études push performers to their limits; they are powerful feats of sound and endurance. A different side of the composer emerges in his 13 Prières (Prayers) – gentle, meditative music that invites introspection and reflection.
Wherever she performs, Isabelle Demers is met with enthusiastic acclaim. The Canadian organist ranks among the leading performers of her field; the Amarillo Globe-News described her playing as »fearless and extraordinary«. These qualities are equally essential for her virtuosic programme, which includes works by Alkan alongside music by his contemporaries César Franck and Franz Liszt.
PERFORMERS
Isabelle Demers organ
PROGRAM
César Franck
Fantaisie in A major, FWV 35
Charles-Valentin Alkan
12 Études pour les pieds seulement (selection)
Franz Liszt
Tarantella
- Interval -
Charles-Valentin Alkan
Impromptu sur le Choral de Luther »Un fort rempart est notre Dieu«, Op. 69
Charles-Valentin Alkan
11 Grands préludes op. 66 (Auswahl)
Charles-Valentin Alkan
13 Prières, Op. 64
Franz Liszt
Funérailles
