Alkan’s chamber music deserves much more attention: It’s a crime that terrific works like his Sonate de concert for cello and piano have almost no chance to be heard. Naxos once again has raided the Marco Polo archives and resurrected this 1991 recording at budget price. There isn’t much competition available anymore, and only the 1992 Timpani recording has the same three works together in worthwhile performances. These pieces are all excellent chamber music, not to mention very difficult to play, and the Trio Alkan certainly is up to the challenge. These performers obviously appreciate the music in a way that brings out Alkan’s lyrical and whimsical qualities, which often are overlooked (or overpowered) in his piano works.
Most notable is the Sonate de concert (it’s a cello sonata, but Alkan was always thinking on the grand scale). This is truly a worthy link from Beethoven to Brahms, and cellist Bernhard Schwarz makes the most of it. His tone is both noble and lyrical, especially evident in the emotional Adagio with its Biblical overtones, and his intonation is mostly true. The only time his fingers really fail him is in the octave leaps and some other busy work in the saltarello final movement.
Violinist Kolja Lessing is certainly musical enough in the Grand Duo concertant for violin and piano. His solid tone is a bit on the stuffy side at times, and there is a tendency to buzz in forte passages using strong bow strokes. The challenging last movement, marked “As fast as possible”, seems to leave him without enough energy at the very end. This is surely understandable in a live performance, not so much in the studio. Pianist Rainer Klaus doesn’t quite show us the gates of Hell in the opening of the second movement (the score is marked “Hell: Slowly”), but he is just fine elsewhere.
One drawback in these sonata interpretations is the fact that they both omit the repeats in the opening movements. Academic quibbles aside, the repeat of the exposition in sonata form creates balance, particularly when, as in the trio, the first movement is actually quite short. The performers on the Timpani recording obey the repeats with much healthier results. In all three works, the recorded sound is full and clean, and Naxos’ slightly forward placement of the instruments creates a better presence than on the Timpani disc. Alkan’s music should be enjoyed by more people, and this release certainly suffices, though if you can find the Timpani recording and price is no object, that should be your first choice. [2/8/2001]
