If you missed Bernard Ringeissen’s Alkan Op. 35 Major Key Études the first time around on Marco Polo, here it is on Naxos, at budget price. Performing this strange music requires the stamina of a marathoner and fingers that won’t quit–which proves no problem at all for Ringeissen’s formidable technique and innate affinity for Alkan’s unhandy textural concoctions. The pianist is hampered, however, by lousy sonics. His piano sounds strident, hollow of body, and steel-edged. Long stretches of loud music are simply unpleasant to hear. On top of that, the piano slips way out of tune, most noticeably in the C major étude.
Two études from Alkan’s Op. 39 open this recital. Ringeissen brings admirable power to Le Festin d’Esope’s galvanizing octave passages, but Marc-André Hamelin’s miraculous poise and inhuman accuracy ultimately outclass him. Likewise, Jack Gibbons’ tumultuous, daring spin through the Scherzo Diabolico surpasses Ringeissen’s more ordinary virtuosity. Intrepid listeners, then, will only appreciate Ringeissen’s finest moments if they’re brave enough to withstand his ill-tempered clavier.
