Charles-Valentin Alkan- Organ Works, Vol. 1

Charles-Valentin Alkan: Organ Works, Vol. 2 Building upon the outstanding success of the first volume of organ works by Charles-Valentin Alkan (TOC 30), Toccata is pleased to announce the release of a second disc dedicated to Alkan. First recording of Pro Organo; first complete recording of 11 Pièces dans le Style Religie...	Alkan: Concerto for solo piano; Troisième recueil de chants	Alkan: Sonate de Concert; Grand Duo Concertant; Piano Trio	Alkan: Piano Works; Ronald Smith	Vincent Persichetti: Complete Piano Sonatas Vincent Persichetti's (1915 1987) twelve piano sonatas were written over a forty-three-year period. The first nine sonatas, written between 1939 and 1950, are strong, integral and varied works reflecting diverse approaches toward synthesizing a number of styles and idioms. In the...
Alkan: Grande sonate 'Les quatre âges', Sonatine, Le festin d'Esope	Esquisses Op 63	Leo Ornstein: Complete Works for Cello and Piano Although best known for a collection of radical early works, throughout his life Leo Ornstein (1893-2001) wrote in diverse styles. Such stylistic eclecticism confounded his listeners, which, in turn, may explain why he chose to retire from the concert stage in order to follow his...	Marc-André Hamelin: No Limits - The World of the Piano, Vol. 2	Franck - Sonata for violin and piano · Debussy - Sonatas · Ravel - Introduction and Allegro / Chung · Lupu · Ellis · Melos Ensemble Radu Lupu recorded batches of Mozart and Schubert violin sonatas with the great violinist Szymon Goldberg (regrettably unavailable at present, but watch for them). This seems to be his only other recording of violin sonatas with someone else. Kyung Wha Chung is a powerful virtuos...

A thrilling experience
This is an absolutely stunning recording of virtuoso organ music, both organ playing and composing. Although Alkan composed it in the mid-1800s, it is not easily dated and cannot be pigeonholed. The whole cd is so fascinating that one can listen to it all the way through without being tired of the "organ sound." In fact each piece has its own very distinct and quirky character, magnificently realized by organist Kevin Bowyer. No one else, to my knowledge, has written music like this! The organ is also impressive, as is the sound on this Toccata classics cd. I can't wait for the other two in the series. If you want a trip into unknown regions, shut yourself in a quiet room, turn out the light and listen to this incredible cd. Kudos to Toccata Classics for recording unjustifiably forgotten masterpieces! We need people like you!