Celebrating Alkan at 200

G-Sharp Duo

Emilie-Anne Gendron, violin
Yelena Grinberg, piano

Celebrating Alkan at 200

Celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the G-Sharp Duo, Yelena and Emilie warmly invite you to an intimate house salon concert at Yelena's apartment on UWS for a very special program of Romantic masterworks for violin and piano, entitled Celebrating Alkan at 200, featuring Mendelssohn's youthful Sonata in F Major for violin and piano (1820), composed when he was just 11 years old!!, Schubert's delightfully lyrical Sonata in A Major ("Grand Duo") (1817), Busoni's charming and quirky Four Bagatelles for violin and piano (1888), and Alkan's daunting and seldom-heard Grand Duo concertante in f-sharp minor for violin and piano, op. 21 (1840).

Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813-1888) is perhaps one of the least well-known and seldom-played of the great 19th-century piano composers largely because his piano music is so demonically difficult and physically demanding that very few pianists are able to play it!! Alkan was a great friend of Chopin and Liszt - the latter also being his biggest rival. After his musically active and socially glamorous youth as a virtuoso pianist, Alkan retired from performance altogether while still in his 30s to become a recluse. And, as legend has it, he died when a bookcase collapsed on him as he reached for a volume of the Talmud. (Alkan was a devout believer in Jewish faith, allegedly having translated the entire Bible from Hebrew to French). Having written almost exclusively for piano, Alkan only composed three chamber music works, the earliest of which is his demonic Grand Duo Concertante in f-sharp minor, op. 21 (1840). An opportunity to hear this great and sadly neglected 19th-century masterpiece is NOT to be missed!!!

When: Sunday, October 20th, 2013, at 5:00 pm

Doors open at 4:30 pm

Wine and cheese reception to follow the performance

Where: The home of Yelena Grinberg (West 90s)

You'll be emailed the exact home address after you register on this website

Admission: $18.00

Limited to just 22 seats, so early registration is strongly encouraged!

Please note: Advance ticket purchase through this site is required

Contact: Yelena Grinberg (ygpiano@gmail.com)

Program:

MENDELSSOHN - Sonata in F Major for violin and piano (1820)
SCHUBERT - Sonata in A Major ("Grand Duo") for violin and piano (1817)
BUSONI - Four Bagatelles for violin and piano (1888)
ALKAN - Grand Duo concertante in F-sharp minor for violin and piano (1840)

Click here for program notes.

For more information, please visit www.yelenagrinberg.com.