Alkan in Singapore
Photo by Dr Chang Tou Liang
At a sell-out concert in the Singapore Esplanade on 7th April, Professor Kenneth Hamilton gave the Singapore premiere of Charles Valentin Alkan's gargantuan Concerto for Solo Piano without Orchestra, op.39- widely regarded as one of the most challenging pieces in the repertoire.
The programme also included Chopin’s Piano Sonato No.2 in B-flat minor and Liszt’s arrangement of Wagner’s Overture to Tannhaüser.
The concert was in celebration of the 200th anniversary of Alkan's birth. For more on Alkan and the concert, read Professor Hamilton's interview on the cult of Alkan online.
Straits Times reviewer Albert Lin described the performance as a "tour de force". In previous recitals, Professor Hamilton has also given the Singapore premieres of Alkan's "Aesop's Feast" Variations, and his arrangement of Mozart's Piano Concerto in D-minor.
Later this year he will be playing Alkan's op.39 Concerto in both France and Germany, before bringing it to Cardiff on 19th November, in an evening recital at the School of Music.
Visit our Youtube channel to watch Professor Hamilton in concert at the School of Music earlier this year: http://www.youtube.com/user/CardiffSchoolofMusic