ALKAN-STARR, CONCERTO arr. 2 pianos, 4 hands, VOL 1, FIRST MOVEMENT (1 of 3)

a new concert arrangement by Mark Starr for 2 pianos, four hands; First Movement of Charles-Valentin Alkan's Concerto

By: Charles-Valentin Alkan (b. 1813 Paris–d. 1888 Paris)
For: Piano four hands
page one of ALKAN-STARR, CONCERTO arr. 2 pianos, 4 hands, VOL 1, FIRST MOVEMENT (1 of 3)

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Composer
Charles-Valentin Alkan (b. 1813 Paris–d. 1888 Paris)
Year of composition
1859
Arranger
Year of arrangement
2022
Difficulty
Difficult (Grades 7+)
Duration
31 minutes
Genre
Classical music
License details
For anything not permitted by the above licence then you should contact the publisher first to obtain permission.

This concert arrangement of Charles-Valentin Alkan's Concerto pour piano seul is a reduction for 2 pianos 4 hands of Mark Starr's orchestration for piano solo and large symphony orchestra of Alkan's Concerto, also known as the Etudes Nos. 8-10 from Alkan's Douze etudes dans tous les tons mineurs, Opus 39. This arrangement is intended to be performed in two-piano concerts, with the two pianos placed on stage as indicated in the introductory text. At the outset, both pianists are seated at Piano 2 and perform together 4-hands the opening "orchestral" exposition. After the G. P. in Bar 138, the Piano Soloist rises from Piano 2 and walks to Piano 1, to make his/her entrance in the solo exposition beginning at Bar 162.

The full orchestral score and a complete set of orchestral parts of Starr's orchestration of Alkan's Concerto is also available for purchase on scoreexchange.com (or will be soon.) The huge score and parts are still in preparation.)

Because Alkan's work is so vast (all three movements last approximately 52-53 minutes in performance,) it was necessary to divide the two-piano score into two volumes.

Volume 1 of the two-piano score contains the First Movement in 161 pages. The duration of the First movement is approximately 31 minutes.

Volume 2 of the two-piano score, available separately on scoreexchange.com, contains the Second and Third Movements in 85 pages. The durations of the second and third movements total 21 minutes.

The downloadable PDF files for both Volume 1 and Volume 2 are formatted for printing on legal-size paper. The PDF files can be printed back-to-back with a duplex computer printer that accepts legal-size (8.5" x 14") paper. Pages have mirrored margins, enabling binding with either metal spirals or plastic combs. Both types of bindings are widely available at most print shops. Approximately .5" of blank space is available for binding holes. The PDF files include front covers. Covers should be printed on heavy, stiff cardstock. To prevent print-thru on music pages, paper weighing from 24 lbs to 70 lbs is highly recommended.

Starr's orchestration of the Concerto is also divided into two volumes. The two sets of orchestral parts correspond to Volume 1 and Volume 2.

A Study Score, which totals more than 400 pages and includes the 2-piano scores for all three movements, is available on amazon.com. The Study Score includes extensive historical, critical and analytical material on Alkan's Concerto by Starr. This background material is not included in the Performance Scores that are available on scoreexchange.com. The Study Score does not include the piano fingerings that do appear in the Performance Scores.

Here, below, is a foreword to the Study Score of Mark Starr's orchestration of Alkan's Concerto, written by American composer John Corigliano.

"Mark Starr’s orchestration of Alkan’s Concerto is a technical tour de force and a wild adventure into music of the past. With remarkable mastery of the art of orchestration, together with a vivid imagination for fascinating but historically appropriate sonorities, Mr. Starr has captured the soul of this fiery and revolutionary nineteenth-century piano concerto. His transformation of a gigantic work for solo piano into a concerto for piano and orchestra is utterly compelling."

"My own interest in Alkan’s music goes back to 1963, when I produced for fm radio station WBAI in New York pianist Raymond Lewenthal’s first Alkan recital."

"Mark’s arrangement of the concerto for two pianos, four hands is also stupendous achievement in its own right. The arrangement can stand as a concert piece on two-piano concerts. The spatial separation between the two pianos clarifies for the listener Alkan’s concerto architecture. This work is clearly a violent battle between the two pianos. The arrangement allows each pianist to take a much-needed breath of fresh air before rejoining the fray."

"Mark has delved so deeply into Alkan’s concerto. His notes about the work are so detailed and fascinating— it is really overwhelming. The massive scope of the music — I don't know how Alkan played it with ten fingers. Evidently, not many pianists have dared to follow in his footsteps. Hopefully, this arrangement will change all that."

"I only wish my dear friend Sheldon Schkolnik was alive to hear this. He would have loved to play it. I remember Raymond Lewenthal’s LP of Alkan. It was amazing then, but this is even bigger. Perhaps Mr. Starr’s brilliant orchestration of the Concerto will provide the vehicle for Alkan’s music to enter the repertoire of live performances, at long last." — John Corigliano, American composer — Professor of Composition, Julliard School of Music, New York — Composer-in-Residence, Chicago Symphony Orchestra — Professor of Composition, Lehman College, New York — 2 Academy Awards; 2 Grammys

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