This remastered disc of Ronald Smith recordings from 1977 and 1985 is an essential buy for any fan of Alkan. Smith is well-known as an Alkan scholar, and it shows in his performances. The colors and moods he brings out and his technical confidence in works that can equal the difficulty of Liszt is a joy to listen to. The symphony from the Etudes, Op. 39 (although the liner notes do not identify it or the other works well) ranges from the delicacy of Chopin to the power of Beethoven, and Smith is up to the challenge of not making the delicate points too dreamy or the powerful ones too overwhelming. He brings a musical sensibility to each work that turns the piano into a lyrical storyteller. The sound quality is generally first-rate, although quiet. You need to really turn up the volume to hear the music at its best, and once you do, in the opening Petit Conte and Nocturne, tracks from 1977, there is faint extraneous noise. The collection does not repeat any of the music on EMI's 2002 Smith/Alkan double disc. All in all, well worth the budget price for any fan of Romantic piano music. ~ Patsy Morita, All Music Guide
