Esquisses Op. 63

"I list the Alkan Esquisses because this is the best "complete" introduction to Alkan's very short works, from the ordinary to the bizarre. The Alkan Symphony receives a masterful performance by a pianist firmly connected to his music."
- Paul Rapoport, Fanfare, November/December, 2002, The Want List 2002

"...The range of moods and styles covered - from 'antique' to forward-looking, from serene to darkly disturbed - is startlingly wide. For this reason, and at Naxos's asking price, the disc is worth consideration..." ***Performance**Sound.
- Max Loppert, BBC Music Magazine July 2002

Admirably performed by French pianist Laurent Martin, these 48 brief character pieces, plus a postscript, in various styles in moods. Some suggest Baroque style. Others belong to Alkan's ages of flamboyant romantic pianists. There is charm, there is drama, there is humor and a lot of imagination.

- Peter Knapp, The Patriot Ledger 4 June 2002

If you'd like to access the full scope of Alkan's quirky style in bite-sized proportions rather than piling into the Concerto for Solo Piano, Les Quartre Ages, and other large-scale concoctions, here's a disc for you...Laurent Martin commands Alkan's idiom well, and his fingers toss off the composer's fastest flurries of notes (e.g. the Fantasie, No. 16) with next to no effort

- Jed Distler, Classics Today 20 June 2002

"Despite the notorious technical difficulties associated with Alkan's music, Laurent Martin's delicate touch permits the 1861 Esquisses to drift effortlessly from the keyboard, making subtle sense of the composer's choice of the title ('Sketches')."

- Tarik O'Regan, The Observer 28 April 2002

"The 49 miniatures that make the set of Esquisses disprove the notion that Alkan never knew when to stop, and proves that not all of his considerable output for the piano stretches sometimes indifferent material over huge, unremarkable musical structures."

- Andrew Clements, The Guardian 26 April 2002