Paris in 1837 attracted artists of all persuasions, not least of all some of the most well known names in classical music. Franz Liszt and Frédéric Chopin lived in the city, along with Charles Alkan. Alkan was a personal friend and neighbor of Chopin and the two composer/pianists spent much time together.
The majority of both composer's compositions are for piano solo or include the piano in ensemble. Each wrote a handful of chamber music pieces early on in their careers which included a piano trio each. Chopin's Piano Trio In G Minor Opus 8 was published in 1829, Alkan's Piano Trio In G Minor Opus 30 was published in 1841 but may have been written earlier. Both are written for the same combination of violin, cello and piano.
Alkan's Piano Trio is in 4 movements:
I. Assez largement (Rather widely) - There is no doubt which instrument is the dominant one in Chopin's piano trio. Alkan also has the piano play a large role, but the two stringed instruments are closer to being active partners in music making. The first movement is in sonata form, but Alkan segues the sections almost imperceptibly. The piano begins the movement with a terse motive that the strings mimic after a few bars:
This plays out rather rapidly and leads to a short section of piano solo that leads into the second theme in B-flat major that is played by the violin with piano accompaniment:
This second theme is also taken up by the cello and the two stringed instruments have a short dialogue while the the piano plays a counter melody in the bass and continues to accompany in the right hand. Then piano and violin join in a staccato flurry of sixteenth notes as the cello plays a fragment of the first theme:
This short section concludes the exposition of the movement and leads seamlessly to the development section. The two themes are played against each other until the development section and recapitulation merge into a type of hybrid with no clear delineation. A short coda has all three instruments pound out the note of G in triple forte. II. Très vite (Very quickly) -A Beethovenian scherzo in G minor, the three instruments enter one at a time, all of them playing the note D, the piano in short staccatos, strings in pizzicato. The violin and piano join in a short motive while the cello plunks out an accompaniment:
Another eight bar phrase completes the section, which is repeated. The second part of the scherzo begins with the cello repeating the bare octave D's of the beginning while the piano plays running eighth notes. The violin takes turns with the cello playing octaves as the piano continues. The opening of the scherzo returns and is finished up by a short section with alternating octaves in the piano before the scherzo ends in a flurry. The trio section begins with the piano playing a short fugal section until the violin changes the mood with a melody in E-flat. The key changes to a short section in C minor until the scherzo is repeated. A short coda brings back the opening of the trio until a brilliant triple forte section is cut short by the quiet hint of a G minor chord. III. Lentement (Slowly) - Written in G major, the movement begins with the violin playing in double stops along with the cello. The theme is introspective, and continues until the piano interrupts with a section in G minor that is more agitated. The piano goes silent again as the strings bring back the calm of the opening. The piano interrupts again, but not for as long. Slowly the three instruments start to blend together. The dialogue increases until the piano relents and joins in a chorale in tremolos with the strings. The transfiguration is complete, the piano grows calm and then quiet as the movement ends in a whisper in the strings.
IV. Vite (Quickly) -The piano part is as a perpetuum mobile as flurries of sixteenth notes spill out from the keyboard through most of the movement. The strings carry motives through the thicket of the piano until the key shifts to G major and the strings join in the scurry of sixteenth notes.
Alkan's Douze études dans tous les tons mineurs (Twelve Studies in all the minor keys), Op. 39 for solo piano were published in 1857. But due to a combination of the difficulties and eccentricities of the works themselves and Alkan's lack of self promotion, only a few of the etudes were heard during his lifetime in the 1870's. None of them were to be heard again until Eron Petri played the Symphony in 1938.
Alkan was a virtuoso pianist that rivaled Liszt in technique, and while not all of his piano works bristle with intense technical difficulties, the minor key etudes are certainly some of the most challenging piano music ever composed.
Etudes number 4 - 7 constitute the symphony for piano solo, and it remains one of the few compositions by any composer designated as a symphony. It is in 4 movements.
I. Allegro - The first movement of the symphony is in C minor and is in sonata form.
The opening theme in the left hand octaves is the basis of most of the other themes in the movement. The first theme shifts into the right hand and after transition material another motif in E-flat major is heard. The exposition is repeated. The development section makes the most of the first theme by shifting key changes. The recapitulation brings back the first theme in the key of C minor and leads to a coda where the theme trades off between hands until a two-bar chromatic downward run in the right hand begins in single notes:
The run is repeated, this time with the third of the C minor chord added at the beginning and every 1st note of the 4-note sixteenth note groups in the run as well as a third added to every 5th note of the sixteenthnote group. This gives the effect of the run being in thirds. Also, it adds an accent in such a way as to break up the 12 sixteenth notes of 2 groups of 6 to 3 groups of 4 time in the right hand:
The run is repeated for a third time, this time with the fifth added to complete the C minor chord and ther 5th added to the a-flat major chord, thus giving the effect of the run in triads. It also gives the illusion of being in 3/4 time:
The coda moves towards a C major chord, but the chord changes to C minor to end the movement. Alkan stayed true to the form of the first movement of a symphony, almost classical in proportion, but included passion and changes of mood along the way.
II. Marche Funèbre - Andantino - The first edition of the etudes had the following on the title page: Marcia funebre sulla morte d’un Uomo da bene (Funeral march on the death of a good man). No one knows to whom Alkan was referring to. Some think it might have been his father who had died two years before.
The theme is played legato over a staccato accompaniment. The movement is in F minor following the key scheme of the set of 12 as it is in a perfect 4th from the preceding movement. the middle section is more lyrical for contrast, and the march resumes. Before the end, a drum roll deep in the bass interrupts the march. A short coda reaches a climax before the music dies away and ends in F major.
III. Menuet - Hardly a menuet as known by Haydn and Mozart, this is a hectic scherzo in B-flat minor.
The energy of the scherzo dissolves into a lyrical trio that is in contrast. The scherzo returns and leads up to a short return of the trio until it ends in B-flat major.
IV. Finale - Presto - The most technically challenging movements of the symphony. It is in E-flat minor, but modulates in and out of the home key.
The pace does not let up, even if the minor mood of the music changes to major. Breathlessly, it continues to run (with a few delicious dissonances on the way) until it finally runs itself out and ends with E-flat octaves in each hand.
As the word implies, the musical prelude began as a extemporized piece that acted as an introduction to another work, most of them for keyboard or lute. This was done to check the tuning of the instrument as well as to limber up the fingers of the player. They set the key and tempo of the piece to come as well. They became a part of set music practice in the 16th century into the middle of the 18th century.
Johann Sebastian Bach's preludes for organ and the set of 48 preludes and fugues of the Well Tempered Clavier became the model for other composers, and as the fugue grew out of fashion, the prelude came into its own. They retained the name, but no longer were an introduction to a fugue or other piece, but a work by themselves.
Writing a set of preludes in all the major and minor keys became a tradition that many composers followed. While Chopin's opus 28 set of preludes published in 1839 were not the first set of preludes without fugues, the quality and variety contained within the set rapidly made them the standard.
The opus 31 set by Charles Alkan was published in 1847 and contain an additional 25th prelude that serves as an ending. Alkan's preludes have similarities as well as differences with Chopin's set. Both sets are a collection of short pieces that are not complex in form. Some of Chopin's preludes are more harmonically adventurous, while Alkan opts for descriptive titles for some of his, something which Chopin never did.
Alkan's preludes are separated into three books:
Book I 1. Lentement (Slowly), C major -The first prelude is not complex and is but one page long. The melody moves between octaves played in the right hand. Performer indications are few, and the preformer needs to bring out the inner melody and follow what indications there are and bring feeling to what can be a mundane piece. 2. Assez lentement (quite slowly), F minor -The first section is in 6/8 time and plays out in the key of F minor. The music is marked cantabile with short statements for the right hand while the left hand plays a one chord accompaniment. The next section shifts the music to cut time, the key to F major, while the tempo increases. The music moves back and forth between these two sections until it ends in F major.
3. Dans le genre ancien (In the ancient genre), D-flat major - The ancient genre being the late Baroque era of Bach, the printed music shows how these preludes can be played on the organ or pedal piano as well as the regular piano. Alkan was a virtuoso of the pedal piano, which had a keyboard at the bottom of the piano like an organ pedal board.
4. Prière du soir (Evening prayer) , F-sharp minor -Alkan was Jewish, and this prelude brings some of the feeling of his Jewishness to the set. A prelude simple in form, marked to be played con devozione (with devotion).
5. Psaume 150me (Psalm 150), D major -Written in 3 staves, one of them being a part for pedal board. Inspired by Psalm 150:
Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty firmament! Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness! Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; Praise Him with the lute and harp! Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
6. Ancienne mélodie de la synagogue (Ancient melody of the synagogue), G minor - Another piece reflecting Alkan's Jewishness, the voice of the cantor of the synagogue. The tempo indication is Andante flebile (moderately and mournfully).
7. Librement mais sans secousses (Freely but without bumps), E-flat major -Light in mood and in execution 'without bumps'.
8. Le chanson de la folle au bord de la mer (The song of the insane woman by the sea), A-flat minor -While there are few recordings of the complete preludes, this one turns up as an addition to recordings of other works. It is a strange work, an early example of French music impressionism. It begins with the depiction of waves with large chords at the lower end of the keyboard. The song enters at the other extreme high up on the keyboard. The middle section has the tempo and volume increase as the waves get more pronounced and the song more frantic until a climax is reached. The music retreats back to the nearly catatonic as the song becomes quiet and more fragmented until the end is reached.
9. Placiditas (Gently), E major -Marked Tranquillo in tempo molto independente (tranquil with a much independent tempo) this is the emotional opposite to the previous prelude and brings the first book to a close. Book II 10. Dans le style fugué (In the fugue style), A minor - A two-page fugue played molto presto. 11. Un petit rien (A little nothing), F major -As the name implies, a simple prelude to be played rather fast but gently.
12. Le temps qui n'est plus (Times that are no more), B-flat minor -A melancholy prelude, lamenting the loss of treasured times of the past.
13. J'étais endormie, mais mon cœur veillait (I was asleep, but my heart was awake), G-flat major -Written throughout in cut time (equivilent to 2/2 time) each half note beat is subdivided into 5 eighth note quintuplets, essentially making this a prelude in 10/8 time, a novelty for the era. The title refers to a passage from the Old Testament book Song Of Solomon. Alkan was a scholar of the Old Testament.
14. Rapidement (Quickly), B minor -To be played rapidly. It has a contrasting middle section. 15. Dans le genre gothique (In the gothic genre), G major -I do not know what Alkan meant by 'gothic', but this gentle prelude represents the key of G major well. 16 Assez lentement (Very slowly), C minor -A prelude that begins sadly, with each voice entering in counterpoint. The middle section has a few moments when light enters into the music, but it mostly stays in a melancholy mood until a Picardy third ends the piece in C major.
17. Rêve d'amour (Dream of love), A-flat major -The prelude begins in A-flat major, with a middle section that shifts to A major. Another section shifts the key to E minor, and a impassioned chromatic section leads back to the ending section marked palpitant in A-flat major. Book III
18. Sans trop de mouvement (Without too much movement), C-sharp minor -The indication at the beginning of the prelude refers to only the 4-bar introduction. The actual prelude is a romance that shifts between C-sharp minor and C-sharp major. It ends in C-sharp major.
19. Prière du matin (Morning prayer), A major -Another spiritual prelude that looks simple on the page, but needs the proper feeling and attention to the melody. 20. Modérement vite et bien caracterise (Moderately fast and with spirit), D minor - Octaves and thick, heavily accented chords bring out the aggressive nature of this prelude. 21. Doucement (Gently), B-flat major -The alternating B-flat notes are all that are heard in the left hand and lend a simple, bell-like accompaniment to the shifting chords in the right. 22. Anniversaire (Anniversary), E-flat minor -The music plods along in the home key with deep bass notes giving the accompaniment. The music lightens in the final section as the key shifts to E-flat major.
23. Assez vite (Quite fast), B major -A prelude of grace, to be played fast.
24. Étude de velocite (Velocity study), E minor -The only prelude with the overt attention to technique, rapid finger technique to be precise. This prelude resembles the style of Chopin in his Etudes.
25. Prière (Prayer) , C major -The longest in performance length, this prelude moves at a very slow tempo in mostly block chords. It is a hymn of harmonic richness, reverence, and ends the set as it had began, in the key of C major.
Charles Alkan's set of piano pieces titled Souvenirs: Trois Morceaux Dans le Genre Pathétique, Opus 15 (Three Pieces In The Pathetic Style) was published in 1837. Alkan's music was not generally reviewed in any of the music periodicals of the time outside of his native France, and it is to those French publications that musicologists and researchers must look for any contemporary views of his music. Even those are rather sparse, owing in some part to his reclusive nature in later years. These three pieces are an exception, as Robert SchumannandFranz Liszt made their opinions known.
Schumann's review appeared in 1838 in Neue Zeitschrift für Musik,the periodical that he edited and wrote for. Schumann did not like the work at all. Some of the things he wrote concerning it:
One finds oneself... gripped by the lack of art and real life...here we find little more than frailty and vulgarity devoid of imagination. The studies have titles... and are distinguished throughout theior fifty pages by a deluge of notes and a lack of even the slightest indication of performance markings.... We may choose to protect talent when it loses its way, but there has to be some kind of demonstration of musicianship... if even that becomes questionable then we are forced to turn our backs, unmoved.
Very strong words, with even more negativity in the rest of the review. Schumann was correct about one thing though; there is not a hint of any performance markings in the first edition. No slurs, tempo or dynamic symbols at all. Alkan dedicated the work to Franz Liszt, who he became acquainted with when they lived in Paris. Whether that had anything to do with the omission of any performing markings isn't known.
The review by Liszt of the work is markedly different than Schumann's. Liszt did take Alkan to task in some of the aspects, but for the most part was happy with the work. That they were dedicated to him probably didn't hurt either:
The caprices of M. Alkan, after reading and re-reading them many times, show themselves to be distinguished compositions...and are likely to... invoke great interest with musicians.
1. Amie-moi (Love me) - The French word pathétique in the title of this work is usually translated as pathetic, which has a multitude of meanings. When used in musical works, it has the meaning of music which touches the feelings or excites emotions and passions, especially that which awakens tender emotions, such as pity, sorrow, love, etc. The titles that Alkan gave to each movement give a clue as to the underlying emotions of the music. The first piece begins in the key of seven flates, A-flat minor. It is similar in feeling to the music of Alkan's friend Chopin. The music slowly grows intense as more and more notes pile into measures until the climax is reached. After the climax, the music returns to the opening themes until there is a shift to A-flat major. The piece ends gently with an arpeggio up the keyboard. 2. Le vent (The wind) - Written in B minor, this piece opens with a sad melody in the left hand as the righthand plays chromatic runs of notes in simulation of the wind. The hands change roles, and then back again before a central section in D major appears. When the central section is over, chromatic scales for both hands lead up to a varied repeat of the opening material. This was one of Alkan's most well-known pieces for a time, indeed, it was the only piece of Alkan's that was performed with any kind of regularity. The piece continues with an extended trill and chromatic runs in both hands until it ends with a B major chord. 3. Morte (Death) -Written in E-flat minor, the music opens deep in the bass end of the piano until the ancient Dies Irae hymn is heard. The hymn continues in thick chords and is transformed into a kind of introduction to a slow, sad theme first heard in single notes that become full chords. It grows in intensity until it reaches a short climax, where upon a solemn but persistent B-flat punctuates the theme. The music grows in intensity (and difficulty) and a theme in the major creeps in for a bit. but things go back to impassioned as the ending is relentlessly pursued until a long pause is reached. The Dies Irae returns. The opening of theme of the first piece in the set also returns for a short repeat. A trill in the left hand deep in the bass turns into chromatic runs as in the second piece in the set. The right hand traverses the keyboard slowly as the left handed trill resumes. Two resounding, loud sixteenth note chords end this longest piece of the set, in E-flat minor.
Charles-Valentin Alkan wrote his Grand Sonata 'The Four Ages' after he returned to performing in 1844 after a six-year hiatus. The work was published in 1847. Alkan lived in an apartment in Paris, the Square d'Orléans for about ten years and was a neighbor to Chopin. They became close friends, and he became acquainted with many other artists that lived in Paris at the time, including Franz Liszt.
The work is in 4 movements, with each one portraying the ages of a man. Alkan wrote a preface to the published work where he expressed his intentions with the titles and structure of the sonata:
Much has been said and written about the limits of musical expression. Without adopting such and such a rule, without seeking to answer any of the vast questions raised by this or that system, I shall simply say why I have given such titles to these four parts, and sometimes use quite unusual terms.
It is not a question here of imitative music, still less music seeking its own justification, the reason for its effect, its value, in an extra musical environment. The first piece is a scherzo, the second an allegro, the third and the fourth an andante and a largo, but each of them corresponds, in my case, to a particular moment of existence, to a particular disposition of the imagination. Why should I not point it out? The musical element will always subsist, and the expression can only gain by it, executing it, without renouncing it, it is inspired by the very idea of the composer. Such a name and a thing seem to clash, taken in a material sense, which, in the intellectual domain, combine perfectly. I believe, then, that I ought to be better understood and better interpreted with these indications, however ambitious they appear at first glance. Let me, moreover, be permitted to invoke Beethoven's authority. It is well known that towards the end of his career this great man was working on a catalog of his principal works, in which he was to be instructed on what plan, what remembrance, what kind of inspiration the work had been conceived.
I. 20 ans (at 20 years) Très vite' (very fast) -The plan of this sonata is quite unique for the time, as each movement is slower than the previous one, and the sonata opens with the movement with the quickest tempo, a scherzo. This musical portrayal of a twenty year old man begins with spirit and brashness as the music begins in D major, and ends up with a chord in B minor:
A more lyrical theme plays out and the opening material makes another appearance. The lyrical theme returns on chords in the right hand accompanied by arpeggios in the left. A short coda in B major brings the movement to a close. II. 30 ans (at 30 years) Assez vite (quite fast) - The next movement is not only the longest of the sonata, but it contains much of the extreme technical and interpretive difficulties of the work. It is a musical representation of the Faust legend, and is complete with musical representations of Faust, The Devil and Margaurite. There has been discussion among musicians and musicologists as to how this sonata movement may have inspired Franz Liszt in his writing of his Piano Sonata In B Minor. Eight years separate the publication of Alkan's sonata (1847) and Liszt's (1854) so it is possible that Liszt saw the music of Alkan's sonata. But there is no evidence that he did, nor a clue that Alkan's sonata was ever performed in public until the 1970's. Alkan gives the tempo designation of Satanically to the beginning of the music, which begins in the rare key of D-sharp minor and represents Faust:
The first section of this movement proceeds in dramatic fashion with rumbling, dashing music until the Devil himself shows up. There is no mistaking who it is, for Alkan marks his entrance in the music. The Devil's theme is in B major, pompous, loud and saunters in a slightly off-kilter rhythm:
The music continues in Mephistophelian bombast until the next character of the story is introduced, the symbol of love in the story, Marguerite, a woman who falls in love with Faust but comes to a bad end through the machinations of the Devil. Marguerite's theme begins in G-sharp minor in music of simple tenderness. (The theme begins in the 4th beat of the 4th bar)
This theme changes to G-sharp major (another rare key) and also turns dramatic. This movement is in sonata form, and now that the three character themes have been introduced in the exposition, Alkan proceeds to play them against each other in a development section of highly dramatic and virtuosic music. The music of the development winds down into huge arpeggios in alternating hands that traverse the length of the keyboard:
But the music does not proceed to the recapitulation just yet. Slowly a four-bar theme marked et aussi lié que possible (as connected as possible) plays in the bass. It is the subject of a fugue that is played out before the recapitulation. This fugue grows until it reaches its limit of eight separate voices spread out over 4 staffs of dauntingly complex music:
Themes return and are transformed as the recapitulation builds to a heady climax in F-sharp major representing victory over evil. III. 40 ans (at 40 years) Lentement (slowly) - The incredible demands of the previous movement, both technically and musically, are countered in the third movement by music that is more mellow and lyrical.The movement has the subtitle Un heureux ménage (A happy household). The life of a man surrounded by his family, with sections that depict children and evening prayers are included:
IV. 50 ans (at 50 years) Extrêmement lent (extremely slow) - The year after this sonata was published was 1848, the year that revolutions occurred in many countries in Europe, including France. Paris was in turmoil as the February Revolution in France began to undo the constitutional monarchy in favor of what became the 2nd Republic. In the chaos of change, Alkan was passed over for the position of Professor of Piano at the Paris Conservatoire. Due to intrigues and politics, a minor musician got the job instead, with Alkan becoming bitter over the loss of the position. The revolution also took its toll on any publicity Alkan's sonata may have gotten, and the work itself was unique in form and technically difficult, which also didn't help it any.
Subtitled Prométhée enchaîné (Prometheus bound), Alkan includes on the title page of the movement some lines from the ancient Greek play about the Titan Prometheus that was condemned to suffer eternally for bringing fire from Mount Olympus and giving it to humans. This version of the myth is traditionally attributed to Aeschylus. Alkan quotes lines 750-754, 1051 and 1091, words that mirror the Romantic era excesses of personal emotions:
Ah, you would hardly bear my agonies to whom it is not foredoomed to die; for death would have freed me from my sufferings. Do what he will, me he shall never bring to death. You see the wrongs I suffer!
The myth has Prometheus chained to a rock, and an eagle eats his liver. Every day his liver grows back and he has to suffer the torment of the eagle eating it again.
This myth and the lines from the Greek play set the stage for a man at fifty years of age, a life that consists of waiting for death. The movement begins with ominous rumblings:
The movement is in the key of G-sharp minor, a key far removed from the key of D major that began the sonata. The mood of somber resignation of death seldom lifts from the music as it restlessly plods on until the closing bars that rise in volume and intensity, only to give out in the final bar that is played pianissimo.
The French composer Charles-Valentin Alkan is most often thought of as a composer for keyboard instruments, with most of his works being for piano solo, but he did compose two Concerto da Camera for piano and orchestra, and a few chamber music works. His Sonate de Concert For Cello And PianoIn E Major was written about 1856. The name itself gives some indication of what Alkan attempted to achieve with it; something larger and more substantial than music written to be played by amateurs in a 19th century drawing room.
The composers who wrote the most sucessful sonatas for cello and piano were Beethoven and Brahms. Other composers have written examples also, but for many it was a one-time endeavor. Alkan wrote only one, as did his friend and sometime neighbor, Chopin.
As with most of Alkan's music, the technical (and musical) difficulties of the cello sonata are many for both instruments, not least of all keeping the proper balance between the two. It is in 4 movements, with each movement being in a differet key: I. Allegro molto -This movement isi n the home key of E major and begins straight away with a theme, the first of three main themes of the exposition, although there is much of the material that connects the main themes that can be thought of as short secondary theme material. (The recording that I've linked to at the end of this article does not take the exposition repeat, which in my opinion is somewhat excusable in music that is more familiar, but in works that are heard but seldom, it would help the listener find their way a little better if the themes were placed in the ear more securely by a repitition of them.) The development section is extensive and begins with the development of the short pizacatto motive that ends the exposition along with other material. The first theme appears, plays for a few bars before going off in different keys. Other themes follow suit. The recapitulation proper begins with the first theme followed by other material from the exposition that has modulated to other keys. In a short coda that is marked brilliante, the movement ends.
II. Allegrettino - This movement is in A-flat major. In contrast to the opening movement, this has the feeling of a gently swaying dance, but there are surprises as minor keys float into the mix giving a feeling of unrest to the middle section.
III. Adagio -This movement is in C major. Alkan was devoutly Jewish and an Old Testement scholar. He prefaced the music with a quotation from the Old Testement book of Micah:
"As dew from the Lord how the Jewish people endure, awaiting help from God alone."
The movement begins with three-note motives on the cello followed by a harmonic as the piano lags slightly behind as it plays its own three-note motive. The music is mysterious, not least of all for the incessant pizacatto notes played in a seemingly random pattern by the cello as the piano gently plays sixteenth notes in both hands in the treble topped by a melody even higher in the right hand. The music reaches ever higher until it comes to rest with a high C major chord in the piano while the cello plays a low C pizacatto.
IV. Finale alla Salterella - Prestissimo -A dance in the key of E minor that gets wilder and wilder as it goes. It's full of dotted rhythms and extremes in range of both instruments until a trill in both hands of the piano along with an arpeggiated chord in the cello lead to the final chord.
Charles Valentine Alkan's music reflects his remarkable virtuosity on the piano. His mastery of the piano was equal to one of the greatest pianists that ever lived, Franz Liszt. And while there is very little (if any) of Liszt's piano music that can be called 'easy', it applies even more dramatically to Alkan's. The Alkan specialist Ronald Smith called the '12 Etudes In The Minor Keys Opus 39' Alkan's Frankenstein Monster because it grew into a set of monstrously difficult pieces both technically and musically.
But amid the difficulty lies a depth of musical feeling and expression that is Romantic to its core. They are true etudes in the Chopin sense in that they are expressions of a very talented, musical mind. The complexities are part of the effect of the music, not an end in themselves. That not every musician can 'bring off' Alkan's compositions is no doubt true. No musician can do justice to all composers. But the pianist that has a virtuoso's technique that is used for the sake of music expression, can reveal to the listener a composer of great power, tenderness and originality.
The 'Overture' of Opus 39 is the eleventh etude. Like etudes 4-7 (the 'Symphony For Piano Solo') and etudes 8-10 (The 'Concerto For Piano Solo') number eleven is orchestral in feeling and writing. It begins with rapid minor chords in both hands with the bass punctuating the tonality in octaves. There is a slight slackening of the intensity, and the rapid chords come forth once again. The music winds down to winds down to a pensive calmness. Once more the rumbling octaves in the bass quietly remind the listener of the beginning, then a section of very tender melody in the major comes to the fore and is expanded and varied. The next section is impassioned music that vaguely reminds my ear of the opening in feeling. It segues into a rippling statement of octaves in the right hand. This sections ends with chords and octaves up and down the keyboard until the music turns more quiet and ominous, then builds back to the octaves and chords. It alternates between the two until it reaches the last statement of the quiet and ominous. This leads to the coda, a brilliant theme in the major that rounds off the work.
Jack Gibbons
The pianist that wishes to tackle this piece is met with difficulties galore. Rapid octaves, leaps, chords that are a handful of notes, a dynamic range from a roar to a whisper and back again. Any pianist that can play this piece with musical expression is more than a virtuoso pianist, they are also a master musician. The pianist in the accompanying video is Jack Gibbons, and English pianist of the highest order. He began playing Alkan early in his career, and was the first pianist to record the entire Opus 39 set digitally in 1995. He was also the first pianist to perform all twelve of the etudes in the set in a live concert, a practically superhuman feat. Gibbons also plays other composers, notably Chopin and Gershwin , and is a composer in his own right.
Gibbons was involved in a near fatal auto accident in 2001 with a subsequent long recovery. There was some question whether he would be able to play the piano again, but he returned to piano playing and gave the first performance in Carnegie Hall of Alkan's Symphony For Piano Solo in 2007. He continues to give recitals and appears as soloist with orchestras, along with composing. He is one of my favorite pianists, and his recovery from his accident is an inspirational story.
The name Charles Alkan conjures up piano pieces of staggering difficulty, immense length and musical depth. And rightly so, with his Concerto For Solo Piano and other works that display a musical mind capable of creating colossal tapestries of complexity. But Alkan also had another side to his genius, that of a miniaturist. The Esquisses are an excellent example of Alkan's ability to have his musical say in much shorter pieces.
The title translates as 'sketches' and the set contains 49 sketches of tremendous variety and mood. Many of the pieces are also playable by pianists with a less than concert hall technique. They are a perfect introduction to the diversity of Alkan's musical thought. Most of the sketches are short, some very short. The entire set of 49 sketches (the title says there are 48, but there are 49) can be played in about 75 minutes, so that averages out to about a minute and a half for each piece. Alkan's shifting moods are dealt with as they arise, and when the mood has run its course the piece stops. The entire set makes for a good listen, but I've narrowed it down to eight of my favorites from the set:
No.4 Les Cloches (The Bells) - The piano begins with the tolling of bells that continues throughout.
No. 10 Increpatio (rebuke, harsh criticism) - The piano's harsh opinion. About what, we don't know.
No. 16 Fantasia - A rippling right hand runs a sprint, and the piece ends quickly.
No. 18 - Liedchen (ditty) - A simple song.
No.32 - Minuetto - Not really a minuet, but at the tempo of a minuet. The beginning is sad, with a middle section in a faster tempo and lighter mood.
No. 37 Scherzettino - A piece played very fast.
No. 45 - Les Diablotins (little devils) - A short church chorale is interrupted by the demons. Each time the chorale is heard it is responded to , until the diablotin has the final word.
No. 49 Laus Deo (praise God) - A solemn, slow, beginning that reminds the ear of different pitched bells tolling together gives way to a more reverent hymn. The bells return at the end.
Was Charles Alkan really a mystery as the pianist Ronald Smith (a champion of Alkan's works) called him in the title to his biography of the composer Alkan the Enigma? There is an essay by Stephanie McCallum, herself a pianist and champion of Alkan's works in her own right, that discusses the possibility that Alkan suffered from a form of autism or a mental illness. The fact that Alkan went into seclusion about 1848 after a brilliant start to his career as a composer and performer does beg the question. There are words by Alkan himself in a letter:
“I’m becoming daily more and more misanthropic and misogynous…nothing worthwhile, good or useful to do… no one to devote myself to. My situation makes me horridly sad and wretched. Even musical production has lost its attraction for me for I can’t see the point or goal”.
Those are words of a man who is cognizant enough to recognize what is happening to him, while at the same time not knowing why. Depression, Asperger's Syndrome, Schizophrenia, are all possibilities but it will most likely remain speculation. Alkan did begin giving a few recitals later in life, but essentially remained a recluse.
There is no doubting the genius of Alkan as a performer. There is ample evidence through witnesses that heard him play. Liszt himself said that Alkan had the finest technique he had ever seen. And we have the proof of his genius as a composer with the music he wrote, which is much more available in print and recordings than ever before. And no matter what the reason for his turning away from society, there is also no doubt that he was original to the point of being eccentric in some of his compositions. The Impromptu for pedal piano is a case in point.
If a music lover knows anything about Alkan or his music, it usually is that he was a pianist and wrote piano music. But he also could play the violin and was a virtuoso of the pedal piano. The pedal piano resembles a regular piano but with the addition of an entire piano played by the means of foot pedals, like the pedals of an organ. Alkan wrote a substantial amount of music for this instrument. The pedal piano was in vogue for a short time in the 19th century. Robert Schumann also wrote music for it. The pedal piano is now a rare instrument and much of Alkan's music written for it has been transcribed for the organ.
The Impromptu is based on Martin Luther's hymn 'A Mighty Fortress Is Our God', a somewhat odd choice for a Jewish musician to make. It was written in the late 1860's and is possibly the last piece he wrote for the pedal piano. Ronald Smith has written that the piece, while written in one continuous movement is actually in four distinct sections. The work begins as a passacaglia, with the hymn tune serving as the continual bass melody, the second section is a scherzo, the third a siciliano and the fourth a fugue. So it is far from being what an impromptu implies. It is a highly structured set of variations, imaginative in form and sound. Like the man himself, the impromptu is a complicated mixture of genius, eccentricity, power and mystery.
Charles Alkan's set of etudes in all the minor keys is a work of staggering proportions. The first etude is a flurry of 16th note triplets and is named 'Like The Wind. Etudes four, five, six and seven are arranged as a four-movement symphony for piano solo, and if that isn't enough, etudes eight, nine and ten are arranged as a three-movement concerto for solo piano where the first movement is 72 pages long and takes 30 minutes to perform.
The last etude in the group is a set of 25 variations on an original 8-bar theme. The title of the piece implies that the variations could represent various fables of Aesop and depict the animals in the fables. There is no program or clue outside of the title of the piece however. It is up to the imagination of the listener to provide a 'picture' of the proceedings.
This set of variations acts as a culmination to what has gone before with the other eleven etudes. As the previous etudes have been far from simple piano pieces, this final one is really complex for the pianist. But Alkan's imagination has created a most engaging set of variations that will provide the imagination of the careful listener a tour de force of pianistic music making at its highest level.
The emotional, passionate and at times witty aspects of Alkan's music need to be stressed. It is not just music that can be difficult to play (although some of it most assuredly is) but it is the passion and intensity behind it that makes it so attractive. This is the case as well with his piano music that is not as difficult. His larger, more challenging works usually get the most attention, but he wrote a great many smaller, shorter pieces for piano and was a talented miniaturist as well.
By contemporary accounts of those that heard him play, Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813 - 1888) had a technique equal to Liszt. In fact, Liszt himself said Alkan had the finest technique he had ever seen. Even after Alkan became a recluse in 1848, on the odd occasion when he would play in public he retained his technique and amazed those who heard him.
Just why he became a recluse in 1848 is not certain. Before then he was seen regularly in public, was friends and neighbor to Chopin, knew Liszt and Anton Rubinstein, and played in the fashionable parlors and salons of Paris. But in 1848 he began to be seen less and less, gave up his appointment as the organist at the Paris Jewish Temple and stayed in his apartment, rarely admitting visitors or going out. He was passed over as the head of the piano department at the Paris Conservatory in 1848, which disappointed him greatly. After 1848, he continued his life-long study of the Talmud and he went on composing. Late in his life he gave a series of concerts at the Erard piano company studios where he played not only some of his own compositions, but those of his favorite composers.
Most of Alkan's compositional output was for the piano. He did write some chamber music, two very short pieces for piano and orchestra, and an orchestral symphony that is lost. Like Chopin, he wrote etudes in all the major and minor keys for piano. His Opus 35 consisted of 12 major key etudes, and Opus 39 were the minor key etudes. Comme Le Vent ( Like The Wind) is the first etude in the book of minor key etudes. It's 20 pages long, and like the title implies, should be played like the wind. The metronome marking is eighth note = 160, the piece is in the rare time signature of 2/16, and most of the piece consists of triplet 32nd notes in the right hand. The piece is a virtual perpetuum mobile as the pace doesn't slacken for the 4 and a half minutes it takes to play it:
It is a real test of a pianist's endurance and control. It is a fitting beginning to a set of pieces that Ronald Smith, a pianist that had a great deal to do with the revival of Alkan's music, called 'Alkan's Frankenstein's monster'. The twelve etudes that comprise the volume include a Concerto for solo piano in 3 movements, a symphony for solo piano in 4 movements, an overture, set of variations, and the rest of the pieces of the set.
Alkan's Concerto For Solo Piano is comprised of three etudes from his monumental work 12 Etudes In The Minor Keys. Alkan was not the first to use the term concerto for a work for solo keyboard. J.S. Bach's Italian Concerto written for two-manual harpsichord is the most well known example. The term most often brings to mind a piece for one instrument and an orchestra of some kind. There exists many concertos written for many different kinds of solo instruments and many different kinds of orchestral ensembles, but in every case there is a differentiation between the soloist and orchestra in the musical texture. Sometimes the soloist battles it out versus the orchestra, sometimes the soloist is more like a member of the orchestra, and sometimes both extremes occur in the same work in varying degrees.
It can be misleading to put too much emphasis on exact determinations of what constitutes one thing or the other in classical music, at least as far as musical form goes. Imaginative composers rarely held rigidly to textbook examples. Indeed, some composers were actively using and varying musical forms before there were textbooks on the subject. There are accepted examples of all the basic forms used in music, but it is good to remember that these should serve as models, not laws that must be obeyed at all costs. Variation is basic to the art of music, so why would imaginative composers not do the same as far as form and structure?
So what makes Alkan's work (as well as Bach's) a valid concerto? In Bach's case, the two-manual harpsichord can provide the differentiation in sound to help create the impression of a concerted work for one instrument. But in modern times Bach's work is also played on the piano, an instrument of but one keyboard. But under the sensitive fingers of a good pianist the piano can convey a number of differences in timbre, volume, and articulation. Add to that the creative use of the piano pedals and the instrument can bring off the solo concerto concept. Not with the depth of tone color as an orchestra, but the piano is more than capable of countless gradations from black to white and all the grays in between. With such an expressive and versatile instrument benefiting from the writing of an imaginative, master composer such as Alkan, the solo concerto is a possibility.
Alkan was a recluse for many years and his music suffered from neglect, at least from most main stream pianists. There have always been some pianists and composers that knew of his works, but the real revival of Alkan's works began in the last years of the 1960's. With landmark recordings by the pianists Raymond Lewenthal and Ronald Smith, Alkan's music is now back in the repertoire, at least for the pianists who can play it. Many of Alkan's works are very difficult technically and musically, which no doubt led to their neglect for many years.
I. Allegro assai -The first movement is the eighth etude of the 12 Etudes In The Minor Keys. It begins in the key of G-sharp minor with a section marked quasi trombe (like trumpets). This first theme is followed by a second contrasting theme. Following the second contrasting theme, a third theme of a more robust nature makes its entrance. A short return to the opening material rounds off what constitutes the orchestral part of the exposition. The soloist part enters with runs up and down the keyboard and the exposition continues with the return of all three themes in expanded form. The development section of these themes runs far afield in mood and texture, and with just a little effort a good listener can begin to 'hear' the entities of soloist and orchestra take shape. The harbinger of the recapitulation appears as a persistent G-sharp, sometimes in the treble, sometimes in the bass. The recapitulation brings back the three themes, and then a section marked quasi-tamburo (like a drum) transforms the first and second subjects into a wildly rhythmic treatment that continues with the pianist using the third finger of each hand to hammer out a steady stream of alternating sixteenth notes in rapid tempo. The second theme appears over the sixteenth notes as it winds down to a repeat of the first theme in high chords of the treble accompanied by the bottom notes of the piano. A tremendous crescendo occurs, Alkan writes the key signature of A-flat major, the enharmonic equivalent of G-sharp major, and a short section brings back the trumpets of the beginning and the movement ends with a wide spread A-flat major chord. This first movement takes almost 30 minutes to play, consists of over 1300 measures, and taxes the technique and endurance of the pianist to the extreme. It is also a challenge musically. As if all that wasn't enough for the listener and pianist, there are two more movements to go.
II. Adagio -This is the 9th Etude from the set and as Alkan progressed by a perfect fourth through all the minor keys, it is in C-sharp minor. The opening is marked quasi-celli (like cellos). The orchestra plays a melancholy introduction to the theme that is taken up by the soloist. A second theme is in the major and is contrast to the opening. A short section for single unaccompanied notes leads to a section of a different character all together, a somewhat light-hearted tune that leads to an impassioned, agitated repeat of the first theme which leads to yet another different section punctuated by a drum beat rhythm in the bass. The light hearted tune alternated with the drum beats until the opening theme returns once again but is soon interrupted by the drumbeats. The melancholy introduction appears, the drumbeats quietly interrupt one more time. The first two measures of the first theme are played over the quiet drumbeats. A strongly accented triple forte C-sharp minor chord widely spread between both extremes of the keyboard end the movement.
III. Allegretto alla barbaresca -The 10th Etude from the set in F-sharp minor begins with a huge rolled chord for both hands and a 4 bar motive that appears throughout the etude, sandwiched between some incredibly different sections. The entire etude is one of movement and themes that are presented with abandon. There is an impelling forward movement in the music that is apparent even in the calmer sections. The work ends in a deluge of manic intensity and bravado in F-sharp major.
Ronald Smith is the pianist in the accompanying video. I first heard his recording of this work on long playing records many years ago. Since then there have been other recordings of the 12 Minor Key Etudes, and along with the recording by Ronald Smith I especially enjoy the recording by Jack Gibbons, an English pianist who was the first to perform all 12 Minor Key Etudes in live concert at Oxford in 1995.
Paris in 1837 attracted artists of all persuasions, not least of all some of the most well known names in classical music. Franz Liszt and Frédéric Chopin lived in the city, along with Charles Alkan. Alkan was a personal friend and neighbor of Chopin and the two composer/pianists spent much time together.
