Charles-Valentin Alkan - Twelve Studies in all the Minor Keys

The studies of this collection has been described by Alkan expert Hugh MacDonald as “the Alps and Himalayas of pianism, the one superimposed on the other.”
Far from resembling the conventional set of educational pieces or concert etudes, it includes some massive, large-scale works. The final study, a witty and extremely virtuoso set of variations called Aesop’s Feast (Le Festin d’Esope) has become one of Alkan’s most popular pieces.