The Alkan Project

[opus10no2]

On November 30th 2013 Charles-Valentin Alkan turns 200.

Ever since I first heard this truly great man's music, over a decade ago now, I felt an affinity for his greatest works stronger than that of any other composer.
His oeuvre is distinctly less even in quality than that of Chopin's but no less even than that of Liszt's. This matters not, for when inspiration did strike him, it did so with the force of a lightning bolt.
I'd contend that his Op.39 contains the greatest wealth of riches in any single opus of the entire piano literature.

In honour of the man, I wish to propose an endeavour that may in some small part promote his music, and pay tribute to this most neglected of masters.

Learn and prepare for performance one of his pieces, a rewarding task in itself, and perhaps if you feel confident, record and post it, on the day of Nov. 30th.

Who's in? 

[j_menz]

Count me in.  Now I just have to find a piece I feel I can do justice to....

[williampiano]

I'll certainly participate. I've just got to find a piece by him that is easy enough for me to actually play... 

[perprocrastinate]

One of his nocturnes it is, heh.

If I try to learn anything else, this will happen to me:

Doctor:  well, it seems like you've shattered all of your fingers in 36 or more different places, fractured your skull, ripped out your tongue, broke all of your teeth, broke your nose, broke your face, broke both of your forearms in 29 places, dislocated your left wrist, Burnt your right wrist to the third degree, dislocated your hip into your spinal chord, blew up your right foot, broke three ribs so that they're now puncturing your heart, *deeeeeeep breath* AND you've somehow managed to contract every sexually transmitted disease known to man, the Ebola virus, bird flu, swine flu, osteomyelitis, osteoporosis, carpal tunnel, arthritis, elephantiasis in the hands, AND, aaaah forget it, I'm done.  What were you doing anyway?

By the way, opus10no2, I love that condescending, yet clever signature of yours. Made me laugh.

[davidjosepha]

I'm not familiar with any of his works, although from what I can gather from this thread, they are all quite difficult. Suggestions?

[j_menz]

I'm not familiar with any of his works, although from what I can gather from this thread, they are all quite difficult. Suggestions?

There appears to be a general misapprehension that all of Alkan is technically very difficult. That is simply not true.  When Alkan is technically difficult, he can be extraordinarily so, but there are a number of his works that fall into the grade 4-8 range.  I would suggest some of the Preludes or Esquises as a good place to start looking.

That said, Alkan is a surprising challenge musically. It is one well worth facing up to, though. May of his works are really quite something! 

[black_keys]

Im not at that level , but someone should try the sonata op.33 its very interesting , and its not as hard as the etudes  .

[ahinton]

There appears to be a general misapprehension that all of Alkan is technically very difficult. That is simply not true.  When Alkan is technically difficult, he can be extraordinarily so, but there are a number of his works that fall into the grade 4-8 range.  I would suggest some of the Preludes or Esquises as a good place to start looking.

That said, Alkan is a surprising challenge musically. It is one well worth facing up to, though. May of his works are really quite something! 

Agreed on all counts.

The chamber music also needs looking at - just three main works, the big cello sonata (arguably the finest of them and certainly one of the major contributions to cello and piano repertoire), the piano trio (of which Mendelssohn thought very highly) and the earliest of them, the extraordinarily forward-looking Grand Duo for violin and piano, although the finale of the last of these is indeed a typical example of Alkanic finger-demolishing pianistic terrorism if played up to tempo (which sadly the otherwise brilliant Ronald Smith didn't do on his recording with James Clark and Moray Welsh, probably mindful of the inappropriately bathroom-like acoustics of the recording venue); the "organ" music also deserves some attention. I write "organ" in inverted commas because most of Alkan's music for keyboard instrument with pedals was composed for the pédalier (Schumman also wrote some pieces for this) rather than for the organ per se; only one of them is reckoned to have been composed specifically for organ, which is perhaps surprising given that Alkan, like Liszt, was himself an organist of apparently considerable prowess. As a child, he was also reckoned to be quite an accomplished violinist!...

It's good to read someone writing about Alkan's piano music that there are plenty of pieces that fall easily within the abilities of players who are by no means advanced virtuosi; it's always been the massive difficulties of Alkan's writing that attract most of the commentary and, whilst that's perfectly understandable given the challenges in his works, it's also unfortunately misleading and offers an unbalanced viewpoint.

Best,

Alistair

[alkan_the_man]

I may join in on this, for a while I have been looking at Op.15 No.1 (Aime-moi) although the part where the left hand  goes into semiquavers grouped in sevens (I forget their name) destroys my hand

I will try to prepare it and do it justice

- Stephen

[christovr]

I'm in.
I have a Alkan project of my own in the planning, but I will reveal details later. 
I want to perform any or both of the two Concerti da Camera with orchestra next year, but the sheet music of the full orchestral versions is nowhere available for download.  At least one can start learning the parts from the solo versions.  It seems I would have to buy edited versions (non-public domain because of copyrighted editing???) which I found available at on the net at quite a hefty price.  If anyone here can point me in another direction it would be much appreciated.
If my plans fail I would still try to do it.  And of course post a recording - if by that time I have a suitable recording set-up.

[ktack]

This sounds great! I'm in. Im interested in the 10th esquisse "Increpatio", or one of his minor key etudes.

[austinarg]

I'd love to be a part of this, I'll have to look into any of his Esquisses, since any other work is way beyond my grasp.

[emrysmerlin]

His oeuvre is distinctly less even in quality than that of Chopin's

I'd put it as having a wider range of styles and tones, since I cannot think of a Chopin piece that does not contain rubato, have an entirely different harmonic material that differs largely from his other ones or with loads of chromatic notes running up and down.

I'd contend that his Op.39 contains the greatest wealth of riches in any single opus of the entire piano literature

While I completely agree with it being a great wealth of riches, I don't suppose anyone should dare say it is the greatest since the piano repertoire, as maestro Hamelin has said, is thousands of times vaster than we know. I understand this is totally arguable, since why would those pieces be famous if they're not of high quality? I do not think we should exclude them from considerations, however. Also, I know this might sound rude, but in the end it is a compilation of pieces, even though the keys are in fact arranged in a specific order. I can think of many compilations that are also rich in material, Liszt's S139 for a starter, which I regard as the piece that sums up Liszt's compositional character(without his "Hungarian Rhapsody side"), and Liszt's mazeppa etude being "the" antipode to the 4th mvt of the Alkan symphony. If we're talking about the solo concerto alone, especially the 1st movement, then there's no disagreement since it is one of the greatest and riches pieces of mortal music on earth (the closest to sounding godly being Rach 3, though the rich and never-being-banal part has to be sacrificed for this) counting or not the undiscovered repertoire.

A little outside the topic, I think the concerto is not played to its full limits. What Alkan was famous as a performer, except for his formidable technique and interpretations, was how he could imitate timbres of different instruments on the piano. What etude is the concerto, or the symphony, if their intent was not to train the pianist to be able to perform such an imitation?

Anyways, Alkan's greatness is not to be doubted. As an admirer I would certainly participate in this project. If my technique can be improved to the point where I can play the Waldstein before the due date, then I might do a movement of the sonatine. If not, because of exams and such, I'll do a couple of the wondrous op.65, which is by no means a lesser work than the sonatine.

[lloyd_cdb]

Yay Alkan!

I agree with emrys with all but one aspect.  The romantic era etude was not necessarily a literal translation as it had been historically.  Therefore saying it needed to train you in something specific is not necessarily it's definitively true intention (However, the 1st movement is actually marked with different instruments, so my statement is just theoretical application to the rest of the works).  Please correct me if I misunderstood your statement.

Op. 38 has some nice pieces that aren't absurdly hard as well as the ones that have been mentioned. Preludes op. 31 are also a good option if practice time is an issue, there look to be some fun ones in there that are unrecorded according to youtube :p

I'll probably attempt op. 38 no. 1 but end up 'settling' for one of the esquisses.

On a relative side note, Von Henselt's 200th is the following year on 12 May, so... start planning ahead 

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Too bad I don't know any Alkan...

[lloyd_cdb]

Too bad I don't know any Alkan...

The magic of learning.  Luckily you have more than year... GET AT IT!

[rachmaninoff_forever]

The magic of learning.  Luckily you have more than year... GET AT IT!

Me:  More than a year?  What are you...

*rereads OP*

Me:  OOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHH  I do have more than a year!




Alright dude, I got it.  Except I know of ZERO Alkan pieces.  Gotta broaden my horizons a bit.

[j_menz]

Me:  OOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHH  I do have more than a year!


Alright dude, I got it.  Except I know of ZERO Alkan pieces.  Gotta broaden my horizons a bit.

A word of advice to you (and anyone else contemplating doing a piece. I would highly recommend that you have a look at some of the easier pieces first (look in the preludes ans esquises), then try the Barcarolle or one of the nocturnes, and THEN pick your piece.  Alkan has some oddities and difficulties all his own, and the harder pieces are not the place to first encounter these.  Well worth it though.

[black_keys]

Ummmmm ..... more than one year , i think i can learn one ,it will be probably op 39 no5 or 9 , because i want something challenging but not so hard technically, and i will consider it as an eutde not a single mvt from a symphony or a concerto ( I dont allow myself to do that  ).

[j_menz]

i will consider it as an eutde not a single mvt from a symphony or a concerto ( I dont allow myself to do that  ).

In the immortal words of Bette Davis (almost), "But they are, Blanch, they are!"

[imbetter]

i'm definitely he not all his works take over a year to learn 

[g_s_223]

Hmmm, could be a most excellent initiative.

Would it be feasible to have an on-going post or web-page somewhere which document who had committed to which piece(s) to avoid duplications etc

[lloyd_cdb]

Hmmm, could be a most excellent initiative.

Would it be feasible to have an on-going post or web-page somewhere which document who had committed to which piece(s) to avoid duplications etc

That's a great idea.  I didn't even think of it in that sense.  Maybe we could make an Alkan piano street youtube playlist 

[g_s_223]

Thinking about it, there's no real reason to object to duplications as multiple interpretations are surely a good idea. It's more about getting a reasonable spread of pieces, rather than just the best-known ones. Also, I think people should post their performance once they are happy with it, rather than wait for the birthday as in the OP.

[danhuyle]

What Alkan piece are we learning? I'll jump on.

The magic of learning.  Luckily you have more than year... GET AT IT!

I've never even looked at an Alkan piece myself and now that many are playing the piece, we'll learn it together.

[perprocrastinate]

Someone learn Le Festin d'Esope! There are so few videos of the piece on YouTube, it's painful.

[lloyd_cdb]

Someone learn Le Festin d'Esope! ... it's painful.

^^ that's why

[perprocrastinate]

Oh come on, I bet there are a handful of virtuosos on this forum that could play this piece.

j_menz? I bet you could take this monster on. rachmaninoff_forever didn't just randomly decide to worship you all of a sudden, eh?

[j_menz]

j_menz? I bet you could take this monster on.

I'm already having more than enough trouble with my first choice. If it doesn't kill me first (and that's looking a decided possibility), I'll have a look at Le Festin. 

I've read through the first dozen or so variations (once) and it truly is a beast of a work. It also has a few elements that play right into my weaknesses, so no doubt would be "very good for me" if I survived. I also think it would be enormous fun to play if one could really do it justice. Before that point though, I suspect it would be a lot of hard work.

[rachmaninoff_forever]

j_menz? I bet you could take this monster on. rachmaninoff_forever didn't just randomly decide to worship you all of a sudden, eh?

First off, of course he could take it on!  He's a professional pianist!  He's supposed to have perfect technique!

Second off, I don't worship J Menz!  He didn't have Cziffra's transcription of La Campanella so he doesn't deserve my prayers!   

[j_menz]

First off, of course he could take it on!  He's a professional pianist!  He's supposed to have perfect technique!

 Maybe, no (yawn), no (and in any case I don't). 

Second off, I don't worship J Menz!  He didn't have Cziffra's transcription of La Campanella so he doesn't deserve my prayers!   

Probably good on all counts. 

[perprocrastinate]

Hey, by the way, do you have any recordings of you in the Audition Room?

I would love to hear them.

[j_menz]

Hey, by the way, do you have any recordings of you in the Audition Room?

I would love to hear them.

This project will provide your first opportunity (if that is the right word).

[perprocrastinate]

I'm excited.

[lloyd_cdb]

I'm already having more than enough trouble with my first choice.

Which one did you end up choosing?

[j_menz]

Which one did you end up choosing?

The Symphony for Solo Piano.  Conditional on (1) my survival and (2) actually being able to do something with it.

[lloyd_cdb]

The Symphony for Solo Piano.  Conditional on (1) my survival and (2) actually being able to do something with it.

Good luck, looking forward to hearing it.  The first movement is probably my second favorite piece from the opus, second to En Rythme Molossique (although my greatest appreciation is clearly for the concerto 1st movement).

[rachmaninoff_forever]

A word of advice to you (and anyone else contemplating doing a piece. I would highly recommend that you have a look at some of the easier pieces first (look in the preludes ans esquises), then try the Barcarolle or one of the nocturnes, and THEN pick your piece.  Alkan has some oddities and difficulties all his own, and the harder pieces are not the place to first encounter these.  Well worth it though.

I think I'll just take the bull by the horns...

[lloyd_cdb]

I think I'll just take the bull by the horns...

Piano Concerto it is!

[black_keys]

I have a friend who already learned the 3 mouvements of the concerto this year , i can ask him to join this event .

And about Le festin , ( its a weird idea of course and i know many of you will disagree) but what we can do is that each one of us pick a variation , and post a recording , and at the end we can join it in one recording, just for fun  .

[j_menz]

I think I'll just take the bull by the horns...

Hmmm. OK, but which bull, pray tell?

[j_menz]

I have a friend who already learned the 3 mouvements of the concerto this year , i can ask him to join this event .

Cool, the more the merrier!

And about Le festin , ( its a weird idea of course and i know many of you will disagree) but what we can do is that each one of us pick a variation , and post a recording , and at the end we can join it in one recording, just for fun  .

Something about horses , camels and committees comes to mind.   

Interesting idea, and I guess each variation may play into someones strengths, but who gets the final one which is rather longer (much, much longer!) than the others? Bags not me!

[rachmaninoff_forever]

He we should do a project for every composer!

Rachmaninoff project, Chopin project, Beethoven project, Tchaikovsky project, Mozart project, Hayden project, Prokofiev project, Carl Vine project, Bach project, etc...

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Piano Concerto it is!

Well that depends on whether or not I'll like it.  So far I know of ZERO works by Alkan so I'll have to explore some of his music.

Incidentally, after I finish my audition stuff, I can pretty much do what I want so I can go back to learning pieces regardless of difficulty yay!

[j_menz]

He we should do a project for every composer!

Rachmaninoff project, Chopin project, Beethoven project, Tchaikovsky project, Mozart project, Hayden project, Prokofiev project, Carl Vine project, Bach project, etc...

Great idea. You can start us off on the Bach project. 

[j_menz]

Well that depends on whether or not I'll like it.  So far I know of ZERO works by Alkan so I'll have to explore some of his music.

Incidentally, after I finish my audition stuff, I can pretty much do what I want so I can go back to learning pieces regardless of difficulty yay!

Give the Concerto a listen, by all means, but don't start playing there.  The first movement alone has more bars than the entire Hammerklavier. It is remarkable though! Certainly on my bucket list.

[austinarg]

Interesting idea, and I guess each variation may play into someones strengths, but who gets the final one which is rather longer (much, much longer!) than the others? Bags not me!

Perhaps it could be split in 5 or 6 parts?

[j_menz]

Perhaps it could be split in 5 or 6 parts?

That's quite a good idea. It is actually several variations piled together for reasons unknown, so they could quite reasonably be split up.

[emrysmerlin]

I think the finale of the concerto is also harder than anything by Chopin.

[black_keys]

Im glad you liked the idea  , lets choose the variations  .

For me any variation from 17-18-23-24 are very hard and it will so much hard work to do it,
the 7-8-11-15-19-final are also hard but i can finish one of them in a year.
And i dont have any problem with the others + i can take more than one.
I cant make a decision now so i'll wait to see what the others will choose.