Streaming Statistics of Music Track 48 Esquisses, Op. 63, Book 3: No. 26, Petit air

Charles-Valentin Alkan

Top Cities

Sydney, AU

2,178 listeners

London, GB

1,753 listeners

Melbourne, AU

1,575 listeners

New York City, US

1,478 listeners

Paris, FR

1,354 listeners

48 Esquisses, Op. 63, Book 3: No. 26, Petit air

Classical Landscapes

15.10.2024
0 Streams
0 min 43 sec

Charles-Valentin Alkan was one of the great composer/pianists of the nineteenth century and a major influence on many subsequent musicians. He wrote some of the most unusual and technically difficult music of his time, an output that no less an authority than Ferruccio Busoni called "the greatest achievement in piano music after Liszt." Alkan was an extraordinary prodigy: he entered the Paris Conservatoire when he was 6 years old and won first prizes for solfège at age 7, for piano at 11, for harmony at 14, and for organ at 21. He quickly made a name for himself in the Paris salons as a gifted young pianist and played some London concerts in 1833 to great acclaim. From 1829 to 1836, he was a part-time teacher at the Paris Conservatoire, but he never joined the regular staff. Alkan was well known in intellectual circles -- he counted among his friends Victor Hugo, George Sand, and Frédéric Chopin -- but he was always something of an introvert and misanthrope; at age 25 he dropped out of society, the first of his frequent and sometimes lengthy withdrawals. Over the next 35 years he appeared in public only rarely; not very much is known about his life in those years. Only in 1873 did he make a return to the concert stage, playing a series of Petits concerts at the Salle Erard (where he also taught classes in the afternoons). Alkan was devoted to his Jewish faith and was quite a scholar on the subject. One curious, but untrue, legend has it that he died when, as he reached for a copy of the Talmud on top of a large shelf, the bookcase fell over and he was crushed to death. Alkan published his first music at age 14; ultimately his catalog extended to 76 opus numbers, most of them works for solo piano. The earliest of his compositions were in the familiar forms of the day: opera paraphrases and collections of studies that showed off his unusual facility. His compositions started to get more ambitious in the 1840s -- the harmonies bolder, the rhythms more irregular -- and many of the works called for extravagant, nearly superhuman technique. These works range from larger works like the Grande sonate "Les quatre âges," Op. 33 (1848), to shorter pieces like Le chemin de fer, Op. 27 (1844), the first musical portrait of the railroad, and the humorous and peculiar Funeral March for a Dead Parrot. Perhaps his most ambitious opus is the set of Twelve Études in all the minor keys, Op. 39 (1857). The 12 pieces aggregate to form (in order) a four-movement symphony, a three-movement concerto, a set of variations, an overture, and three independent pieces. They are very demanding of a performer -- pianist Raymond Lewenthal has called them "a ride in Hell." The first movement of the concerto alone contains 1,343 measures (more than the entirety of Beethoven's Hammerklavier Sonata) and lasts half an hour. Alkan played his own works very rarely in public. He did however play a range of music unusual for his time, including the then-unfashionable late Beethoven sonatas, various Schubert sonatas, and much Baroque music. His playing style was noted for its clarity, its restraint in rhythm and dynamics, and its intellectual quality. Alkan and his music were largely neglected during his lifetime, and he was nearly forgotten upon his death. But with the attention of Ferruccio Busoni, Kaikhosru Sorabji, Egon Petri, and other giants of the early-to-middle twentieth century, as well as the later advocacy via recordings of Petri, Lewenthal, and Ronald Smith, Alkan's position in music history has been assured.

48 Esquisses, Op. 63, Book 3: No. 26, Petit air

More from 48 Esquisses, Op. 63, Book 3: No. 26, Petit air

12 Monferrinas, Op. 49: VI. Allegro

12 Monferrinas, Op. 49: VII. Allegro vivace

12 Monferrinas, Op. 49: IX. Allegro moderato

12 Monferrinas, Op. 49: XI. Allegro non troppo

Gradus Ad Parnassum, Op. 44: No. 10: Allegro moderato

Visions Fugitives, Op. 22: 3. Allegretto

7 Short Pieces for the Cultivation of Polyphonic Playing, BV 296: No. 1, Preludietto. Allegro

48 Esquisses, Op. 63, Book 2: No. 18, Liedchen

48 Esquisses, Op. 63, Book 3: No. 25, La poursuite

48 Esquisses, Op. 63, Book 3: No. 26, Petit air

48 Esquisses, Op. 63, Book 4: No. 37, Scherzettino

Pictures at an Exhibition - for Piano: Promenade. Moderato commodo assai e con delicatezza - attacca

15 Three-part Inventions, BWV 787/801: No. 6 in E, BWV 792

15 Three-part Inventions, BWV 787/801: No. 8 in F, BWV 794

Sonata in D Major «Gallina Cucca», BWV 963: 4. Adagio

Sonata nach Reinken in A Minor, BWV 965: 4. (Presto)

Aria variata alla maniera italiana, in A minor, BWV.989: Variatio V. Un poco allegro

12 German Dances, D.790: Ländler (German Dance) No. 3

15 Three-part Inventions, BWV 787/801: Sinfonia 10 In G Major, BWV 796

The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 1. Prelude in F-Sharp Minor, BWV 859 - Live in Troy, NY / 1987

The Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 1, BWV 846-869: 1. Prelude in G Major, BWV 860 - Live in Troy, NY / 1987

15 Three-part Inventions, BWV 787/801: Sinfonia 3 D-Dur

Piano Sonata No. 11 in A Major, K. 331 "Alla turca": 1a. Tema (Andante grazioso)

Mazurka No. 44 in G Op. 67 No. 1

Mazurka No. 19 in B minor, Op. 30 No. 2

"Wiosna" - Spring In G Minor (From Op. 74 N. 2)

Jeux d'enfants, Op. 22 WD 56: 3. La poupée

Minuet in F, K.2

Musical Characteristics, Op. 19: V. Prelude 1 alla Mozart

11 Bagatelles, Op. 119: 5. Risoluto

Six German Dances, D.820: No. 2

12 Variations in C Major on "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman", K. 265/300e: Var. 12

34 Valses sentimentales, D. 779: No. 2 in C Major

24 Préludes, Op. 28: No. 18 in F Minor

Piano Sonata No. 26 in E-Flat Major, Op. 81a "Les Adieux": I. Das Lebewohl. Adagio - Allegro

Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Var. 4 a 1 Clav.

Six German Dances, D.820: No. 4

6 Piano Variations in F Major, Op. 34: Variation IV. Tempo di menuetto in E Major

11 Bagatelles, Op. 119: 9. Vivace moderato

Gradus Ad Parnassum, Op. 44: No. 55: Finale. Presto

11 Bagatelles, Op. 119: 7. Allegro ma non troppo

Ecossaise No. 1 in D, Op. 72 No. 3

Twenty-Four Preludes, Op. 34: No. 21 in F flat major - Allegretto poco moderato

Waltz No. 12 In F Minor, Op. 70 No. 2 - Edit

Gradus Ad Parnassum, Op. 44: No. 96: Allegro agitato

Capriccio in B Flat, BWV 992 "On the departure of a dear brother": 2. -

The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, BWV 846-869: Prelude No. 20 in A Minor, BWV 865

French Suite No. 3 in B minor, BWV 814: 5. Menuet

15 Two-part Inventions, BWV 772/786: No. 8 in F, BWV 779

Jeux d'enfants, Op. 22 WD 56: 3. La poupée

Minuet in F, K.2

Musical Characteristics, Op. 19: V. Prelude 1 alla Mozart

11 Bagatelles, Op. 119: 5. Risoluto

Six German Dances, D.820: No. 2

Pictures at an Exhibition - for Piano: Promenade. Moderato commodo assai e con delicatezza - attacca

15 Three-part Inventions, BWV 787/801: No. 8 in F, BWV 794

Gradus Ad Parnassum, Op. 44: No. 10: Allegro moderato

Aria variata alla maniera italiana, in A minor, BWV.989: Variatio V. Un poco allegro

12 Monferrinas, Op. 49: VI. Allegro

12 Variations in C Major on "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman", K. 265/300e: Var. 12

34 Valses sentimentales, D. 779: No. 2 in C Major

24 Préludes, Op. 28: No. 18 in F Minor

48 Esquisses, Op. 63, Book 4: No. 37, Scherzettino

48 Esquisses, Op. 63, Book 2: No. 18, Liedchen

48 Esquisses, Op. 63, Book 3: No. 26, Petit air

Piano Sonata No. 26 in E-Flat Major, Op. 81a "Les Adieux": I. Das Lebewohl. Adagio - Allegro

Allegro in D Major, K. 626b/16

Allegro in D Major, K. 626b/16

"Wiosna" - Spring In G Minor (From Op. 74 N. 2)

"Wiosna" - Spring In G Minor (From Op. 74 N. 2)

Visions Fugitives, Op. 22: 3. Allegretto

Visions Fugitives, Op. 22: 3. Allegretto

12 Monferrinas, Op. 49: VII. Allegro vivace

12 Monferrinas, Op. 49: VII. Allegro vivace

Six German Dances, D.820: No. 4

Six German Dances, D.820: No. 4

6 Piano Variations in F Major, Op. 34: Variation IV. Tempo di menuetto in E Major

6 Piano Variations in F Major, Op. 34: Variation IV. Tempo di menuetto in E Major