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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 มิ.ย. 2024
- Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813-1888) was one of the greatest virtuoso pianists of all time. His keyboard oeuvre is a clear reflection of this, being replete with such challenged that-if he truly played most of his works in public, he must have possessed massive and indefatigable technical powers.
Central to Alkan's difficulties are octaves. Loads and loads of octaves, octave jumps, alternating octaves, left hand octaves-you name it. While a number of his works can be said to contain little more than octave filler (looking at Op.16, Op.17, some of the Etudes), there are also a number of works that contain some of the most innovative and inspired textures of the Romantic era.
What is mostly consistent across his compositions is that they are physically difficult. Not impossibly so like some might claim (only a couple of his works approach that kind of territory) but prepared to deal with things that other composers might be too polite to write.
TIMESTAMPS
10. Le chemin de fer, Op.27 (8+)
0:00 Yui Morishita
9. Le festin d'Ésope, Op.39 No.12 (8++)
0:28 Ronald Smith
0:44 Yeol Eum Son
1:00 Igor Roma
1:15 Bernard Ringeissen
8. Scherzi di bravoure, Op.16 (8++)
1:54 Giovanni Bellucci
7. Grande sonate 'Les quatre âges', Op.33 (8++)
2:40 Francesco Libetta
3:31 Vincenzo Maltempo
6. Scherzo focoso, Op.33 (8++)
4:27 Yui Morishita
5. Comme le vent, Op.39 No.1 (8++)
5:12 Vincenzo Maltempo
4. Symphony for Solo Piano, Op.39 No.4-7 (8++)
5:38 Jack Gibbons (mistake in the video)
6:06 Marc-André Hamelin
3. Trois grandes études, Op.76 (9)
6:56 Ronald Smith
7:52 Laurent Martin
8:51 Vincenzo Maltempo
2. Le Preux, Op.17 (9)
9:35 Huang Yi-Chung
10:17 Huang Yi-Chung
1. Concerto for Solo Piano No.8-10 (9)
11:12 Marc-André Hamelin
12:17 Paul Wee
13:05 John Ogdon
13:19 Paul Wee
Honorable mentions: Other minor etudes (Op.39), major etudes (Op.35), 12 Morceaux caractéristiques, Trois improvisations dans le style brilliant - เพลง
The most challenging Alkan piece theoretically would be Op. 76 (No. 1 and No. 2) played simultaneously because both are intended to be performed using a single hand. Although the result might resemble some of Michael Finnissy's works, there is no doubt about its astronomical level of difficulty.
Hahahaha that would be absolutely absurd!! love the idea tho
I’d imagine it’d be more like an Ives work
Unsynchronized polyphonic melody requiring multiple brains to deal with, and the fiendishly awkward finger works along with unrealistic demand of independence and dexterity of each finger will certainly make this imaginary piece to be the hardest piano piece.
Would live to see an arrangement of this
Oh my god.
I don't even want to think about this, haha!!
7:52 that's absolutely vile. One of those passages that makes me shudder to even think about attempting (not that I could).
For a second I was like “what’s super hard about that?” Then I realized it was just for RH 😂
With one finger
I discovered alkan a few years ago, and have been obsessed since. It has pushed me into discover a lot more lesser known composers. As well as becoming a big fan of Marc Andre Hamelin, who I got to meet last month during the festival of sound in port parry, ontario. I watched him perform two nights, and had quick chats with him, got him to sign the playbook. Good times!
For those coming across Alkan for the first time, lest you pan him as "just" a "grotesque" virtuoso, I would highly recommend checking out his Op. 74 "Les Mois", Op. 31 Preludes, his entire set of "Chants", and his "exquisite" Op. 63 "Esquisses" ("Sketches"). His chamber music such as his Op. 47 Cello Sonata are also charming. Op. 55, Op. 57, Op. 60, and "Désir. Fantaisie pour piano" are also nice. Musurgia Universalis has posted a few of his lesser-known miniatures. The Op. 35 etudes are lovely, particularly Nos. 8, 10, and 11. For "drama", Op. 39 No. 11 "Overture" is my favourite. I also regard Op. 39 No. 9 (second movement of the "Concerto for Solo Piano") as encapsulating some of the darkest moments in the Romantic repertoire.
Can't find a single melody of his that I like sadly. It's clear why this man is basically unknown
@elliottblum7925 I once said the same thing about Mahler and Bruckner symphonies. I am now absolutely in love with their works. Otherwise, Alkan's musical expressions may not always resonate emotionally with everyone. For me, his music appealed most to me amid rather dark times.
@@haelscheirs_haven Mahler is absolutely amazing. I mean I think I would just always prefer Liszt over Alkan. Same level of virtuosity but Liszt's music has unparalleled beauty in it. Everyone's tastes are different tho so.
Wow thank you for the recommendations! I think that Alkan has a reputation of making music that is accesible...mostly to musicians. I really like Alkan and find him way underrated but there is no doubt that his music often has a lot of heaviness to it. Definitely a different kind of artist, thank you for your comment!!
Thanks for sharing, will explore your suggestions
10:27 that octave passage sounds super majestic and all but it also reminds me of hanon in the worst way possible
Hanon wasn't nearly as funny as Alkan
@@bloba6969it does sound fun but I'd rather play hanon ngl
@@amiapsychopat the performance here is quite dry imo, you're supposed to keep the pedal until the end, which reveals the harmonies
😂 so true
@@bloba6969Hanonのそれは練習曲ではなく、ピアノメソッドです。
I have now discovered a new composer! Thank you!!!
You will enjoy his music a lot!
Thanks for putting me onto Paul Wee's recording of the Symphony and Concerto for Solo Piano, that album's going right into my music library.
I've always liked Alkan but I couldn't tell you if it was for the artistic merit or for the sadistic pleasure of knowing what he is doing to the poor pianists.
If one wants to learn to write for the piano, in order to go to the absolute limit of what is technically possible to play on the instrument, one MUST study Alkan (and Godowsky).
Lewenthal, in the foreword to a Schirmer anthology of Alkan's music, comments of the fugue in 'Quasi-Faust' (sonata, mvt 2), 'By this point, you will wish you were two squid and an octopus'.
Fucking crazy to be a full time lawyer and play the Alkan Concerto.
Suprised you didn't use your recording of the Le Preux octaves.
Someone outdid me
there's always some asian kid better than you.. ffs :/
Great list! I became a fan of Alkan MANY years ago when he was still relatively unrecognized, I tried to promote his music.
I am so glad to see his start has risen and continues to be on the ascendant!
I think the Concerto for Solo Piano HAS TO be #1 for the sheer length and variety of difficulties is poses - but I think the hardest 'moments' of his music are in the Etude for Right Hand solo which has some proto-Godowskian textures!
Also - the difficult depends very much on the tempo chosen. This is why pieces like Le Preux and Comme Le Vent are so notoriously challenging - the tempo Alkan intended has not been achieved by any human (yet!)- only by MIDI recreations.
@MofosOfMetal -- Mind-blowing virtuosity of ear-bleed awe and old-school mayhem.....BRAVO from Acapulco!
Alkan never wrote a tempo indication for Le Preux. Somebody who made the first MIDI of it made it ... too fast. A more reasonable tempo would be 120 to 130 bpm, not the 150 bpm that MIDIs and Huang Yi-Chung uses. Laurent Martin played it at a reasonable speed. Also I recently performed the piece at ~120bpm, although with many mistakes.
Most of his music sounds like if someone who do not play piano writes a piano piece in MIDI editor.
@@handznet lmao very funny
@@zswu31416i tried 150 a few mistakes so I toned down to 130 ❤
Among the virtuosos he is the most poetic and melodic. All his small pieces are excellent ideas, influenced me a lot.
I would argue that luszt Is just as poetic and melodic if not more so. (I still love Alkan though).
I awaited this video for a long time.
love how you clarified that 8:51 is for both hands
I mean it's in the title of the piece but with alkan you never know
それはアルカンが両手の相似的無駆動を意識して作曲したからです
@@user-lj1sc9bs4t 「無駆動」とはどういう意味ですか？もしかしてピアノテクニックの日本名ですか？探しましたけど、分かりませんでした
Awesome unknown masterpieces!
Love these lists. Thanks for doing this amazing composer! Please do more in the future
The most and woderful pieces for piano. I love them
Glad to see you make a comprehensive list of Alkan's ten hardest piano pieces. Please do Medtner, Thalberg or J.N Hummel.
I agree do medtner. Arguably one of the hardest composers for his syncopation rhythms, and stretched harmony
13:22 has to be the cleanest performance of that coda I've ever listened to; I need to look for the full recording now
Here's a playlist of his Alkan recordings: th-cam.com/play/OLAK5uy_mqZWLTf8c-bD0zH2dmNnsReZLQnqeTNAI.html
@@calebhu6383 Thank you
Babe, wake up, Caleb Hu dropped an Alkan video
3:32 the fugato is as beautiful and gorgeous as it is hard to play
Morishita's every recordings are now available on the youtube.
th-cam.com/channels/h0Mi_ZAzOX00vZSEoGY4LA.html
Sweet, does this mean we'll see an Alkan page on the difficulty database soon?
Eventually, it'll take quite a while
@@calebhu6383Shouldn't take that long, everything gets an 8 (just kidding ofc)
Thanks for doing my request!!
I think that half the people who watch these have been begging for Alkan since the first composer ranking video.
@@imdarealani oh lmao, but at least he did it. My apologies
@@sovietunion4875 Oh don't apologize lol, I'm also glad it's finally here.
No, it was my request! 😤
sh1t finally an Alkan video! He was so underrated
The hands reunited etude is simply absurd in terms of difficulty, I doubt many people can play that in the world properly.
Right. People fear the 2nd movement of the Prokofiev 2nd concerto, the hands reunited is the same tempo and twice as long.
@@calebhu6383 yeah I thought so
Alkan love♥️♥️♥️
8:37 longer than the Scriabin 7 arpeggio?
I don't believe so
Larger range but fewer notes I think
what abt prok ☹️
What do you think of Gibbons' recording of the solo concerto?
Yay Alkan
When is top 10 hardest Prokofiev pieces?
pls do Top 10 Hardest medtner Pieces for Piano!
Sometimes i‘m not quite sure how the rating is meant. Are the three grandes études 9s individually or as a set? Which does beg the question why not rank the études as a set as well?
And an unrelated question: since you seem familiar with LaDivinaFanatic, how would you rank Weiss‘ Carmen Fantasy since LDF claims it to be the hardest piece out there?
As a set
The Op.76 etudes are rated as a set. I didn't rate the Op.39 etudes as a set because that wouldn't make for a very good video. On my website, I'll be rating individual etudes, sets of etudes, and subsets of etudes (Concerto, Symphony, etc.).
@@calebhu6383
Fair enough and i concur, it wouldn’t make really make sense to rate them as a set. It bugged me more in your top 100 videos, since sometimes there are sets, sometimes individual pieces. I like how you did it in your older reddit posts, where you had both the individual piece and the set ranked
@@blabla5268 he will have both the piece and set ranked on his website i think
Brilliant!.....Also sample Jack Gibbons .
Haven’t played Alkan much except of the symphony and imo I would rate the Sonata higher than the symphony. Concerto on the top of the list is without a single doubt.
彼の傑作は沢山ありますがその中でも特筆すべき作品はop15、op33、76、op69などです。
勿論他にもありますが取り敢えずこれは知っといて欲しいです。
Hmm...what about individual movements? For example, Opus 76 and the Concerto are obviously harder than Le Preux due to consisting of multiple movements/pieces. But if they were split, how would this list change?
cool
I recall Lewenthal saying that the Grande Sonate was the hardest, not because of any specific technical difficulty, but because it was one damn thing after another all the way through.
Yes but Lewenthal also wasn't able to record the Concerto so take that as you will
The concerto (especially the first mvmt) is also kind of the same, isn't it?
@@imdarealani Yes it is but even worse than the Sonata, in the Sonata there are multiple breaks in the difficulty
Do top 10 hardest schubert
NiCE
Great video. But the Le chemin de fer clip was too short
isn't it Gibbon's recording of the symphony ?
yea you're right it is
Oops, made a note in the subtitles
if you can play it slowly, you can play it quickly....
Absolutely not the case. Certain hands may lack the dexterity or ability to move this quickly.
@@bartwatts1921 It's basically a meme
@@bartwatts1921 (Also you clearly haven't watched TwoSet Violin)
@@themobiusfunction I absolutely have. They are from my home country. Not everything is a meme or a joke…
@@bartwatts1921 that is a meme
I think you've mistakenly inserted Gibbon's recording instead of Lewenthal's for the Symphony, unfortunately
Yes, I think that's the case
Finally
Would you say the repeated notes passage in the 1st mov of the Concerto is among the hardest parts?
Having played the Grande Sonate, here's how I would rate the movements in terms of difficulty according to your scale:
20 ans: 7++ (around the difficulty of Scriabin Fantasy, which I played as well. Masterable, but very difficult)
30 ans: 8++ (stupid hard, nearly unplayable)
40 ans: 6 (fantaisie-impromptu difficulty)
50 ans: 4 (not hard)
Fair ratings.
op33の一楽章のin tempoは108×3のBPMです。
スミスの遅いテンポに毒された被害者はその様に難しさを過小評価します。
12:17 weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
1:05 ...I didn't know that a piano could make such a "sound".
HATS OFF TO PAUL WEE, Y'ALL! wow :O
He's a legend
Mistake in description, festin is op 39 no 12
Fixed, thanks
The sad truth about Alkan, is, that we will never know or hear many of his works. A lot of his masterpieces were written for the Pedalier-- an extinct instrument, and the music would not sound the same on just a piano, or an Organ. After his friend Chopin died, and living decades in solitude, he would not even answer the door when France was trying to give the highest award one could achieve in music. He later emerged once more and made a few public performances, playing music of all genres, and even ancient melodies pre-dating Buxtehude and Vivaldi, critics stated his master technique, clarity, and astonishing interpretations were unmatched, and particular his interpretation of Beethovens 31st Sonata bested even Franz Liszts playing of the piece. His talent with music and piano was recorded to have exceeded far beyond that of Liszt himself. He also accomplished many things other than music, for example, he wrote the first French Bible, which is also lost. It is a real shame he fell into obscurity even in his own time. I scarcely meet a pianist who has ever even heard of him.
Alkan was just a GOD, if only for his hat. 🎩🎩🎩
Rachmaninoff had Comme le vent in his repertoire apparently
The final key for the fugue in 30 ans is actually A# Major, which is one sharp less but doesn't make it any better lol. There's even a triple sharp in there somewhere. Transcribing the piece for orchestra really made me appreciate the thing even more
th-cam.com/video/YaP1zc64RfQ/w-d-xo.htmlsi=WA10vOTcjT9TiaZw
I mean the portion prior to the coda of the fugue, which is in E sharp major. But yeah I listened to your orchestration, and it is very well done! I think you could give more weight to the second theme though when it first appears, doesn't have much body to it.
Yeeah that concerto. This is the most fun music ever, not the most profound maybe but I mean just listening to it makes me laugh at the over the top qualities at the climaxes.
Great! I thought in honorable mentions, Sonatine(Op.61), Op.41(Petit Fantaisie No.3), Op.10(Concerto da Camera), arrangement of Beethoven's Op.37 No.3 should be added
yee ladivinafanatic's le preux
Those who searched Piano previews and music studies👇
Do top 10 Mozart lol
Sonata No. 18, Fantasia in C Minor, Fantasia in F Minor, Concerto Nos. 27 and 20
All Alkan's pieces are the hardest
Wait Huang Yi-Chung pulled Le preux in a competition ? He won I suppose right?
He lost
@@sovietunion4875Skill issue tbh
@@thenotsookayguy I agree, way too rushed. Some parts are supposed to sound majestic, but he makes it sound like people running for their life in a storm. Also he plays so fast that some of the dotted rhythms disappear
@@thenotsookayguy yeah, he wasn't too musical, I understand why he lost
For Begginer!!!!!! Yyyeeeessss!!!!! Only begginer 😂😂😂😂
Le Preux is only Level 9 because Huang Yi-Chung played it WAY too fast. What about at the tempo I played it, which is much more reasonable?
No it's the original tempo, trust me I talked to Alkan personally, and he gave me this exact tempo marking.
@@thenotsookayguy ☠
I think this is better than liszt😅😢
Nah equally as good
Scherzo focoso should be higher up
Alkan overrated in difficulty...
Try "London Bridge is falling down", that's the real deal!
貴方がどれ程の実力を有しているかは知りませんが実際に弾いてみてください。
彼のop1~16辺りの初期作品は後年の超絶技巧には値しない、それ程難しくないと言われていますが実際には上級テクニックを必要とします。
grotesque
No
why not@@alexandertaylor7316
battle of the A pfps
Zuviele Noten ohne musikalischen Sinn.
he only forgot to put the music in..
i think its wrong...le preux is rank 1, its not doubtable. i think u judge it only by some part of the songs
Tf no go back on your meds
Actually Le Preux should be pushed way down as Huang Yi-Chung played it faster than you're supposed to (which somewhat ruined the musicality of the piece)
playing like huang yi chung makes this song not musically good but not only speed determine its difficulty. playing slower and playing musically is far more harder, since it needs way different kind of technique, u will know if uve played it. in my opinion, there is no technically serious difficulty in rank one song, except the length.
@@lepreux-ys7dp I, in fact, have played Le Preux before. Have you?
At a reasonable tempo of 120 to 130 bpm, the piece is still very difficult due to the accuracy required. However it is without a doubt easier than something like the Concerto for Solo Piano, which requires both more technique and more musicality.
Le Preux isn't very deep in its musicality and has a relatively simple structure. There are many musical details to pay attention to, but nowhere as many as in other Alkan pieces. (And most people just gloss over them... as far as I know, my performance, which contains many mistakes, is the only performance that brings out these details.)
@@zswu31416 yes im practicing for the concert next month. i already saw ur play, and i agree u did musical details well. but u say that is possible only on slow tempo. i wanna say thats wrong because it is still possible on fast tempo, about 140bpm. thats why i say its far difficult than other pieces. all alkan pieces does not require deep details and this song surely is, but because of special leap+arppegio structure it has, just basic natural looking expression is extremely difficult. and concerto piano solo is not that difficult because it does not require any unordinary technique, as well as musicality.
Alkan is the prime example of a rightfully forgotten composer who got quite an attention lately because of TH-cam etc. His music is technically enormously difficult but it is not worth it at all. Thematically and compositionally bland, empty, emotionless exposition of piano skills. It lacks everything that Listz bombastic virtuoso pieces have. Beautiful melodies and harmonies, lyricism and being memorable
His super-virtuosity is the reason why he is unique. His compositions may not be appealing to some, but it is for sure enjoying to watch. Its as if you're looking at dolphins just playing around in the sea.
I quite agree. It is very poor music. Alkan's music isn't widely performed because it is too difficult for top pianists but because it is not worth the effort.
meh. hard, yeah.. but is it good music? I think not.
That's subjective :D
What has this to do with music ?... ideal for asian robots and rhythm machines
Name an "Asian robot"
Racism be like
This is a prank, correct? Some kind of AI crap? The music sounds horrible.
I really don't see any serious point in these "most difficult" lists! I'm a pianist and find that you either commit to the work necessary to accomplish the task or move on to something else. There's no dearth of repertoire in any class of difficulty. To play any music well requires serious commitment. Sometimes music with less athletic demands has more difficulties in musical demands--and that includes music by Alkan. I remember a recital by a much admired super virtuoso which one of the simplest Schubert impromptus that was very lacking in musical expression. I do like Alkan's music (and play some of it). It's unfortunate that you've chosen the noisiest crappy examples which will give the wrong impression to listeners looking for music.
Wrong
Wrong
You don’t see any serious point because there isn’t one. It’s for fun, Caleb I assume has fun making these videos and most of us have fun watching them. The human brain naturally likes comparing things.
It's very simple. Just as humans throughout history have been entertained by tales of slaying ogres and dragons, so are we entertained when pianists conquer something that seems unconquerable. Music doesn't have to have some kind of deep artistic value to be entertaining.
No one’s necessarily looking for music in these bruh, just difficulty. I’d get more out of the first 3 measures of Liszt Romance, S.169 than I will ever get out of Alkan’s Le Preux. But I didn’t come to this video for the 10 most heart-wrenching Alkan moments, I came to hear virtuosity. If you wanna hear virtuosity with musicality, go listen to Katsaris or Cziffra.
You should clarify what you mean by difficulty. Your list isn't bad, but if the goal is playing them accurately at tempo, Comme le vent would be first. At a slower tempo, (that really doesn't worsen the piece, which is fairly mediocre), the piece is definitely easier than the Grande Sonate.