Charles-Valentin Alkan - Marche triomphale Op. 27 (REAL-LIFE PERFORMANCE)

NB. Guess what personal achievement am I celebrating... :D
Throughout his career, Alkan was fond of publishing pairs of curiously contrasting pieces, for instance, Jean qui pleure et Jean qui rit, fughe (2) da camera or the psychologically acute Petites pièces (2) (Ma chère liberté and ma chère servitude). The Capriccio alla soldatesca and Le tambour bat aux champs, which share the number Op. 50, comprise a satirical conspectus of combat seen from the perspective of a cavalry officer and of a common foot soldier, respectively. Thus, it is inevitable to hear the Marche funèbre and Marche triomphale, composed in the glow of Alkan's successful return to the concert platform in 1844, as a tandem meant to share and spur recognitions. Both were published by Brandus in 1846, though Alkan is known to have performed them privately in the latter part of 1844, and both are dedicated "à Madame la Duchesse de Montebello," one of Alkan's wealthy pupils. But while the Marche funèbre is a grand, somberly haunting tone poem, the Marche triomphale, with its octave triplet cascades, is rife with an exhilarating giddiness set off by strutting smugness. Originally titled Marche héroïque, it is not unlike the signature piece of Leopold de Meyer, a piano virtuoso who took Paris by storm at the end of 1844; the Marche marocaine created such a public furor that Berlioz was moved to orchestrate it and offer it at one of his "monster concerts" on February 16, 1845. The genuine contrast, it seems, is the reclusive genius, poet, and satirist with another brilliant showman. Thanks to the vagaries of publishing, the Marche triomphale shares its opus number with the contemporaneous Le chemin de fer.
(AllMusic)
Please take note that the audio AND the sheet music ARE NOT mine. Change the quality to a minimum of 480p if the video is blurry.
Original audio: • Charles Valentin Alkan...
Original sheet music: imslp.org
If you wish to see the first version of this video (performed by MIDI), click here: • Video

[@stevenru4516]

No wonder why this was one of his most popular concert pieces

[@sebastientraglia1351]

Mmmmh... needs more octaves

[@SamuraiSx19]

just freaking russian melos 1:59

[@Hitherto90]

This is such a piece composed by Alkan it's scary.

[@chp763]

Alkan*

[@AsrielKujo]

Allah*

[@kire6993]

Akin*

[@appasonata2]

Thank you

[@thenameisgsarci]

Yeah, you're welcome. :)

[@tomekkobialka]

It's good, but I think Alkan went a LITTLE overboard at 4:25...

[@SamuraiSx19]

he liked trolling sometimes)

[@rosiefay7283]

Have you heard his "Le preux"?

[@krugos1978]

Very nice and joyful piece, must be lots of fun to play. Thanks for sharing! Don't know what personal achievement you are celebrating, but congratulations on that. :)

[@thenameisgsarci]

1) Fun... and difficult, should I dare to say. 2) You're welcome. 3) Oh, c'mon, make a guess... please... >_

[@krugos1978]

+thenameisgsarci 1) Indeed! :D 3) I don't know, was it your Birthday?

[@thenameisgsarci]

Birthday? Nope.

[@krugos1978]

Oh, so you were celebrating 4 million views! Wow, that's great, congratulations, may your channel get millions more views and also many more subscriptions.

[@thenameisgsarci]

Awww, thanks for the greeting... but that's still not what I'm talking about.

[@bloba6969]

The ending is very alkany

[@benharmonics]

0:18-0:44 1:25-1:45 2:49

[@Xyriak]

dreary

[@krismariasy9728]

you should do Lachenmann's Ein Kinderspiel next!

[@thenameisgsarci]

Maybe some time in the future. But hey, if you have an idea when I'll post this, you're a very smart man. ;)

[@krismariasy9728]

+thenameisgsarci the score is readily available on the internet!

[@thenameisgsarci]

I know. I have it already, and I've already decided which recording to use.

[@krismariasy9728]

+thenameisgsarci get to making the videos!

[@thenameisgsarci]

Maybe some other time, please. My schedule is cramped... D:

[@lewisbae]

what's a real-life performance?

[@thenameisgsarci]

A "real-life performance video", in this context, is a sheet music video performed by computer (in such cases, MIDI) that was changed so that the audio being used is from a recording by a human.

[@lewisbae]

thenameisgsarci So you mean that it's an audio played by computer which is converted from a human performance?

[@lewisbae]

thenameisgsarci like a disc -> .mp3 file?

[@thenameisgsarci]

It's vice versa... from computer-performed to human-performed.

[@lewisbae]

thenameisgsarci is it like an edited recording?

[@lukisIVIII]

I get the impression that Alkan, while being extremely joyfull to listen to, composes rather unambitious compositions. I mean, I love listening to it, but comparing it to the other composers it's so plain and unsophisticated, like some kind of pop artist of the nineteenth century. Note that this is only my impression, I'm not saying it's not advanced composition technique, it could be, simply because don't have any degree in music or anything like that.

[@OrangeSodaKing]

+lukisIVIII Alkan never really explored harmonically as much as his romantic-era contemporaries did. Try the cello sonata Op. 47, that is incredibly ambitious!

[@jaegonekim]

Maybe it is because Alkan was a composer in the early romantic period

[@PieInTheSky9]

+lukisIVIII I don't feel like Alkan was a great innovator, same way I feel about Thalberg. I find Liszt much more interesting in this regard. I do however find Alkan's music to be incredibly unique and exciting.

[@jaegonekim]

+김재곤 In my opinion, Alkan was good at writing concert pieces rather than serious pieces

[@jamesrockybullin5250]

+Echoherb Yes, in some ways, his music is conservative, but he did some amazingly innovative things. Compare his op 38 no 2 to Chopin's raindrop prelude! The first movement of his piano sonata is over 30 minutes long, an unbelievable scale. Not to mention pieces for single hand. And the Concerto for Solo Piano!