Le Preux, Op.17 (Alkan) - Extremely difficult

[@WomanSlayer69420]

"Welcome to the Salty Spitoon, how tough are ya?" "How tough am I? I played the part at 1:59" "Yeah so?" "With one hand like the video instructed." *Reg straight up dies on the spot from a fear-induced heart attack*

[@Asmobia]

Rumor says Alkan played this piece with his left hand only, while his right hand was composing it at the same time.

[@jarbasclareto3112]

Good anecdote!

[@karunkumar4554]

@@jarbasclareto3112 Indeed. Tells us how even the greatest technicians of all time still required at least one hand to play their piano music. *nods furiously*

[@Ant-io9bb]

Lol four octaves in one hand

[@ayhamshaheed7740]

Ant 55 easy

[@dihydrogenmonoxide5994]

Liszt played this with his... uh... ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[@charles-valentinalkan9200]

fun fact: alkan described his own composition as "playable only by me and franz liszt". liszt described alkan composition as "impossible to play" 😂

[@Dylonely_9274]

Lmao Alkan you were crazy dude

[@babygirl4169]

Lol nothing is impossible for Liszt; so is for Alkan

[@sebang4112]

Liszt was a humble guy.

[@simonthomsen8578]

Guess it's just Alkan then:/

[@whaijorhujishkomunyk]

Alkan is above

[@calford2001]

Can I just say that without finding this video about a year ago, I wouldn't have fallen in love with Alkan's work. I am grateful

[@idrisalmamri6612]

Same! I heard many people compare his work to liszt, curious me went to check alkan's compositions and fell in love.

[@that1guy910]

@@idrisalmamri6612 samee! love them both my favourets

[@Helen-sound]

I was looking for Sorabji’s Opus Clavicembalisticum and came across this when I tried extremely difficult piano pieces to play . I love it and also the animated format of the old pianola roller . It makes a change from following the sheet music .

[@stEv3900]

Everyone knows Alkan was just an octopus. Edit: I've already been through the lecture of an octopus not performing any better than a human, I don't need more of them fyi.

[@nonen4733]

no, he was "the brave one"

[@carsongarcia4284]

Nowel the brave octopus *

[@lucaslorentz]

He was insane but not as hard as liszt

[@whaijorhujishkomunyk]

And Liszt is a centipede

[@lucaslorentz]

Then sorabji is what lmao

[@dihydrogenmonoxide5994]

6:09 sounds so epic. Those octaves blew me away.

[@bloba6969]

Best part imo

[@spunk3787]

@@bloba6969 the only nice sounding part besides the melodic parts

[@bloba6969]

@@spunk3787 i like all of it, but you're right, it's still an etude

[@halohawaiian419]

3:30 doesn’t make sense how do you reach a 17th interval with you right hand while playing two other notes?

[@a_failure12]

@@halohawaiian419wdym 17th interval

[@JSBach-pd4yg]

2:00 Right Hand, really?

[@omnitone]

J.S Bach no thats lazy midi editing

[@agamaz5650]

maybe art tatum could play it with one hand

[@arnavanand8037]

When you are too lazy to add a second staff in MuseScore

[@zachariz1490]

THE jake360 it's actually correct. You can play it with one hand if you can alternate really fast and have hands slightly bigger than normal

[@mathiasmercedes4567]

2:48 Left hand, really??

[@redlinx5520]

1:59 It indicates to use right hand only, but has you hitting 6 notes at once?? Alkan octopus confirmed

[@Dylonely_9274]

Lol

[@davidchen2403]

tho you should use both hands

[@sebastian9445]

You play Two notes with one finger B)

[@hritviknijhawan1737]

Well technically an octopus has 8 arms and Humans have 10 fingers. So this octopus joke actually doesn't make sense if you realise lol. Octopii would be able to play farther away notes but can play 8 at maximum.

[@bait5257]

It's not hitting six at once. It has a certain gap. It's hitting 3 on left and 3 on right

[@bigsmoke6488]

6:09 it sounds beautiful

[@teoman_acikgoz]

Big Smoke It sounds like falling parallel dimensions collapsing to one another and forming this exceptional higher dimension in a swoop

[@tylers9006]

yoshi_drinks_tea I just think it sounds like notes on a piano

[@teoman_acikgoz]

Tyler Shaver Well it is, but everything in life is boring if you look at it objectively.

[@justin-zj5nm]

Kinda sounds like HR2 haha

[@solarean]

intellectualbeing69 yeah kinda

[@EpreTroll]

I'm trying to learn that part at 1:59 coming off very well. The rest of the song is so impossible though :(

[@aeroslothy]

Song

[@justapersonontheinternet1515]

Aero Is A Pepega ikr it’s a piece.

[@khanhhung3141]

@@justapersonontheinternet1515 your comment is so new lmao

[@TheBroughamGamer]

@@khanhhung3141 yes

[@therealrealludwigvanbeethoven]

@Mathews Indeed.

[@fredericchopin7332]

"Le Preux" Means "The Brave One" in french.

[@xplatog2317]

Frédéric Chopin the knight too

[@xplatog2317]

Frédéric Chopin WTH? How did you learn french chopin!?!?

[@xplatog2317]

Im gonna chop your music

[@calebhu6383]

XP Latog Chopin lived in Paris for most of his composing years...

[@zachariz1490]

Caleb Hu i think it was sarcasm

[@leobozkir5425]

0:17 I love that part:))

[@ldrgoogolplex4683]

0:49

[@Edgar-vd3fm]

Gives shivers

[@skkueee22]

Me either

[@pierreemad2220]

When everyone thought difficult pieces can't sound good, Alkan told us to hold his beer

[@halohawaiian419]

5:34

[@Manx123]

"This piece is almost never performed at the marked tempo. " Where is the marked tempo?

[@nonen4733]

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@leobozkir5425]

Lol

[@thestrugglingmtf]

144 Bpm (Molto allegro)

[@vongees3942]

1.25 speed:)

[@Jamric-gr8gr]

There is no marked tempo in this piece.

[@ew4956]

Why can’t Liszt team with Alkan instead of fighting over their hard pieces Edit: 1 year later I cringe at this comment

[@kuuderepiano2988]

Too late

[@kuuderepiano2988]

It's *why couldn't*

[@kuuderepiano2988]

It's now in the past ;-;

[@michaelw.4469]

@@kuuderepiano2988 You didn't have to say that :( It's already sad enough ;( 😅

[@chezbe]

Lizst pieces harder then Alkan's, but harder piece ever is Opus Clavisembalisticum by Sorabji

[@cypresswillow2591]

2:22 tickles my ears...

[@alicgluch5553]

Am I the only one who thinks this piece is actually really beutiful?

[@charlesvalkan252]

When played on the right piano with the right pianist, you can hear the melodies better.

[@happypiano4810]

I shall learn this because I think it is too.

[@mirnim]

​@@happypiano4810Really? You'll learn this? (And I agree that the piece is great, but I tried it and it was too hard. There is a reason why there is only ONE good performance of this in KZbin)

[@that1guy910]

I agree so much!

[@Mereaux]

T

[@nishanthpadigar8631]

There's a small mistake at 6:50, all the G-Naturals are actually G-Flats.

[@bruchett4799]

This is just amazing 2:00 it sounds like a bunch of lights flashing on and off :) also at 4:03

[@jimhoerr]

This is pretty astonishing.

[@Erolon]

Yeah. There aren't really any great live recordings on youtube. I wish a professional would attempt this piece.

[@trp8155]

I really like Mr. Barbaro's attempt at it! :)

[@charles-valentinalkan5681]

trp8155 watch Chads Gardner performance, he did it in a concert and he also performed some other Alkan and Mereaux etudes!

[@spaghettio2461]

@Erolon Seonyong Hwang!

[@ryzikx]

Huang Yi Chung april 2023 alkan competition

[@Pardock97]

It's ridiculous how even in music composed by people long gone who never imagined their music would be listened today, even in this situation... there is always people who find ways of making teams and elitism of who was harder o who was better or whatever. So tiring to read these comparisons.

[@alumi9818]

those comparisons often help you discover new pieces to play/listen

[@PianoScoreVids]

1:11 is a mistake, the midi has a b flat in it, but we have a major here, thus only a b.

[@jimmyalderson1639]

Gamma1734 the fact that you're in A major doesn't mean you can't have a Bb. Idk what the music says, so maybe it is supposed to be a B, but it sounds to me like you're trying to say 'we're in A major, A major has no Bb, therefore there should be no Bb' which is a blatently wrong thing to say

[@hanin_gurl]

@@jimmyalderson1639 Thanks

[@franzjosephliszt1555]

Extremely difficult? Hah.

[@Erolon]

Franz Joseph Liszt You're just jealous ..

[@franzjosephliszt1555]

I would never be jealous of such inferior playing ability.

[@amedeemereaux5678]

You mad bro?

[@tuha3373]

lol

[@Igi293]

This is pretty much Liszt's warm up.

[@BearReportsss]

That second section is so beautiful!!

[@tiennhut261]

Oh 1:11 is sound like India music, right?

[@amj.composer]

lol it does very much but actually its an error in the midi file, the notes are slightly wrong

[@rayaan3395]

TokyoNightmare He said "India" not jewish music.

[@jjc.2102]

Čhøpìñ are you the real Chopin | Čhøpíñ?

[@calebhu6383]

@@rayaan3395 Indian and Israeli folk tunes share the same "exotic" use of harmonic scales.

[@ruby_R53]

egypt

[@charles-valentinalkan5681]

Easy.

[@vortigauntzgutz1060]

Hahahahaya 😅😅😅😅😅

[@ew4956]

Charles- Valentin Alkan bro it’s your piece

[@charles-valentinalkan5681]

@@ew4956 no shit

[@ew4956]

Jai_Sheth your failed

[@chezbe]

It is not difficult as it seems.

[@bigsmoke6488]

My brain couldn't understand 6:09

[@apostolismoschopoulos1876]

we are only humans

[@SilverDragon092]

Look at the keys rather than the blue and green rectangle s :D

[@ericchoi2802]

Its a double octave barrage

[@kuuderepiano2988]

@@SilverDragon092 that only tangled my brain :)

[@zacsummers8755]

That’s probably the easiest part

[@mucic4309]

Underrated

[@ew4956]

2:00 F Major 4:04 D Major and Minor

[@frvl]

Easy

[@eboone]

69

[@sneddypie]

Tbh it is harder than many of your pieces

[@kazdaman01]

@@sneddypie Its actually more difficult than ANY of Liszt pieces. But I guess that's subjective

[@ew4956]

Franz Ritter von Liszt I dare you to play this

[@prammar1951]

Well, when Liszt played in a concert after Alkan, Alkan went home crying tears of frustration and had a sleepless night. So yeah , Liszt is leagues above Alkan

[@thomashughes4859]

And since Liszt did not "love" speed being equated to virtuosity*, it is dubious that this piece was played much faster than tempo ordinario. I wouldn't play it much faster than MM 1/4 = 69 (bpm) ... in fact, I'd play it around 60. When you have that kind of control, the piece is beautiful. The piece, published in 1844, is named "The Valiant Knight", and the indications for the piece are "Carrement" or "Straight out" ... "BLUNT". The tempo indication is "Dans un bon mouvement" or "in a good movement". The knightly title and "carrement" might be interpreted as "brio". So, we have a piece that is valiant, tough, and even a bit brash. Prestissimo ... no way! At 60, the "12" indication moves by at 360 bpm and at 69 a rather "mouvement" rate of 414 bpm. This is sufficient to allow for good movement and a little brashness. Too fast, and it would be a "drone", which would be unintelligible. Just my and Liszt's opinion (see quote below) ... you have yours, and that what makes this topic grande. Thank you for the post. * “Ich liebe nicht die übermäßig schnellen Zeitmaße, wie man sie heutzutage oft bei Virtuosen hört.”Franz Liszt, 17. September 1883. (zit. nach Karl Lachmund, “Mein Leben mit Franz Liszt”, Schroeder-Verlag 1970)

[@nilsragnar1347]

Interesting composition 2:00 Almost makes it sound like a cello or something, finally we can crescendo a single note on the piano

[@acerzz2287]

Alkan, Chopin, Lizst, and Rachmaninov are the 4 gods of hard pieces

[@shanafzal3646]

WHERE IS SORABJI ????

[@jansenkalyanotan7113]

Where is Beethoven ?

[@XxaexxeaxX]

Mereaux?

[@acerzz2287]

@@XxaexxeaxX this is 7 months ago bro

[@XxaexxeaxX]

@@acerzz2287 you still forgot Mereaux

[@iq-2898]

Just Happy to know this is played on midi and not a human dont want pianists to break their arms

[@nurkzlrmak280]

it looks a little bit easy for a normal person but.. this jumps. you CAN'T just play and pass it. you can't just ignore it...

[@AyAdam1337]

Aha Türk! Evet gerçekten çoğu Liszt parçasından kolay görünüyor fakat o atlamaları yapmak çok zor.

[@therealrealludwigvanbeethoven]

ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!?!?!?!?!??!

[@athena6444]

Bir Türk daha aranıza eklendi.

[@СалуманҲага]

4:09 Liszt's spanish rhapsody!

[@ayhamshaheed7740]

Honestly, can only play till 0:16. The bit from 0:17 is harder than it sounds!

[@operaclassicalmusiclover3437]

It seems like only Alkan, Liszt and Thalberg can play this piece.

[@ChinoPeresgarsia]

Alimenta mi alma goza de placer por cada nota de le preux gracias alkan

[@88PianoKeys]

There is a pianist on youtube I came across the other day that plays this perfectly :)

[@gt-3797]

Play this piece in C# it sounds great as well.

[@smh1851]

1:42 sounds great in 1.25 speed

[@ayyboi4298]

Holy shit that does!

[@qalaphyll]

kinda sounds like a train

[@smh1851]

chug chuga chug chuga chug chuga choo choo 🚂

[@ew4956]

OMG why do I see so many composers Like Fredric Chopin Franz Liszt J.S Bach Alkan

[@Itibitydetsku]

All except Bach have impossible or hards pieces.

[@ethanmclovin1310]

@@Itibitydetsku Idk about you, but for me, but Bach’s pieces are arguably just as difficult to master as pieces such as Lizst’s Reminiscences de Don Juan. As an example, Bach’s Goldberg Variations are completely ridiculous. Coming from a person that is practicing the variations, I’d say it’s probably harder than a lot of Liszt and Alkan. However, difficulty is all suggestive, and you might the think that the Goldberg Variations are easier than Liszt and Alkan.

[@xvenomx9790]

Liszt played this every day before breakfast.

[@fishingtrio7823]

Yes shure but with bought hands👐 not like Alkan

[@Jamric-gr8gr]

@@fishingtrio7823 I can play this with 1 finger 2 times faster than this video

[@charles-valentinalkan9200]

nha, they were friend and alkan described his own composition as "playable only by me and Franz Liszt" 😅liszt described his composition as "impossible to play" lol

[@dunkleosteus430]

​@@charles-valentinalkan9200according to a youtube comment

[@evoodx9341]

Asian teacher : That's your homework for tomorrow

[@historyfreak1126]

I pronounced "Le preux" to "Le Prick"

[@xplatog2317]

Kaiser Wilhelm II I say it Le priu

[@violeta.s.v]

Congratulations to me for learning the first 17 seconds at normal speed just last night in 7 minutes. I have no life.

[@kanelbullenochkakan3118]

1:59 Is that supposed to be with one hand? aAAAAaaaAaAAAAAaaaaaaAaa

[@theproz997]

Y'all should listen to Seon-Yong Hwang play this, best performance of this piece that I have heard

[@carlosgustavo4418]

6:10 octavas estudio 1:00 arpegios

[@unidentifieduser5346]

you know alkan is high when he secretly wrote message for the 21th century "JIP" at 6:50

[@benliedtke374]

Are there any records that confirm that these virtuousos could actually play these ludicrously difficult pieces. If so, can somebody please tell me.

[@ryzikx]

some youtubers who have played it include Chad G, Barbaro Mr and Seon-Yong Hwang

[@dreadnautilus253]

at 1:59, you must quickly move your right hand left and right back and forward at warp speed.

[@alkertin]

Umm, i just wanted to know... How do you play 3:30-3:45? :v

[@Erolon]

That's a good question.

[@dagadbm]

i can only think of using the middle pedal

[@thegreenpianist7683]

ayshi krtin I just wanted to know the heck do you even play the whole goddamn thing

[@stEv3900]

Look at 3:31, you use a pedal for that? You can't use a finger on 2 notes that are far away from each other at the same time.

[@JSBach-pd4yg]

How to explain this 3:39

[@erikeriknorman]

This sounds amazing

[@ew4956]

Liszt vs Alkan who will win? Like = Alkan Comment = Liszt

[@manuelschlotterflosse1459]

Liszt. But I also like Alkan.

[@GUILLOM]

I personally prefer liszt, but they are both amazing

[@musketeers4765]

liszt

[@musketeers4765]

liszt

[@ludix711]

Both!

[@tomasjosefpiano8902]

Woow this is so beautiful

[@nicolasrubio2276]

Hi! How do you do to synthesia to understand well the hands? In my Synthesia there are like 4 hands for this midi.

[@xiguan5156]

Liszt: you say this is hard, do you forget me?

[@Dylonely_9274]

One of the most dramatic solo piano pieces of music !

[@rickluk-gaming301]

You are in all of the comment sections 😮

[@handledav]

the preuu

[@ew4956]

Ima challenge Rousseau to play this

[@jansenkalyanotan7113]

6:42-6:47 Moonlight Sonata 3rd movement

[@GUILLOM]

???

[@jansenkalyanotan7113]

@@GUILLOM ???

[@GUILLOM]

@@jansenkalyanotan7113 ???

[@Mereaux]

Ur dad is

[@jansenkalyanotan7113]

@@GUILLOM i mean this part is copy from moonlight sonata 3rd movement

[@ludix711]

6:09 - 6:15 sounds like something from Harry potter..No idea why😂

[@Exodius__]

1:35 why does this remind me of the 20th century fox fanfare 😭💀

[@marvinsilverman4394]

6:09 a rain of notes

[@lanwangji3882]

I'm starting piano lessons this week. She better not teach me this by the end of my lessons

[@Erolon]

Why not :)

[@ew4956]

NDM Mendoza I have been playing for 2 and a half years

[@FallenShadow523]

Minecraft Gamer how are you doing so far?

[@ew4956]

Very good

[@unidentifieduser5346]

didn't know alkan was at his day 4 of simply piano💀

[@ludix711]

Honestly...All of Liszt's compositions are very difficult...But that doesn't mean it is impossible and beautiful

[@clone2255]

mr Panda This is Alkan, not Liszt.

[@jjc.2102]

Ludwig Van Beethoven are you the real master of No. 14 piano tiles 2

[@jjc.2102]

Or did you really make

[@ludix711]

JJ Cooper maybe....

[@ludix711]

Clone225 sorry i mean Alkan.... but Liszt and Alkan have a little story together i suppose

[@jimhoerr]

Snappy little tune.

[@barry_crisp]

Alkan was just kind of the pianist's skill benchmark.

[@xplatog2317]

I also have to Yogore midi.

[@МаксимВоробёв-ф6в]

Красота.

[@virtuousvibes2852]

Reminds me of the sea and its behemoth creatures that reside in it

[@thespymawsta]

1:59

[@kmk8284]

Left hand: KILL ME!!

[@EarlFausto_Official]

What synthesia version is this? And is this made on a synthesia video creator?

[@Erolon]

Earl Joseph Fausto Yes, it’s video creator.

[@EarlFausto_Official]

@@Erolon Synthesia version for this?

[@Erolon]

Earl Joseph Fausto Sorry, I don’t remember.

[@EarlFausto_Official]

@@Erolon Is it 10.6 or lower?

[@Erolon]

Earl Joseph Fausto I found it. It’s 10.4.4395

[@Abuelitaofhvms]

Simply piano in 2 days be like

[@ΒάσοςΛυσής]

Lmfao

[@cislak5669]

I learned from 0:01 to 0:11 I feel like a god xd

[@that1guy910]

Lol I love this i can play the fist 25 secs lol also hiii

[@Dylonely_9274]

@@that1guy910 lol

[@that1guy910]

@@Dylonely_9274 lol

[@that1guy910]

@Mathews196 hey hey! Long time no see

[@that1guy910]

@Mathews196 just thought about you a couple hours go Actally aswell

[@ldrgoogolplex4683]

Difficulty: Hyper Liszt

[@musketeers4765]

no

[@ldrgoogolplex4683]

@@musketeers4765 then wat is the difficulty

[@musketeers4765]

@@ldrgoogolplex4683 easier than liszt

[@GUILLOM]

@@musketeers4765 WHY ARE YOU ALL ARGUING ABOUT WICH ONE IS HARDER.

[@musketeers4765]

@@GUILLOM Because liszt is harder

[@skkueee22]

0:17 wtf...

[@foxfire7779]

3:46 Scriabin etude op 8 no 9 moment

[@anfiwa]

What soundfont do you use? it sounds very good

[@Erolon]

It's a VST called Pianoteq. It's very good indeed.

[@agamaz5650]

Erolon yeaa i have pianoteq as well

[@omnitone]

is this normal speed

[@Erolon]

I believe so.

[@omnitone]

Erolon ok good because i noticed that the piano itself wouldn't be able to play it at 2x speed

[@Scyborg832]

+THE jake360 You can play this song at any tempo, there was never a specified tempo for this piece written down.

[@omnitone]

Scyborg On Piano . . .? if thats true it makes me wonder why some troll hasn't played it at 32 bpm and label it a legitimate performance

[@johnb6723]

Check out the Authentic Sound KZbin channel re metronome practice in the 19th century. It will sure open your mind.

[@santinogomezmarin5920]

sonata 21 de beethoven eso si es imposible

[@EsperantistoVolulo]

Liszt, Alkan, and Mereaux are just Paganini version 2.0

[@AlkanLove]

この地獄のクロスは腕や指が短い人にはとても辛いです😢

[@stevenmusselman4467]

Couldn't live long enough to learn it. But anyway WHY? Surely no one would dedicate his life to it!

[@kuuderepiano2988]

It's actually not even that insanely difficult I myself play so many notes on the piano when I'm bored And the notes are WAY more than this piece So to learn it wouldn't take a lifetime

[@jannis11]

nice

[@RohrDC]

2:00 4:04

[@RohrDC]

Username yes

[@Mereaux]

Epok

[@moonlightcocktail]

How is 3:28 possible with two hands

[@Lagrimoso]

There’s something called synthesia and something called pedal

[@calebhu6383]

@@Lagrimoso Even with pedal it's almost impossible

[@Lagrimoso]

@@calebhu6383 but synthesia sometimes marks pedal and sometimes doesn’t. Read sheet music and it will be much simpler

[@calebhu6383]

@@Lagrimoso I've played and recorded this piece. That particular part is pretty much impossible.

[@Lagrimoso]

@@calebhu6383 I’ve tried it too and it is very hard, but very manageable

[@imagine-1a]

Just do 2x speed if your the worlds most fast piano player

[@mmzz8904]

not really impossible though. Practice before you judge my peeps.

[@killpoo7]

3:30 i can't reach that far.

[@cmusic2365]

I think that playing that in the original tempo is pretty impossible

[@charlieb6575]

6:03 just yes

[@unidentifieduser5346]

Someone played this at 5 min tempo i just cant 😢

[@JSBach-pd4yg]

This score for Satan

[@stevenwhite3.1415]

This just looks like a warm up to prepare you for contrabanista.

[@calebhu6383]

It's much technically harder than Contrabandista

[@dreadnautilus253]

@@calebhu6383 I dont believe you

[@calebhu6383]

@@dreadnautilus253 have you played both?

[@dreadnautilus253]

@@calebhu6383 lol, no way

[@calebhu6383]

@@dreadnautilus253 Then believe it man cuz I've played both

[@PT2ClickerMan]

like song lol

[@vincentedelmonte4980]

The competitor of Liszt. octopus ? lol the centipede is yet to come. Some people confuse between music and noise