Pierre Sancan - Toccata (audio + sheet music)

Pierre Sancan (24 October 1916 in Mazamet - 20 October 2008 in Paris) was a French composer, pianist, teacher and conductor. Along with Olivier Messiaen and Henri Dutilleux, he was a major figure among French musicians in the mid-twentieth-century transition between modern and contemporary eras; but outside France his name is almost unknown.
Born in Mazamet in the South of France, Sancan began in musical studies in Morocco and Toulouse before entering the Conservatoire de Paris where he studied with Jean Gallon, and where he took conducting with Charles Munch and Roger Désormière, piano with Yves Nat, and composition with Henri Busser.
In 1943, he won the Conservatoire's Prix de Rome for composition, with his cantata La Légende de Icare, but did not assume a regular teaching post there until 1956 when his former master Yves Nat retired. Sancan held this job until his own retirement in 1985. He lived another 23 years, to the age of 92, but his later years were compromised by Alzheimer's Disease.
As a pianist, Sancan was most prominently seen in his role as accompanist to the great cellist André Navarra. And his recordings of Ravel's two piano concertos with conductor Pierre Dervaux, and Mozart 4-hand Concertos with Jean-Bernard Pommier, were highly praised upon their release in the 1960s, but are now deleted.
As a piano teacher, Sancan helped to train such luminaries as Michel Béroff, Selman Ada, Abdel Rahman El Bacha, Emile Naoumoff, Jean-Bernard Pommier, Daniel Varsano, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Jacques Rouvier, Jean-Marc Savelli, and Jean-Philippe Collard who has recorded Sancan's Piano Concerto. Sancan's Sonatine for flute and piano (1946) is his best-known work, and has been a popular staple for flute players since its publication, but little else of his oeuvre is well known. Sancan also composed a Violin Concerto, at least three ballets, a Symphony for Strings (1961), and an opera Ondine (1962). Some of his shorter piano pieces, such as Boîte à musique and the Toccata, have caught on as encore pieces.
Sancan sought to reconcile contemporary performance techniques with the harmonic language of Debussy, a composer of whom Sancan was an expert interpreter.
(Wikipedia)
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: classical-music-online.net/en/...
(Performance by: Werner Haas)
Original sheet music: I forgot the exact link, sorry.

[@laurelin5822]

I need to play this ❤

[@Ksamp313]

Just got the sheet music for this piece and started reading through it. Initial impressions are that the real difficulty is getting up to the proper tempo. The most technically challenging part is actually the middle section (moins vite meaning "less fast or lively). Overall the piece fits quite well under the fingers, which makes playing this piece a bit easier than it looks.

[@mrbruks1043]

Keith Sampino it's not that bad tho wdym lol. It looks bad but it's just the same chords all over again

[@mrbruks1043]

Actually, the hard part is getting the notes to become even when playing

[@KeysStrings-du8dd]

Hello Keith Sampino, will you be willing to share the sheet music with me please? or let me know where can I get the scores.. Thank you!!

[@paeffill9428]

@bill Bloggs yeah did ur recorder break again, we are still waiting for ur sorabji vid

[@Zdrange03]

Same with the Prokofiev sonata. The notes themselves aren't too hard, but getting it to tempo is very difficult!

[@MinYangLeong]

When the exam is at 9 am but just woke up at 8:45 am.

[@NOSEhow2LIV]

I had this excellent LP of Toccatas, now lost; haven't heard it for years. Great to find it here with the added bonus of the score. Thank you.

[@michelangelomerisi8398]

Thank you for posting this. I didn't know that composer and that pianist.

[@fisherroastedpeanut]

Woah thanks for this amazing gem

[@giuseppedimarco8358]

Great! Piano work!

[@BalletBabyBoy]

Brilliant!

[@kniazigor2276]

La toccata est incontestablement LE chef-d'oeuvre de P. Sancan, magnifiquement joué par le regretté Werner Haas, mort trop tôt.

[@kniazigor2276]

@@gabindupuy6036 Certains sont cependant morts à un âge des plus respectables (Rubinstein, Arrau...)

[@bubffm]

This is unbelievably difficult. great job by Haas.

[@vnwa7390]

Ridiculously easy compared to Sorabji's music or toccata.

[@primeartonline-pianocovers1535]

@Schoenberg is my daddy Two comments from a week ago on a 7 year old comment. What are the chances.

[@SCRIABINIST]

Not really, just standard.

[@danielgonzalezjr8350]

Kudos to that pianist.

[@katydid2055]

The date of composition is 1943.

[@thenameisgsarci]

thanks for the info. sorry if it came late. :|

[@MrInterestingthings]

Sancan is indeed interesting! One of the very best Brahms concerto no.2 is Werner Haas with Karajan I was astounded when I first heard it !

[@guarrho]

very cool

[@OmgEinWahnsinniger]

The first thing I asociate with this music is a pokemon battle haha :D

[@bifeldman]

I guess it’s good to remember a piano is played with hammers. It was good to hear that piece once.

[@christanquerey3393]

pierre sancan is a famous french pianist teacher and composer; these Toccata hs been edited by Durand ed.in 1943

[@TempodiPiano]

I like all toccatas, even if I don't know the name of the composer.

[@danybaychere5949]

Epoustouflant! Ça ne m'étonne pas d'Aboud ! Quelle virtuosité époustouflante et comme toujours avec lui...sans partition! Il m'avait parlé de son professeur Pierre SANCAN!

[@vaadhsiao8645]

cool.

[@CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabji]

Beginning reminds me of Dukas' piano sonata.

[@eurisko618]

The only recordings of Werner Hass I know of were his complete Ravel and Debussy sets. I discovered these (the LPs and the music) when I was a teenager and they blew me away! Hass opened my mind to a whole new world of fantastic music. But other than those LPs I don't think I ever heard any others by Hass (possibly because he died too young). What LPs did you get this recording from?

[@db7sib7m]

My first recording of Werner Haas was a wonderful Gershwin's Concerto in F. On youtube you should find his recording of all the Chopin's Etudes. It's a shame he died so young

[@bobschaaf2549]

Perhaps if you spelled his name correctly you might find more.

[@__414.88b_]

When you're really really really late

[@db7sib7m]

Werner Haas was an excellent pianist. It's sad he died too young

[@gavinoh7132]

2:02 it’s like chopin’s op 25 no 6

[@sneddypie]

no

[@elrichardo1337]

Am I the only one who strikes that last bass note right after the glissando at the end with my fist?

[@thenameisgsarci]

Nope. XD

[@thenameisgsarci]

search it on en.scorser.com

[@penelopewhite5994]

Jean et Ginette jourez ca bien. Beacoup pour Jean Paul( Comme Tzigane pour lui,(Sauvment il jourez le plus par du musique)JOYEUSE CENTIEME TANTE GINETTE!!!

[@kimjoochan7235]

It is very hard...

[@b80v3n]

I have been looking for the sheet music for this piece but cannot find it. Could somebody email me a pdf please ?

[@DityaSangGita]

I found it on scribd

[@pleasecontactme4274]

bing bong bong bong bing bong

[@mistermasterinahat]

This is a great piano piece, but the audio quality is EXTREMELY poor. Is there any way to do a different recording of this piece and upload it here?

[@thenameisgsarci]

Sorry if you feel that way, but I don't plan to.

[@kylerother8709]

There's a fine recording here kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y2PIYqp6h9pgmMk

[@greggi331]

Sounds like Debussy les tierces alternées

[@musiclover148]

Well, now, THAT was invigorating! However, Sancan's Toccata should be reported as a case of cruelty to pianists.

[@kylerother8709]

On the contrary, Sancan's Toccata is a gift to pianists. One of those rare pieces that sounds (and looks) much more difficult than it actually is - a true party piece.

[@musiclover148]

@@kylerother8709 I suppose difficulty is relative. It didn't look like a snap to me! Do you play it?

[@kylerother8709]

@@musiclover148 I learned it in my 3rd year of undergraduate, and was pleasantly surprised by how easily it sits in the hands. Honestly, the most difficult part is maintaining a logical flow through the tempo changes. But it's a highly rewarding piece to play, and really great fun.

[@elrichardo1337]

@@kylerother8709 Seconded. For me, the hardest part of this piece was the double-notes in the middle section and the coda.

[@kylerother8709]

@@elrichardo1337 Certainly tricky spots, but even when it's difficult, the writing is always very pianistic, so highly susceptible to practicing.

[@Pietro-mc3pp]

Where can I find the sheet?

[@paeffill9428]

probably on scribd

[@paeffill9428]

en.scorser.com yeet

[@sherokun3692]

@@paeffill9428 thank you