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.

@jackcurley1591

10 ай бұрын

Hahahaha that would be absolutely absurd!! love the idea tho

@soratonin

10 ай бұрын

I’d imagine it’d be more like an Ives work

@AlkanPaganini

10 ай бұрын

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.

@loganm2924

10 ай бұрын

Would live to see an arrangement of this

@mazeppa1231

10 ай бұрын

Oh my god. I don't even want to think about this, haha!!

7:52 that's absolutely vile. One of those passages that scares me to even think about attempting

@JramLisztfan

10 ай бұрын

For a second I was like “what’s super hard about that?” Then I realized it was just for RH 😂

@lucienfournier5399

5 ай бұрын

With one finger

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.

@elliottblum7925

10 ай бұрын

Can't find a single melody of his that I like sadly. It's clear why this man is basically unknown

@haelscheirs_haven

10 ай бұрын

@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.

@elliottblum7925

10 ай бұрын

@@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.

@pointthirteen2234

10 ай бұрын

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!!

@gilbata

5 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing, will explore your suggestions

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!

10:27 that octave passage sounds super majestic and all but it also reminds me of hanon in the worst way possible

@bloba6969

10 ай бұрын

Hanon wasn't nearly as funny as Alkan

@amiapsychopat

10 ай бұрын

@@bloba6969it does sound fun but I'd rather play hanon ngl

@bloba6969

10 ай бұрын

@@amiapsychopat the performance here is quite dry imo, you're supposed to keep the pedal until the end, which reveals the harmonies

@anhducduong0105

4 ай бұрын

😂 so true

@user-lj1sc9bs4t

Ай бұрын

@@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!!!

@therealransu

10 ай бұрын

You will enjoy his music a lot!

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'.

I awaited this video for a long time.

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.

@calebhu6383

10 ай бұрын

Someone outdid me

@ryzikx

10 ай бұрын

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.

@steveegallo3384

10 ай бұрын

@MofosOfMetal -- Mind-blowing virtuosity of ear-bleed awe and old-school mayhem.....BRAVO from Acapulco!

@zswu31416

10 ай бұрын

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.

@handznet

9 ай бұрын

Most of his music sounds like if someone who do not play piano writes a piano piece in MIDI editor.

@zswu31416

9 ай бұрын

@@handznet lmao very funny

@ciararespect4296

9 ай бұрын

​​@@zswu31416i tried 150 a few mistakes so I toned down to 130 ❤

Awesome unknown masterpieces!

3:32 the fugato is as beautiful and gorgeous as it is hard to play

Love these lists. Thanks for doing this amazing composer! Please do more in the future

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.

@rich8037

18 күн бұрын

And playing the piano is only one of his two, quite unrelated, careers - he's also a barrister. If he's as good at law as he is at piano playing, his opponents in court had better watch out.

The most and woderful pieces for piano. I love them

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).

Among the virtuosos he is the most poetic and melodic. All his small pieces are excellent ideas, influenced me a lot.

@terifischer6488

2 ай бұрын

I would argue that luszt Is just as poetic and melodic if not more so. (I still love Alkan though).

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.

Glad to see you make a comprehensive list of Alkan's ten hardest piano pieces. Please do Medtner, Thalberg or J.N Hummel.

@popadopalis4480

9 ай бұрын

I agree do medtner. Arguably one of the hardest composers for his syncopation rhythms, and stretched harmony

sh1t finally an Alkan video! He was so underrated

Babe, wake up, Caleb Hu dropped an Alkan video

love how you clarified that 8:51 is for both hands

@Lebotcho

10 ай бұрын

I mean it's in the title of the piece but with alkan you never know

@user-lj1sc9bs4t

10 ай бұрын

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

@Lebotcho

10 ай бұрын

​@@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

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

@calebhu6383

10 ай бұрын

Here's a playlist of his Alkan recordings: kzread.info/head/OLAK5uy_mqZWLTf8c-bD0zH2dmNnsReZLQnqeTNAI

@kas-xe5ku

10 ай бұрын

@@calebhu6383 Thank you

Thanks for doing my request!!

@imdarealani

10 ай бұрын

I think that half the people who watch these have been begging for Alkan since the first composer ranking video.

@sovietunion4875

10 ай бұрын

@@imdarealani oh lmao, but at least he did it. My apologies

@imdarealani

10 ай бұрын

@@sovietunion4875 Oh don't apologize lol, I'm also glad it's finally here.

@dukezilla3471

5 ай бұрын

No, it was my request! 😤

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.

Sweet, does this mean we'll see an Alkan page on the difficulty database soon?

@calebhu6383

10 ай бұрын

Eventually, it'll take quite a while

@The_Guy_Who_Asked_06

10 ай бұрын

​@@calebhu6383Shouldn't take that long, everything gets an 8 (just kidding ofc)

Alkan love♥️♥️♥️

NiCE

pls do Top 10 Hardest medtner Pieces for Piano!

The hands reunited etude is simply absurd in terms of difficulty, I doubt many people can play that in the world properly.

@calebhu6383

10 ай бұрын

Right. People fear the 2nd movement of the Prokofiev 2nd concerto, the hands reunited is the same tempo and twice as long.

@markfowlermusic

10 ай бұрын

@@calebhu6383 yeah I thought so

1:05 ...I didn't know that a piano could make such a "sound".

Yay Alkan

cool

Brilliant!.....Also sample Jack Gibbons .

Finally

When is top 10 hardest Prokofiev pieces?

What do you think of Gibbons' recording of the solo concerto?

8:37 longer than the Scriabin 7 arpeggio?

@calebhu6383

10 ай бұрын

I don't believe so

@wilh3lmmusic

10 ай бұрын

Larger range but fewer notes I think

what abt prok ☹️

if you can play it slowly, you can play it quickly....

@bartwatts1921

10 ай бұрын

Absolutely not the case. Certain hands may lack the dexterity or ability to move this quickly.

@themobiusfunction

10 ай бұрын

​@@bartwatts1921 It's basically a meme

@themobiusfunction

10 ай бұрын

@@bartwatts1921 (Also you clearly haven't watched TwoSet Violin)

@bartwatts1921

8 ай бұрын

@@themobiusfunction I absolutely have. They are from my home country. Not everything is a meme or a joke…

@themobiusfunction

8 ай бұрын

@@bartwatts1921 that is a meme

Do top 10 hardest schubert

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?

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.

@user-lj1sc9bs4t

Ай бұрын

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。

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?

@wilh3lmmusic

10 ай бұрын

As a set

@calebhu6383

10 ай бұрын

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.).

@blabla5268

10 ай бұрын

@@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

@andrewzhang8512

10 ай бұрын

@@blabla5268 he will have both the piece and set ranked on his website i think

Great video. But the Le chemin de fer clip was too short

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.

@calebhu6383

10 ай бұрын

Yes but Lewenthal also wasn't able to record the Concerto so take that as you will

@imdarealani

10 ай бұрын

The concerto (especially the first mvmt) is also kind of the same, isn't it?

@calebhu6383

10 ай бұрын

@@imdarealani Yes it is but even worse than the Sonata, in the Sonata there are multiple breaks in the difficulty

I think you've mistakenly inserted Gibbon's recording instead of Lewenthal's for the Symphony, unfortunately

@calebhu6383

10 ай бұрын

Yes, I think that's the case

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)

@calebhu6383

5 ай бұрын

Fair ratings.

@user-lj1sc9bs4t

Ай бұрын

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。

HATS OFF TO PAUL WEE, Y'ALL! wow :O

@calebhu6383

10 ай бұрын

He's a legend

Alkan was just a GOD, if only for his hat. 🎩🎩🎩

isn't it Gibbon's recording of the symphony ?

@bcarchives6192

10 ай бұрын

yea you're right it is

@calebhu6383

10 ай бұрын

Oops, made a note in the subtitles

12:17 weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Mistake in description, festin is op 39 no 12

@calebhu6383

7 ай бұрын

Fixed, thanks

All Alkan's pieces are the hardest

Rachmaninoff had Comme le vent in his repertoire apparently

Morishita's every recordings are now available on the youtube. kzread.info/dron/h0Mi_ZAzOX00vZSEoGY4LA.html

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 kzread.info/dash/bejne/i5WEk9ycZpe4lrQ.htmlsi=WA10vOTcjT9TiaZw

@calebhu6383

3 ай бұрын

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.

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

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.

For Begginer!!!!!! Yyyeeeessss!!!!! Only begginer 😂😂😂😂

Those who searched Piano previews and music studies👇

Do top 10 Mozart lol

@FrostDirt

6 ай бұрын

Sonata No. 18, Fantasia in C Minor, Fantasia in F Minor, Concerto Nos. 27 and 20

Wait Huang Yi-Chung pulled Le preux in a competition ? He won I suppose right?

@sovietunion4875

10 ай бұрын

He lost

@thenotsookayguy

10 ай бұрын

​​@@sovietunion4875Skill issue tbh

@zswu31416

10 ай бұрын

@@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

@sovietunion4875

10 ай бұрын

@@thenotsookayguy yeah, he wasn't too musical, I understand why he lost

I think this is better than liszt😅😢

@therealransu

5 ай бұрын

Nah equally as good

@uguslife

14 күн бұрын

Alkan was better in form and i would say that in thematic work too, but Liszt was more pioneering (he literaly invented impresionism, atonality and composed first theme using dodecaphony), and had more original a beautifull harmonies, I would say, it's draw!

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?

@thenotsookayguy

10 ай бұрын

No it's the original tempo, trust me I talked to Alkan personally, and he gave me this exact tempo marking.

@zswu31416

10 ай бұрын

@@thenotsookayguy ☠

Scherzo focoso should be higher up

Alkan overrated in difficulty... Try "London Bridge is falling down", that's the real deal!

@user-lj1sc9bs4t

Ай бұрын

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

@alexandertaylor7316

10 ай бұрын

No

@dhu2056

10 ай бұрын

why not@@alexandertaylor7316

@turtle945

10 ай бұрын

battle of the A pfps

Alkan is the prime example of a rightfully forgotten composer who got quite an attention lately because of KZread 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

@Lavirfra

8 ай бұрын

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.

@markandrews4797

6 ай бұрын

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.

@uguslife

14 күн бұрын

Alkan had original harmonies, great innovative structue, he can compose great forms, and was great in thematic work!

Zuviele Noten ohne musikalischen Sinn.

@uguslife

14 күн бұрын

not really... The form, structure, harmonies and thematic work is astounishing!

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

@thenotsookayguy

10 ай бұрын

Tf no go back on your meds

@zswu31416

10 ай бұрын

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)

@lepreux-ys7dp

10 ай бұрын

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.

@zswu31416

10 ай бұрын

​@@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.)

@lepreux-ys7dp

10 ай бұрын

@@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.

meh. hard, yeah.. but is it good music? I think not.

@ShutUpZewenThisIsNotBased

7 ай бұрын

That's subjective :D

This is a prank, correct? Some kind of AI crap? The music sounds horrible.

What has this to do with music ?... ideal for asian robots and rhythm machines

@calebhu6383

9 ай бұрын

Name an "Asian robot"

@ShutUpZewenThisIsNotBased

7 ай бұрын

Racism be like

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.

@lylehopkins3958

10 ай бұрын

Wrong

@GUILLOM

10 ай бұрын

Wrong

@loganm2924

10 ай бұрын

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.

@calebhu6383

10 ай бұрын

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.

@Varooooooom

10 ай бұрын

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.