''Trois grandes études'' (Three Grand Études), Op. 76, is a set of three

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

étude An étude (; ) or study is an instrumental musical composition, usually short, designed to provide practice material for perfecting a particular musical skill. The tradition of writing études emerged in the early 19th century with the rapidl ...

s composed by

Charles-Valentin Alkan Charles-Valentin Alkan (; 30 November 1813 – 29 March 1888) was a French Jewish composer and virtuoso pianist. At the height of his fame in the 1830s and 1840s he was, alongside his friends and colleagues Frédéric Chopin and Franz Lisz ...

in 1838 and published in 1839. Although they have the highest opus number of any Alkan work, the etudes were actually composed when he was only 25. Featuring some of his most difficult writing, the first two études are for left hand only and right hand only, respectively. The third requires both hands to play in unison two octaves apart.

''Fantaisie''

The first étude, ''Fantaisie'', in

A major A major (or the key of A) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The key of A major is the only k ...

, is for the left hand only. It features

tremolo In music, ''tremolo'' (), or ''tremolando'' (), is a trembling effect. There are two types of tremolo. The first is a rapid reiteration: * Of a single Musical note, note, particularly used on String instrument#Bowing, bowed string instrument ...

s, numerous dense sequences of chords, and large jumps. The first known performance was by

Ferruccio Busoni Ferruccio Busoni (1 April 1866 – 27 July 1924) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, editor, writer, and teacher. His international career and reputation led him to work closely with many of the leading musicians, artists and literary ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

in 1908. A typical performance lasts 9 minutes.

''Introduction, Variations et Finale''

The second étude, ''Introduction, Variations et Finale'', in

D major D major (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor. The D major scale is: : Ch ...

, is for the right hand only. The longest and most difficult of the three, it features rapid

cadenza In music, a cadenza (from it, cadenza, link=no , meaning cadence; plural, ''cadenze'' ) is, generically, an improvisation, improvised or written-out ornament (music), ornamental passage (music), passage played or sung by a solo (music), sol ...

-like flourishes along with many of the same technical challenges found in the first étude. The first public performance is not known. A typical performance lasts 15–25 minutes.

The third and final étude, , in
C minor C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature consists of three flats. Its relative major is E major and its parallel major is C major. The C natural minor scale is: : Cha ...
, for both hands together, is quite different from the previous two études. It consists of a continuous stream of
sixteenth note Figure 1. A 16th note with stem facing up, a 16th note with stem facing down, and a 16th rest. Figure 2. Four 16th notes beamed together. In music, a 1/16, sixteenth note (American) or semiquaver (British) is a note played for half the dura ...
s duplicated two octaves apart. A typical performance lasts 5 minutes..

Recordings

Recordings of the ''Trois grandes études'' have been made by

Stephanie McCallum Stephanie McCallum (born 3 March 1956) is a classical pianist. She has recorded works of Erik Satie, Ludwig van Beethoven, Charles-Valentin Alkan, Franz Liszt, Robert Schumann, Carl Maria von Weber, Albéric Magnard, Pierre Boulez, and Iann ...

(1985), Ronald Smith (1987),

Laurent Martin Laurent Martin (born 12 September 1945) is a French classical pianist. Biography After piano studies with Geneviève Zaigue in Troyes, Joseph Benvenuti at the Conservatoire de Paris, Germaine Audibert in Nice and Pierre Sancan in Paris, Mart ...

(1993),

Marc-André Hamelin Marc-André Hamelin, OC, CQ (born September 5, 1961), is a Canadian virtuoso pianist and composer. Hamelin is recognized worldwide for the originality and technical proficiency of his performances of the classic repertoire. He has received 11 Gr ...

(1994), Albert Frantz (2012), and

Alessandro Deljavan Alessandro Deljavan (born February 1, 1987) is an Italian classical pianist. Biography He began studying piano when he was not even two years old. After receiving a degree from the Conservatory of Milan, Italy, he was selected for the prestigious ...

(2013). The third etude was also recorded by Bogdan Czapiewski in 1983 and

Vincenzo Maltempo Vincenzo Maltempo (born July 2, 1985) is an Italian pianist. He was born in Benevento, Italy. He began his musical studies with Salvatore Orlando, disciple of the pianist Sergio Fiorentino, with whom he graduated at S. Cecilia Conservatory in Ro ...

in 2012.Alkan Society
: Alkan Discography – Works for Piano Solo opp. 63–76 and without opus

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Trois grandes etudes Études by Charles-Valentin Alkan 1838 compositions