Alkan - Esquisse No. 10 "Increpatio"

Esquisses Op. 63 No. 10 "Increpatio"

Quoted from Ronald Smith's 'Alkan, the Man, the Music': "Increpatio (rebuke) is prefaced by a few searing arpeggios sounding like the rending of garments. Smouldering quintuplets supply the motive power and form a spring-board for a violently rhythmic feature which fairly splutters with venom."

Category:

Music

Tags:

• alkan
• liszt
• chopin

[jefftam1234]

Michael Bluth: "the fact that u called a piano piece a 'song' tells me that you are not ready."

[juufa72]

More please! ;-p

[sfsphil]

Thanks for posting this! I would love to hear the master, Marc-André Hamelin, play these Esquisses.

[TheWanderingNight]

He certainly has substance, but one that is easy to identify (sometimes), but hard to truly grasp. It's a problem because I don't see much use in comparing him to Liszt (as some people have). Their approaches and goals are worlds apart - and maybe that's why Alkan's popular; because he's the "anti-Liszt", and people seem to revel in necromancy. I personally find Alkan very experimental and somewhat hit-and-miss. That aside, many of his pieces deserve more recognition than they are given now.

[TheWanderingNight]

As a composer, I think Alkan is difficult to place. His roots are clearly Classical, and I can almost say that he skipped much of Romanticism (Liszt, Chopin, etc.) and straight into an experimental Modernist/Neoclassical attitude, while only borrowing from a few Romantics, namely Mendelssohn. I guess what I'm saying is that he's anachronistic and an offshoot of the Western music canon - kind of like an early Satie, except Satie actually had family, so to speak.

[Busoni72]

An angry piece, indeed.

[amxmachine]

@toneeeeeee you use a lot of absolutes when you speak your opinions. it makes you seem naive is all i am saying. have you listened to his op 35 no 7 ?(one of my favorite musical pieces) or no 3? also his concerto third movement is unlike anything i have heard. op 31 no 8 has madness echoing. the four i just named are all very original and represent totally different tones. i will state one absolute opinion. you can not, and i mean CAN NOT, generalize all the works of any composer at this level

[toneeeeeee]

@amxmachine Now, that also being said, I would wish to deprive no one of his music, as It's tremendous appeal lies in it power to draw even the most unfamiliar of listeners. So by all means music lovers, feast on the music of Alkan! Realize though, that Alkan is not the pinnacle, like many other composers were.

[toneeeeeee]

@amxmachine This has in my experience, resulted in a sort of fad-like fever surrounding his music. It draws a new listener instantly but to an experienced listener, there is truly nothing said that hasn't been said before, in much more profound and effective ways. Couple this with the fact that the musical ideas are dwarfed by technical difficulties, and you have a body of music with HIGH curiosity value, but Little artistic reward. All being said, I do enjoy Alkan, but he is overrated.

[toneeeeeee]

@amxmachine Experience. Alkan is a fairly popular composer nowadays among the young crowd. The reason is fairly easy to see. The music reveals no secrets and begs no real experience be required for maximum enjoyment. It is straightforward and rewarding on first and second listen. This is a STRENGTH of Alkan, but also a peculiar weakness. Whereas the music of Brahms or Rachmaninoff is instantly enjoyable, it also rewards deeper reflection which Alkan rarely does.

[amxmachine]

@toneeeeeee speaking from experience or omniscience?