Charles Valentin Alkan

Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813–1888) was a brilliant and enigmatic French composer and pianist whose music pushed the technical and expressive limits of the piano to unprecedented extremes. A contemporary of Chopin and Liszt, Alkan was renowned for his prodigious virtuosity and intellectual depth, yet lived much of his life in relative seclusion.

His piano works—ranging from intimate character pieces to monumental cycles such as the Études in All the Major and Minor Keys, which include a symphony and concerto for solo piano—combine fearless technical demands with complex harmony, counterpoint, and often dark, introspective character. Long overlooked, Alkan’s music has been rediscovered in the modern era and is now recognized as some of the most original and challenging writing in the piano repertoire.