12 Etudes in All the Minor Keys, Op.39

Published in 1857, this is one of the most extraordinary collections in the entire piano literature. Nominally twelve studies, it contains within it two complete large-scale works: numbers four to seven form a Symphony for Solo Piano, and numbers eight to ten a Concerto for Solo Piano, the concerto alone running to roughly fifty minutes. The demands are close to the limits of what is playable, and the set went essentially unperformed for a century. It closes with Le festin d'Esope, a set of variations of ferocious difficulty. Alkan was a friend and Paris neighbour of Chopin, and among the most gifted pianists of his generation, but he withdrew almost entirely from public life for decades.