Composer, Classical Musician. Considered by many to be one of the finest pianists of his era, acknowledged as such by his friends and contemporaries Franz Liszt and Frederich Chopin. Highly eccentric, he withdrew from the public gaze for a number of years, but returned in the 1870s to display his still dazzling skills. He was also a strikingly original composer, writing works of rhythmic, harmonic and executive complexity which remain highly engaging ö notably his 'Symphony' and 'Concerto' (both for piano solo), his set of variations "Aesop's Feast", and his Grand Sonata which depicts the four ages of man. A professing Jew and scholar of Jewish theology, he was allegedly crushed to death when his bookcase fell on him while he was reaching for a volume of the Talmud.
Composer, Classical Musician. Considered by many to be one of the finest pianists of his era, acknowledged as such by his friends and contemporaries Franz Liszt and Frederich Chopin. Highly eccentric, he withdrew from the public gaze for a number of years, but returned in the 1870s to display his still dazzling skills. He was also a strikingly original composer, writing works of rhythmic, harmonic and executive complexity which remain highly engaging ö notably his 'Symphony' and 'Concerto' (both for piano solo), his set of variations "Aesop's Feast", and his Grand Sonata which depicts the four ages of man. A professing Jew and scholar of Jewish theology, he was allegedly crushed to death when his bookcase fell on him while he was reaching for a volume of the Talmud.
Bio by: David Conway
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Charles Valentin Morhange / dit Alkan aîné / pianiste compositeur / 1813-1888
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