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23600 Alkan 's attachment to the music of his predecessors is demonstrated throughout his career , from his arrangements for keyboard of Beethoven 's Seventh Symphony ( 1838 ) , and of the minuet of Mozart 's 40th Symphony ( 1844 ) , through the sets Souvenirs des concerts du Conservatoire ( 1847 and 1861 ) and the set Souvenirs de musique de chambre ( 1862 ) , which include transcriptions of music by Mozart , Beethoven , J. S. Bach , Haydn , Gluck , and others . In this context should be mentioned Alkan 's extensive cadenza for Beethoven 's 3rd Piano Concerto ( 1860 ) , which includes quotes from the finale of Beethoven 's 5th Symphony . Alkan 's transcriptions , together with original music of Bach , Beethoven , Handel , Mendelssohn , Couperin and Rameau , were frequently played during the series of Petits Concerts given by Alkan at Erard .
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27.731645584106445 156 WikiText2
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23601 As regards the music of his own time , Alkan was unenthusiastic , or at any rate detached . He commented to Hiller that " Wagner is not a musician , he is a disease . " While he admired Berlioz 's talent , he did not enjoy his music . At the Petits Concerts , little more recent than Mendelssohn and Chopin ( both of whom had died around 25 years before the series of concerts was initiated ) was played , except for Alkan 's own works and occasionally some by his favourites such as Saint @-@ Saëns .
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23602 = = = Style = = =
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23603 " Like ... Chopin " , writes pianist and academic Kenneth Hamilton , " Alkan 's musical output was centred almost exclusively on the piano " . Some of his music requires extreme technical virtuosity , clearly reflecting his own abilities , often calling for great velocity , enormous leaps at speed , long stretches of fast repeated notes , and the maintenance of widely spaced contrapuntal lines . The illustration ( right ) from the Grande sonate is analysed by Smith as " six parts in invertible counterpoint , plus two extra voices and three doublings – eleven parts in all . " Some typical musical devices , such as a sudden explosive final chord following a quiet passage , were established at an early stage in Alkan 's compositions . Macdonald suggests that
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23604 unlike Wagner , Alkan did not seek to refashion the world through opera ; nor , like Berlioz , to dazzle the crowds by putting orchestral music at the service of literary expression ; nor even , as with Chopin or Liszt , to extend the field of harmonic idiom . Armed with his key instrument , the piano , he sought incessantly to transcend its inherent technical limits , remaining apparently insensible to the restrictions which had withheld more restrained composers .
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77.448974609375 83 WikiText2
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23605 However , not all of Alkan 's music is either lengthy or technically difficult ; for example , many of the Op. 31 Préludes and of the set of Esquisses , Op. 63 .
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136.70042419433594 36 WikiText2
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23606 Moreover , in terms of structure , Alkan in his compositions sticks to traditional musical forms , although he often took them to extremes , as he did with piano technique . The study Op. 39 , no . 8 ( the first movement of the Concerto for solo piano ) takes almost half an hour in performance . Describing this " gigantic " piece , Ronald Smith comments that it convinces for the same reasons as does the music of the classical masters ; " the underlying unity of its principal themes , and a key structure that is basically simple and sound . "
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94.47557067871094 107 WikiText2
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23607 Some of Alkan 's music gives hints of the obsessiveness which some have detected in his personality . The Chant Op. 38 , no . 2 , entitled Fa , repeats the note of its title incessantly ( in total 414 times ) against shifting harmonies which make it " cut ... into the texture with the ruthless precision of a laser beam . " In modelling his five sets of Chants on the first book of Mendelssohn 's Songs Without Words , Alkan ensured that the pieces in each of his sets followed precisely the same key signatures , and even the moods , of the original . Alkan was rigorous in his enharmonic spelling , occasionally modulating to keys containing double @-@ sharps or double @-@ flats , so pianists are occasionally required to come to terms with unusual keys such as E @-@ sharp major , enharmonic equivalent to F major , and the occasional triple @-@ sharp .
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91.40299987792969 171 WikiText2
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23608 = = = Works = = =
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23609 = = = = Early works = = = =
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23610 Alkan 's earliest works indicate , according to Smith , that in his early teens he " was a formidable musician but as yet ... industrious rather than ... creative " . Only with his 12 Caprices ( Opp.12 – 13 and 15 – 16 , 1837 ) did his compositions begin to attract serious critical attention . The op . 15 set , Souvenirs : Trois morceaux dans le genre pathétique , dedicated to Liszt , contains Le vent ( The Wind ) , which was at one time the only piece by the composer to figure regularly in recitals . These works , however , did not meet with the approval of Robert Schumann , who wrote : " One is startled by such false , such unnatural art ... the last [ piece , titled Morte ( Death ) , is ] a crabbed waste , overgrown with brush and weeds ... nothing is to be found but black on black " . Ronald Smith , however , finds in this latter work , which cites the Dies Irae theme also used by Berlioz , Liszt and others , foreshadowings of Maurice Ravel , Modest Mussorgsky and Charles Ives . Schumann did , however , respond positively to the pieces of Les mois ( originally part published as Op. 8 in 1838 , later published as a complete set in 1840 as Op. 74 ) : " [ Here ] we find such an excellent jest on operatic music in no . 6 [ L 'Opéra ] that a better one could scarcely be imagined ... The composer ... well understands the rarer effects of his instrument . " Alkan 's technical mastery of the keyboard was asserted by the publication in 1838 of the Trois grandes études ( originally without opus number , later republished as Op. 76 ) , the first for the left hand alone , the second for the right hand alone , the third for both hands ; and all of great difficulty , described by Smith as " a peak of pianistic transcendentalism " . This is perhaps the earliest example of writing for a single hand as " an entity in its own right , capable of covering all registers of the piano , of rendering itself as accompanied soloist or polyphonist . "
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23611 = = = = Early maturity = = = =
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23612 Alkan 's large scale Duo ( in effect a sonata ) Op. 21 for violin and piano ( dedicated to Chrétien Urhan ) and his Piano Trio Op. 30 appeared in 1841 . Apart from these , Alkan published only a few minor works between 1840 and 1844 , after which a series of virtuoso works was issued , many of which he had played at his successful recitals at Érard and elsewhere ; these included the Marche funèbre ( Op. 26 ) , the Marche triomphale ( Op. 27 ) and Le chemin de fer ( also published , separately , as Op. 27 ) . In 1847 appeared the Op. 31 Préludes and his first large @-@ scale unified piano work , the Grande sonate Les quatre âges ( Op. 33 ) . The sonata is structurally innovative in two ways ; each movement is slower than its predecessor , and the work anticipates the practice of progressive tonality , beginning in D major and ending in G @-@ sharp minor . Dedicated to Alkan Morhange , the sonata depicts in its successive movements its ' hero ' at the ages of 20 ( optimistic ) , 30 ( " Quasi @-@ Faust " , impassioned and fatalistic ) , 40 ( domesticated ) and 50 ( suffering : the movement is prefaced by a quotation from Aeschylus 's Prometheus Unbound ) . In 1848 followed Alkan 's set of 12 études dans tous les tons majeurs Op. 35 , whose substantial pieces range in mood from the hectic Allegro barbaro ( no . 5 ) and the intense Chant d 'amour @-@ Chant de mort ( Song of Love – Song of Death ) ( no . 10 ) to the descriptive and picturesque L 'incendie au village voisin ( The Fire in the Next Village ) ( no . 7 ) .
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64.53681945800781 332 WikiText2
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23613 A number of Alkan 's compositions from this period were never performed and have been lost . Among the missing works are some string sextets and a full @-@ scale orchestral symphony in B minor , which was described in an article in 1846 by the critic Léon Kreutzer , to whom Alkan had shown the score . Kreutzer noted that the introductory adagio of the symphony was headed " by Hebrew characters in red ink ... This is no less than the verse from Genesis : And God said , Let there be light : and there was light . " Kreutzer opined that , set beside Alkan 's conception , Joseph Haydn 's Creation was a " mere candle ( lampion ) . "
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62.32653045654297 128 WikiText2
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23614 = = = = Internal exile = = = =
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23615 During his twenty @-@ year absence from the public between 1853 and 1873 Alkan produced many of his most notable compositions , although there is a ten @-@ year gap between publication of the Op. 35 studies and that of his next group of piano works in 1856 and 1857 . Of these , undoubtedly the most significant was the enormous Opus 39 collection of twelve studies in all the minor keys , which contains the Symphony for Solo Piano ( numbers four , five , six and seven ) , and the Concerto for Solo Piano ( numbers eight , nine and ten ) . The Concerto takes nearly an hour in performance . Number twelve of Op. 39 is a set of variations , Le festin d 'Ésope ( Aesop 's Feast ) . The other components of Op. 39 are of a similar stature . Smith describes Op. 39 as a whole as " a towering achievement , gathering ... the most complete manifestation of Alkan 's many @-@ sided genius : its dark passion , its vital rhythmic drive , its pungent harmony , its occasionally outrageous humour , and , above all , its uncompromising piano writing . "
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23616 In the same year appeared the Sonate de Concert , Op. 47 , for cello and piano , " among the most difficult and ambitious in the romantic repertoire ... anticipating Mahler in its juxtaposition of the sublime and the trivial " , and with its four movements showing again an anticipation of progressive tonality , each ascending by a major third . Other anticipations of Mahler ( who was born in 1860 ) can be found in the two " military " Op. 50 piano studies of 1859 Capriccio alla soldatesca and Le tambour bat aux champs ( The drum beats the retreat ) , as well as in certain of the miniatures of the 1861 Esquisses , Op. 63 . The bizarre and unclassifiable Marcia funebre , sulla morte d 'un Pappagallo ( Funeral march on the death of a parrot , 1859 ) , for three oboes , bassoon and voices , described by Kenneth Hamilton as " Monty @-@ Pythonesque " , is also of this period .
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128.18885803222656 177 WikiText2
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23617 The Esquisses of 1861 are a set of highly varied miniatures , ranging from the tiny 18 @-@ bar no . 4 , Les cloches ( The Bells ) , to the strident tone clusters of no . 45 , Les diablotins ( The Imps ) , and closing with a further evocation of church bells in no . 49 , Laus Deo ( Praise God ) . They were preceded in publication by Alkan 's deceptively titled Sonatine , Op. 61 , in ' classical ' format , but a work of " ruthless economy [ which ] although it plays for less than twenty minutes ... is in every way a major work . "
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23618 Two of Alkan 's substantial works from this period are musical paraphrases of literary works . Salut , cendre du pauvre , Op. 45 ( 1856 ) , follows a section of the poem La Mélancolie by Gabriel @-@ Marie Legouvé ; while Super flumina Babylonis , Op. 52 ( 1859 ) , is a blow @-@ by @-@ blow recreation in music of the emotions and prophecies of Psalm 137 ( " By the waters of Babylon ... " ) . This piece is prefaced by a French version of the psalm which is believed to be the sole remnant of Alkan 's Bible translation . Alkan 's lyrical side was displayed in this period by the five sets of Chants inspired by Mendelssohn , which appeared between 1857 and 1872 , as well as by a number of minor pieces .
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63.943721771240234 151 WikiText2
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23619 Alkan 's publications for organ or pédalier commenced with his Benedictus , Op. 54 ( 1859 ) . In the same year he published a set of very spare and simple preludes in the eight Gregorian modes ( 1859 , without opus number ) , which , in Smith 's opinion , " seem to stand outside the barriers of time and space " , and which he believes reveal " Alkan 's essential spiritual modesty . " These were followed by pieces such as the 13 Prières ( Prayers ) , Op. 64 ( 1865 ) , and the Impromptu sur le Choral de Luther " Un fort rempart est notre Dieu " , op . 69 ( 1866 ) . Alkan also issued a book of 12 studies for the pedalboard alone ( no opus number , 1866 ) and the Bombardo @-@ carillon for pedalboard duet ( four feet ) of 1872 .
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23620 Alkan 's return to the concert platform at his Petits Concerts , however , marked the end of his publications ; his final work to be issued was the Toccatina , Op. 75 , in 1872 .
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23621 = = Reception and legacy = =
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23622 Alkan had few followers ; however , he had important admirers , including Liszt , Anton Rubinstein , Franck , and , in the early twentieth century , Busoni , Petri and Sorabji . Rubinstein dedicated his fifth piano concerto to him , and Franck dedicated to Alkan his Grand pièce symphonique op . 17 for organ . Busoni ranked Alkan with Liszt , Chopin , Schumann and Brahms as one of the five greatest composers for the piano since Beethoven . Isidor Philipp and Delaborde edited new printings of his works in the early 1900s . In the first half of the twentieth century , when Alkan 's name was still obscure , Busoni and Petri included his works in their performances . Sorabji published an article on Alkan in his 1932 book Around Music ; he promoted Alkan 's music in his reviews and criticism , and his Sixth Symphony for Piano ( Symphonia claviensis ) ( 1975 – 76 ) , includes a section entitled Quasi Alkan . The English composer and writer Bernard van Dieren praised Alkan in an essay in his 1935 book , Down Among the Dead Men , and the composer Humphrey Searle also called for a revival of his music in a 1937 essay .
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45.434566497802734 213 WikiText2
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23623 For much of the 20th century , Alkan 's work remained in obscurity , but from the 1960s onwards it was steadily revived . Raymond Lewenthal gave a pioneering extended broadcast on Alkan on WBAI radio in New York in 1963 , and later included Alkan 's music in recitals and recordings . The English pianist Ronald Smith championed Alkan 's music through performances , recordings , a biography and the Alkan Society of which he was president for many years . Works by Alkan have also been recorded by Jack Gibbons , Marc @-@ André Hamelin , Mark Latimer , John Ogdon , and Hüseyin Sermet , among many others . Ronald Stevenson has composed a piano piece Festin d 'Alkan ( referring to Alkan 's Op. 39 , no . 12 ) and the composer Michael Finnissy has also written piano pieces referring to Alkan , e.g. Alkan @-@ Paganini , no . 5 of The History of Photography in Sound . Marc @-@ André Hamelin 's Étude No . IV is a moto perpetuo study combining themes from Alkan 's Symphony , Op. 39 , no . 7 , and Alkan 's own perpetual motion étude , Op. 76 , no . 3 . It is dedicated to Averil Kovacs and François Luguenot , respectively activists in the English and French Alkan Societies . As Hamelin writes in his preface to this étude , the idea to combine these came from the composer Alistair Hinton , the finale of whose Piano Sonata No. 5 ( 1994 – 95 ) includes a substantial section entitled " Alkanique " .
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48.723751068115234 282 WikiText2
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23624 Alkan 's compositions for organ have been among the last of his works to be brought back to the repertoire . As to Alkan 's pedal @-@ piano works , due to a recent revival of the instrument , they are once again being performed as originally intended ( rather than on an organ ) , such as by Italian pedal @-@ pianist Roberto Prosseda , and recordings of Alkan on the pedal piano have been made by Jean Dubé and Olivier Latry .
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23625 = = Selected recordings = =
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1906.119873046875 6 WikiText2
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23626 This list comprises a selection of some premiere and other recordings by musicians who have become closely associated with Alkan 's works . A comprehensive discography is available at the Alkan Society website .
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23627 Piano Trio , Op. 30 – played by Trio Alkan . Recorded 1992 . Naxos , 8555352 ( 2001 )
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311.60205078125 21 WikiText2
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23628 Grande sonate , Op. 33 – played by Marc @-@ André Hamelin ( piano ) . Recorded 1994 . Hyperion , CDA669764 ( 1995 ) .
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23629 Études dans tous les tons mineurs , Op. 39 – played by Ronald Smith ( piano ) . Recorded 1977 . EMI , SLS 5100 [ 3 LPs ] ( 1978 ) , partly reissued EMI Gemini , 585 4842 ( 2003 )
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198.9121856689453 44 WikiText2
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23630 Études dans tous les tons mineurs , Op. 39 and other works – played by Jack Gibbons ( piano ) . Recorded 1995 . ASV , CD DCS 227 [ 2 CDs ] ( 1995 )
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230.3467254638672 37 WikiText2
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23631 Concerto , Op. 39 , nos . 8 – 10 – played by John Ogdon ( piano ) . Recorded 1969 . RCA , LSC @-@ 3192 [ LP ] ( 1972 ) . Great British Pianists , 4569132 ( 1999 )
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23632 Le festin d 'Esope ( Op. 39 , no . 12 ) and other works – played by Raymond Lewenthal . Recorded 1966 . RCA LM 2815 [ LP mono ] , LSC @-@ 2815 [ LP stereo ] ; BMG High Performance Series 633310 ( 1999 )
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387.98699951171875 51 WikiText2
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23633 Sonate de concert , Op. 47 , for cello and piano – played by Steven Osborne ( piano ) and Alban Gebhart ( cello ) . Recorded 2008 . Hyperion CDA67624 ( 2008 ) .
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23634 11 Pièces dans le style religieux , et une transcription du Messie de Hændel , Op. 72 – played by Kevin Bowyer ( organ ) . Recorded 2005 . Toccata TOCC 0031 ( 2007 )
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23635 Symphony for Solo Piano ( Op. 39 , no . 4 @-@ 7 ) – played by Egon Petri ( piano ) . c . 1952 – 53 . Symposium Records , CD 1145 ( 1993 )
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23636 = = = About Alkan = = =
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348.1686096191406 8 WikiText2
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23637 Alkan Society , including complete and regularly updated discography
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23638 Alkan web site of Sylvain Chosson , contains detailed listing of Alkan 's works , with some downloadable scores
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23639 " The Myths of Alkan " by Jack Gibbons
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259.579833984375 9 WikiText2
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23640 Unriddling Alkan by David Conway
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2410.893310546875 5 WikiText2
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23641 Alkan @-@ Zimmerman International Music Association
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4957.3896484375 8 WikiText2
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23642 Pictures of Alkan
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1884.5499267578125 3 WikiText2
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23643 = = = Scores and sheet @-@ music = = =
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792.2652587890625 13 WikiText2
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23644 Free Alkan scores and manuscripts – site of Sylvain Chosson
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2449.771484375 10 WikiText2
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23645 Kunst der Fuge : many of Alkan 's piano works in MIDI performances
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558.7396850585938 13 WikiText2
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23646 Alkan Piano Trio @-@ Discussion of work and soundbites
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882.3367309570312 11 WikiText2
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23647 www.kreusch @-@ sheet @-@ music.net – Free Scores by Alkan
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655.1459350585938 14 WikiText2
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23648 Free scores by Alkan at the International Music Score Library Project
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1332.2784423828125 11 WikiText2
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23649 = = = Performances on the Web = = =
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