Born Charles-Camille Saint-Saens in 1835, while Chopin still lived, Saint-Saens shone in many aspects of his long life which ended in 1921. He excelled in the playing of the piano and organ, composition, teaching, philosophy, biology and astronomy. He is most known for the “joke music” Le Carnaval des Animaux (which Disney uses often), and the creepy ‘Danse Macabre.’
He was gifted in sight reading, which made Hans von Bulow proclaim him to be “the greatest musical mind” of the era. Considering Bulow was Liszt’s son-in-law, this was quite a statement. He was often characterized as being to “sanitary” in his music, refraining from pyrotechnics and heavy showmanship that the public liked during that time. If you listen to a decent sample of his works, you’ll probably get a sense of the elegance of his composition, rarely being excessive in any particular way. He did experiment, specially towards the end of his life, a trend that can be found in many composers.
He had the unique distinction of being the first renowned composer to score a (newly emerging medium) motion picture, a feat that highlights the life-span of this magnificent musical mind. During his life he inspired other titans like Sergei Rachmaninoff, and pianist Claudio Arrau.
Recommended listening:
-The Carnival of the Animals
- Piano Concerto No. 2
+Movement No. 1 A
+Movement No. 1 B
+Movement No. 2
+Movement No. 3
-Symphony No. 3 (“Organ”)
Alkan: the Unknown Romantic
Charles-Valentin Alkan was brought to my attention by my good friend Brian. Contemporary of Liszt, Chopin, and the rest, he had a very independent view of music, and was eccentric both in personality and composition. He explored dissonance much more than the “conservative romantics” (Schumann et al.), and and seems to have influenced Liszt in his compositions. Liszt of course championed his peers music, helping keep Alkan’s ouvre alive despite the composers apathy for society. He became a hermit later in life, and his work was slowly forgotten.
His works have quite an emotional range: from the lyricism known to Chopin (his neighbour), the virtuosity of Liszt, the mysticism of Scriabin. All during or before their works came to be. They tend to be moody and dark, yet sometimes I feel that he captures the essence of happiness and desperation with his awe inspiring composition.
As a performer, he was known for his impeccable technique and virtuosity. Even Liszt complimented this master’s prowess.
Some recommended pieces from him are:
Symphony for Solo Piano
Concerto for Solo Piano
Grade Sonate “Les Quatre Ages”
An Introduction to Scriabin
A more modern Russian composer was Alexander Scriabin. He was born in 1872, and lived to meet great musicians like Rachmaninoff and Horowitz, whom were influenced by his work and played them often. He was initially a melodic composer in the line of Chopin, yet he developed his own musical character turning the piano into a percussion instrument, as Horowitz described it. His later works were driven by a poetic and mystical vision of music, where Scriabin linked colours to notes and chords, making him a unique composer amongst all of the great Russian writers. As a note of interest, Scriabin’s last five sonatas were written without a key signature, solidifying his desire to experiment with music; he helped transcend music from tonal to harmonic.
He predicted a great career for the young Horowitz, who visited him shortly before he died. His Etude Op. 8 No. 12 in D-Sharp minor (“Patetico”) is a riveting piece full of examples of Scriabin’s genius. It is quite hard to play, and one can easily perceive the desperate nature of the Patetico piece. It is a study for octaves, jumps, repetitive chord strikes, and massive stretches. There is little respite throughout the work until the very end, as you can see in this excellent video of Horowitz during his prime.