Previous posts for November 30th are here: Carl Loewe (2019) and Allan Sherman (2020)
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Charles-Valentin Alkan (30 November 1813 – 29 March 1888) was a French composer and virtuoso pianist.
Quelle tragique
For many years it was believed that Alkan met his death when a bookcase toppled over and fell on him as he reached for a volume of the Talmud from a high shelf. This tale is dismissed by Hugh Macdonald, who reports the discovery of a contemporary letter by one of his pupils explaining that Alkan had been found prostrate in his kitchen, under a porte-parapluie (a heavy coat/umbrella rack), after his concierge heard his moaning. -- Wikipedia
The bookshelf by which Alkan died
Is just a myth, now set aside,
But now the story seems to be
The even stranger fact that he
Toppled his porte parapluie
Which, like the mythic shelf of yore,
Fell, and pinned him to the floor.
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Caution
Give sufficient thought before
You tackle any Alkan score.
Even pianists used to flaunting
Their technique will find it daunting.
The gauntlet’s down! The trumpets call!
And yet I think that overall
It’s best to let the challenge fall
To Hamelin and Lowenthal.
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