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Yes, OSK discussing Alkan on Piano World... What's new?
But I've been thinking about his Etude in A-flat, Op. 35, No. 8. It begins with the right hand alone, is later answered by the left hand alone, and the two hands alternate like a duet/conversation until they finally come together in the latter half of the work.
So my question is this: is there another piece in the repertoire like this? For one hand at a time, but still uses both hands?
None that I'm aware of. In fact, I don't know any piece that just uses each hand separately.
The piece reminded me of Mendelssohn's Duetto that has a dialogue between two voices that eventually combine. Interestingly, the piece is also in A flat major. Here it is in a slow but very beautiful performance by Gilels: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQtLgjZCEbQ
Interesting question, because it really seems like there should be another one like it, but I can't think of any. But there seems to be an endless supply of etudes to explore, so who knows, one may still turn up. To me, Godowsky seems like an obvious candidate to write such a thing, since he wrote so much for one hand, and loved complicated music, but I don't think he did.
Some of Moszkowski's op. 72 etudes follow a plan of giving one hand a technical issue to work out (usually the right) while the other plays an accompaniment, and then flipping it somewhere in the etude so the opposite hand also gets the technical workout. Then it flips back. In the first etude from that set, both hands end up playing unison for most of the coda, so it has a kind of resemblance to the basic outline of the Alkan, even if there's no one-hand writing. In another from that set, there is section of left-hand alone writing, although the piece is mostly for both hands.
But none of those have anything like the challenges of the Alkan, where the one-handed parts are very difficult even when played alone. The problems presented aren't just to play the legato melody against the super-light staccato accompaniment all in one hand, which is hard enough, but also to figure out some very awkward moments which seem more or less impossible to play as written. And, all the while, make it all into beautiful, serenely poised music.
And then, you have to do all that in both hands at the same time. I have to say, I thought my head would explode the first few times I played through this and got to the hands together part. Fortunately, some pedal is specified, which helps, but still...
I remember that Raymond Lewenthal thought this was one of the most useful etudes around. I can see why - you have to have pretty refined control of touch and finger independence before it can sound very good.
Well Alkan does a similar thing with his Trois Grandes Etudes, but you probably already knew that, and that is over three pieces. (left hand only, right hand only, and then both hand rip the keyboard apart) Bach has some duets which exhibit some of this, but not nearly as much that I know of. (also not sure how much they stick to one hand at a time)
