Charles Valentin Alkan was born into a Jewish family in 1813 in Paris. From an early age, he showed extraordinary talent for the piano and music theory. He entered the Paris Conservatory aged 6, learning the piano and organ. When in his 20s, he befriended renowned artists such as Chopin, Liszt, Victor Hugo and George Sand during private concerts. Before becoming a great composer, he gained notoriety thanks to his talents as a performer with Liszt even calling Alkan’s technique the most precise he ever saw. Outside of his hours studying and performing music, Alkan was an avid reader, translating the Bible and the Talmud. Alkan disappeared into obscurity after his death but more recently great pianists such as Rubinstein and Marc-André Hamelin have performed his works. Among his most famous are ‘the Great Sonata’, the ‘Twelve Studies in All Minor Keys’ and the ‘Sonatina’.