Galop-March for piano, eight hands

Albert Lavignac spent most of his musical life in the halls of the Paris Conservatory. He entered the Conservatory as a young boy, took his first top honor in solfége at age 11—foreshadowing one of his later accomplishments—and continued to earn prizes for piano, harmony, counterpoint, and organ over the next eight years. He returned to Conservatory as an instructor, and these teachings led to his first publication: a complete manual of solfége and dictation. In addition to influential texts on piano pedaling and Wagner’s music dramas, Lavignac helped initiate a massive musical encyclopedia series that continued many years after his own death. Of his own compositions, mostly salon pieces and transcriptions, only the Galop-March for piano eight hands has held a place in the repertoire. Part of its lasting success is due to its scoring—the number of eight-hand piano pieces is quite small—but there is always something fetching about a dance. The main theme in D major is set up by a slow introduction. Lavignac occasionally thins the texture for extended passages, and the work as a whole is long enough to give these passages their own character. What it lacks in comedy—there are no egregious part swappings or physical confrontations—the work makes up for in grandeur.

(c) Jason Stell