Kontski, Anton de

International Music Score Library Project [IMSLP] entry: Anton de Kontski

Anton de Kontski (1816-1899) (or 1817, or Antoine, or Antoni Katski, or Chevalier, ...) was a Polish composer and pianist, notorious for playing with his hands hidden under a blanket.

Piece	MP3	Midi	Genre
Le Reveil du Lion		MIDI	CD1 virtuoso piano
	The Awakening of the Lion is subtitled (AUX ARMES.) -- Caprice Heroique. It is de Kontski's Op. 115, and marked Allegro -- Tempo di Marcia. This version is cobbled together from the Star Folio edition, an on-line copy in the Library of Congress and a collection of `19thC masterpieces'. Each has whole sections missing -- such as the initial awakening, or the dream/idyll -- that are present in other versions, and also there are a number of mistakes in the printing. There are also versions on the web with much longer dreams. Take your pick! This piece dates from 1848. Contrary to what one might suppose, it is not about African savannahs and big game, but is a militaristic call to arms. The lion is asleep, while Europe is in chaos [1848 was the `year of revolutions'], and it needs to wake up! The piece verges on the unplayable, unless you have three hands, especially the `con fuoco' passage near the end; and the `as loud as imaginable' final scales come after nearly seven minutes of hard sledding. But de Kontski was, allegedly, a showman with a flair for such things, to the despair of those of refined taste. This is by far his best-known piece; some complain it is also his worst.

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Andy Walker, anw [at] cuboid4.me.uk [remove digit to construct address]