Another puzzle

[giles.enders]

Who is the musical link between the following: Winifred Williams, Georgy Catoire, Charles-Valentin Alkan and Franz Liszt ?

[thalbergmad]

I am thinking on the lines of some kind of Wagner connection.

Thal

[TerraEpon]

...considering what Wikipedia redirects to when you search for Winifred Williams, I'd guess that's right.

[Mark Thomas]

Karl Klindworth, I think. He orchestrated an early Alkan Piano Concerto, married Liszt's star pupil Agnes Street, recommended Catoire to take up a career as a concert pianist and he and Agnes adopted Winifred Williams, who married Siegfried Wagner.

[giles.enders]

Well done Mark.  Klindworth is the correct answer, he was a pupil of Liszt and Catoire was one of Klindworth's pupils.

[eschiss1]

Karl Klindworth, I think. He orchestrated an early Alkan Piano Concerto, married Liszt's star pupil Agnes Street, recommended Catoire to take up a career as a concert pianist and he and Agnes adopted Winifred Williams, who married Siegfried Wagner.

To be picky, the Alkan work he orchestrated is not early, but later than the actual 'concerti da camera' (the opus 10; poss. 1832/3?) - it's the 8th of the 12 etudes in all the minor keys opus 39, the first movement of the concerto for solo piano (date of composition unknown I think? I'm not quite sure- but published in 1857- not earlier and given Alkan's span of 1810-88, not early )

[thalbergmad]

This was indeed my understanding.

It was also my understanding that Alkan was born in 1813.

Sorry, I cannot help myself with little errors.

Thal

[eschiss1]

This was indeed my understanding.

It was also my understanding that Alkan was born in 1813.

Sorry, I cannot help myself with little errors.

Thal

All the better.
Someone emailed me, if I remember, to correct the birth and death dates on a composer-related website I had set up, that had to do with someone he knew; before too long we had started a fortunate and good correspondence of over a decade. No reason to apologize, I should think.

[giles.enders]

eschiss1 is correct, the so called Alkan concerto was based on the 8th etude of Op.39.  Klindworth originally asked Alkan if he might orchestrate it but found that the more he gave to the orchestra the less there was for the piano.  He finally wrote a concerto bases on the 'theme' of the 8th etude.  Alkan, although consulted seemed indifferent to it all.
If anyone would like to hear it, it is recorded on Naxos and is a far better job than the so called Elgar piano concerto yuck!