Friedrich Kalkbrenner (1785-1849) was one of the leading piano virtuosos of the first part of the 19th century. He studied at the Paris Conservatory with Louis Adam and composition in Vienna with Albrechtsberger and Salieri. He was on friendly terms with Haydn, Beethoven, and Hummel. After leaving Vienna, he pursued a career as a touring soloist. He was also a prolific composer, an inventor, and piano manufacturer. He lived in London for nearly 10 years before moving to Paris, where he remained for the rest of his life. There, he became one of the leading piano teachers of the day and founder of a method which influenced such pianists as Louis Moreau Gottschalk and Saint-Saëns. Kalkbrenner was fond of saying that since the deaths of Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, and Hummel, he was the last classical composer left.
The Grand March, Storm and Polonaise in D Major, Op.93 appeared in 1828 while Kalkbrenner was living in Paris. It is one of the earliest such works for this combination. He had written a similar work in 1821. However, while that work was a formal sextet, this work is more in the nature of a tone poem or programmatic piece. It was dedicated to Nicholas I, the Tsar of Russia. It is in three sections. It begins with what Kalkbrenner titled Introduzione, but this is not really an introduction at all, but a very substantial section or movement on its own, full of several moods, with dramatic and exciting episodes before it gives way to the Grand March, which, toward the end, is interrupted by a brief storm. When it finally subsides, it ushers in the lively Polonaise to conclude the work.
We have reprinted a very clean copy of the original 1828 edition. As was common for the time, the piano part is only the piano part and not a score. However, cues of the other voices are included in the piano part to help with performance.