 Contrary to classical traditions, however, the key in which the sonata ends is very distant from that in which it begins.The originality of this work, together with some structural similarities such as those referred to above, have led writers such as Ronald Smith, Kenneth Hamilton and Jack Gibbons to surmise that Liszt may have known this work before writing his own Sonata in B minor.However, there is no evidence that Liszt (or Alkan himself, for that matter) ever played the 'Grande sonate' in public or private, although the two pianists certainly knew each other in Paris and were aware of each other's work.