The biographer of Chopin , Frederick Niecks , sought Alkan for his recollections in 1880 but was sternly denied access by Alkan 's concierge – " To my ... enquiry when he could be found at home , the reply was a ... decisive ' Never ' . " However , a few days later he found Alkan at Érard 's , and Niecks write of their meeting that " his reception of me was not merely polite but most friendly . "