Throughout the early years of the July Monarchy , Alkan continued to teach and play at public concerts and in eminent social circles . He became a friend of many who was active in the world of the arts in Paris , including Franz Liszt ( who had been based there since 1827 ) , George Sand , and Victor Hugo . It is not clear exactly when he first met Frédéric Chopin , who arrived in Paris in September 1831 . In 1832 Alkan took the solo role in his first Concerto da camera for piano and strings at the Conservatoire . In the same year , aged 19 , he was elected to the influential Société Académique des Enfants d 'Apollon ( Society of the Children of Apollo ) , whose members included Luigi Cherubini , Fromental Halévy , the conductor François Habeneck , and Liszt , who had been elected in 1824 at the age of twelve . Between 1833 and 1836 Alkan participated at many of the Society 's concerts . Alkan twice competed unsuccessfully for the Prix de Rome , in 1832 and again in 1834 ; the cantatas which he wrote for the competition , Hermann et Ketty and L 'Entrée en loge , have remained unpublished and unperformed .