Czerny Etudes (Album)
Duration: 15 minutes
Release Date:
October 21th, 2022
As Beethoven’s pupil but Liszt’s teacher, Carl Czerny was an important figure for the piano. As a performer he was very accomplished (on several occasions Beethoven would ask him to premiere some of his piano works), but Czerny made real fame as a teacher and composer. He used to cram 12 hours of lessons into a day and still find the time to compose no less than 861 opus numbers!
For a large part his compositions consist of vast collections of educational pieces known as “studies” or “etudes”. These pieces also play a significant part in the work I do with my students. One would think they may be a bit dull, mainly geared towards improving playing technique, but I find they are more than that.
To enable the ambitious pianist to find his way through the vast jungle of Czerny etudes, late-nineteenth musician Heinrich Germer made a more manageable selection of these pieces. They are known as the “Czerny-Germer” selection. From his first volume I chose sixteen quite delightful little pieces for the listener to devour as if they were a banquet of tasteful appetizers and hors d’oeuvres. I wish the listener “Bon appetit!”
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