Carl Czerny
THE ART OF FINGER DEXTERITY
50 BRILLIANT STUDIES FOR PIANO Op. 740
Edited by OSWALD AMIRALIS
EPN 1230
ISMN 979-0-69151-696-6
Pages: 184
Size: 235 x 320 mm
Carl Czerny was born in Vienna on 20th February 1791 and lived there until his death on 15th July 1857. His father was the piano teacher Wenzel Czerny, under whose instruction and influence Carl started playing the piano. Thanks to the boyβs remarkable gifts, Ludwig van Beethoven took him on as a pupil when he was just nine. Carl Czerny performed Beethovenβs works in public and later published them.
Czerny was a prolific composer who left behindΒ more than a thousand works. Apart from his collection of piano studies, he also composed masses, operas, orchestral pieces, and piano and chamber music works. He taught many students and trained a number of pianists, including Franz Liszt.
His most important legacy, however, are the studiesΒ he wrote for the piano. His collection of studies range from basic finger exercisesΒ to extensive and extremely advanced studies.
This edition of the Art of Dexterity is to be considered as a continuation of the School of Velocity Op. 299 and is intended for the advanced, already technically accomplished pianist. It is based on the one printed in Vienna by Petro Mechetti. It is thought that in the absence of the manuscript this is the nearest approach to the original.
In comparison to other collections of studies by Czerny these pieces are longer, more varied and contain more harmonic diversity. They will help to develop flexibility, ease and fluency of movement and with a high level of virtuosity.
Czerny arranged this collection of studies into six groups and gave each study a title describing its purpose and content.
We have retained the metronome marks set by Czerny beeng aware they are extremely difficult to apply to modern pianos. The Viennese instruments of Czernyβs days had a lighter touch, a shorter octave span and narrower white keys.
Β All the exercises should be played slowly at first, then at gradually increasing speed. Even if the suggested tempo is never achieved, the exercises should still prove useful.
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