Technique and expression in Carl Czerny's teaching: a critical study of Czerny's Piano-Forte School, Opus 500, demonstrating the direct relation between mechanical teaching and expression in performance
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Abstract
Carl Czerny (1791–1857) lived at the turn of the nineteenth century, when the piano
underwent significant development as an instrument, and subsequently generated a huge
repertoire. While Czerny is mostly remembered for his piano exercises and etudes, his
writings about music as well as his works in serious style reveal a man with a sophisticated
awareness of the importance of piano technique, entwined with profound musical ideas and
an understanding of music that make him a forerunner of the romantic style.
This study focuses on Czerny’s Opus 500 Complete Theoretical and Practical
Piano Forte School (1839), and its Supplement (1845). Through analysis of the tutorial’s
content it attempts to prove the deep connection between piano technique and expressive
playing in Czerny’s teaching.
The first five chapters of this work compare elements of expressive playing, such
as articulation, dynamics and tempo, as presented in different tutorials written before
Czerny’s opus 500, clearly relevant to Czerny. The remaining chapters of this study discuss
the pedagogical path that Czerny suggests to master those same aspects, especially through
scales and scale-based exercises, and through constant attention to improving the listening
skills of the student.
The purpose of this work is to reassess Czerny as a key figure of modern piano
technique, as a teacher and pedagogue able to introduce pianists to mechanical training
while honing the essential skills to perform any piece of music in any style expressively.