Czerny op.740

[PhaseSphere]

i bought this book a few days ago...
i am in abrsm grade 7 do u think i can play them??

[bernhard]

Yes, you can.

But why?

Play Scarlatti sonatas instead.

Best wishes
Bernhard.

[PhaseSphere]

do u think that scarlatti sonata is better??
they can increase my skill better?
i am kinda regret b4 a few years i was too lazy to play piano
dunno if i can play better:(

[Clare]

I'm playing op. 740 no. 2 at the moment, and I must say, I think some of the old Czerny studies are pretty cool.
Everyone's always saying how dry the Czerny, Cramer, Clementi etc. studies are but I reckon quite a few of them rock out in a very satisfying way.

[bernhard]

do u think that scarlatti sonata is better??
they can increase my skill better?
i am kinda regret b4 a few years i was too lazy to play piano
dunno if i can play better:(

Scarlatti composed his “sonatas” partly as exercises. However, contrary to Czerny, they are also superior pieces of music. They are arguably the summit of keyboard composition in the Baroque. So the advantage of learning Scarlatti sonatas is that not only you will have all the benefits of working on a study, as you will also have a valuable addition to your repertory.

However, if you like some of Czerny’s studies as music , go ahead and learn them (so Clare is right – she likes them as pieces on their own right). Czerny composed over 10 000 studies. I like perhaps two or three of them enough to learn them as pieces. Scarlatti on the other hand wrote over 555 sonatas all of them superior music. Have a look here for more information and some suggestions:

https://www.pianoforum.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=repo;action=display;num=1077145772

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[PhaseSphere]

thx for your advice, Bernhard.

[bernhard]

You are welcome.

[PhaseSphere]

where can i find Scarlatti's Sonatas??
www.sheetmusicachives.com only has about 150 of his only..

[bernhard]

where can i find Scarlatti's Sonatas??
www.sheetmusicachives.com only has about 150 of his only..

"Only" 150? (I would think that this should keep you busy for a while…)

You can get all 555 Scarlatti sonatas plus all Haydn sonatas for less than US$ 20. (That's over 2500 pages of music!)

It all comes in a CD from CD Sheet music.

Check their Website:

https://www.cdsheetmusic.com/

Unfortunately these are the Longo edition, which are inaccurate and have many editorial markings that do not comply with what we now understand to be the authentic way to play Scarlatti. I use these scores for the notes, and then I check any particular sonata I am playing with one of the more recent editions, of which the most useful is probably the Heugel edition, edited by Kenneth Gilbert.

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[PhaseSphere]

Thanks...
By the way, are there any websites i can download Scarlatti's recordings?

thanks...

[bernhard]

Thanks...
By the way, are there any websites i can download Scarlatti's recordings?

thanks...

Yes. There are midifiles (harpsichord) for all 555 sonatas here (you can download them):

https://www.midiworld.com/scarlatti.htm

You can also hear some of them (piano) (I am not sure if you can download them) at the Naxos site: (you need to become a member, but it is free).

https://www.naxos.com

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[ted]

My own view is that, as my musical consciousness is very special to me, to play, write or study things, even exercises, which are essentially programmable, homogeneous patterns is a waste of my mind and fingers - life is just too short.

I like to be surprised and charmed by the uniqueness of a work. I like a work to springboard my musical impulse into new regions. If patterns and homogeneity begin to dominate my improvisation, for instance, it's time I put the piano aside for a few hours and did some gardening.

Also, a work worthy of serious study must offer me new things to think about over the years.  Just repeating it in the same old way month after month holds no interest for me no matter how technically well I can play it.

What do you do with Czerny's pieces once you have them under your belt ?  I played his study in thirds (the on in C) once. Then I learned Chopin's (in G# minor). The latter is a constant joy to play, even as a warm-up, because each day I find a new way of feeling a phrase, a rhythm. Even when I did play Czerny's I was constantly playing the right hand in a different key, breaking the rhythm up, swinging it....anything to get rid of the homogeneity. I'm sure Czerny was a very sincere man who contributed enormously to piano playing in general, but music ? No, perhaps I'm missing something but I can't see it myself.

[erak]

You can make Czerny musically interesting though. Find one that has a good written out melody line. (f.e. School of Velocity no. 13) and work it out.

[bernhard]

My own view is that, as my musical consciousness is very special to me, to play, write or study things, even exercises, which are essentially programmable, homogeneous patterns is a waste of my mind and fingers - life is just too short.

I like to be surprised and charmed by the uniqueness of a work. I like a work to springboard my musical impulse into new regions. If patterns and homogeneity begin to dominate my improvisation, for instance, it's time I put the piano aside for a few hours and did some gardening.

Also, a work worthy of serious study must offer me new things to think about over the years.  Just repeating it in the same old way month after month holds no interest for me no matter how technically well I can play it.

What do you do with Czerny's pieces once you have them under your belt ?  I played his study in thirds (the on in C) once. Then I learned Chopin's (in G# minor). The latter is a constant joy to play, even as a warm-up, because each day I find a new way of feeling a phrase, a rhythm. Even when I did play Czerny's I was constantly playing the right hand in a different key, breaking the rhythm up, swinging it....anything to get rid of the homogeneity. I'm sure Czerny was a very sincere man who contributed enormously to piano playing in general, but music ? No, perhaps I'm missing something but I can't see it myself.

Beautifully put Ted. I could not agree more.

However this maybe an effect of old age. I for one am certainly overwhelmed by a sense of urgency and a determination not to waste time. I think you really hit the mark when you said:

"What do you do with Czerny's pieces once you have them under your belt?"

Best wishes,
Bernhard.