In all honesty (maybe because I am young) I actually find the Czerny more interesting than the Scarlatti.
I also have to agree with Bob's post that if one spends to much time on a piece, one can destroy musicality simply by playing the hell out of it. People who over practice a piece tend to loose interest and the emotion is not there. I want to already have acquired the necessary technique for the piece and as Bob said, concentrate on things like interpretation.
I actually emailed Roberto Plano on the subject of Hanon and Czerny and asked him if it was a waste of time. He replied back saying Hanon and Czery are not a waste of time. Surely a pianist of his level obviously has merit.
Actually, Roberto Plano is an Italian pianist who won First Prize at the Cleveland International Piano Competition in 2001 and was Third Laureate of the 2003 Honens International Piano Competition.
Well, I plan on doing tons of exercises, including Hanon, since I have about no foundation and a pile of bad habits.
Computers may weigh no more than 1.5 tons.Popular Mechanics, 1949 Surely the opinion of an expert of their level has merit.
Umm...Bernhard...are you saying your computer weighs more than 1.5 tons?
Way to go Shifty! If Roberto Plano (whoever that is) says it, it must be true! Especially when it is in bold letters! That is enough to convince anyone. So, let us see (I took the liberty of boldening the expert statements as this sure is bound to give them even more credence):1. Everything that can be invented has been invented. Charles H. Duell, Office of Patents, 1899. Surely the opinion of an expert of this level has merit. 2. There will never be a bigger plane built. A Boeing engineer, after the first flight of the 247, a twin engine plane that carried ten people. Surely the opinion of an expert of this level has merit.3. Ours has been the first, and doubtless to be the last, to visit this profitless locality.Lt. Joseph Ives after visiting the Grand Canyon in 1861. Surely the opinion of an expert of this level has merit.4. There is not the slightest indication that nuclear energy will ever be obtainable. It would mean that the atom would have to be shattered at will. Albert Einstein, 1932 Surely the opinion of an expert of this level has merit.5. We don't like their sound. Groups of guitars are on the way out.Decca executive, 1962, after turning down the Beatles. Surely the opinion of an expert of his level has merit.6. It will be years--not in my time--before a woman will become Prime Minister. Margaret Thatcher, 1974 Surely the opinion of an expert of her level has merit.7. With over 50 foreign cars already on sale here, the Japanese auto industry isn't likely to carve out a big slice of the US market. Business Week, August 2, 1968 Surely the opinion of an expert of their level has merit.8. Computers may weigh no more than 1.5 tons.Popular Mechanics, 1949 Surely the opinion of an expert of their level has merit.9. There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.Ken Olson, president of Digital Equipment Corp. 1977 Surely the opinion of an expert of this level has merit.10. This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication.Western Union memo, 1876. Surely the opinion of an expert of their level has merit.11. No imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?David Sarnoff's associates in response to his urging investment in the radio in the 1920's. Surely the opinion of an expert of this level has merit.12. Who wants to hear actors talk?H.M. Warner, Warner Brothers, 1927. Surely the opinion of an expert of this level has merit.13. I'm just glad it'll be Clark Gable who's falling on his face and not Gary Cooper. Gary Cooper, after turning down the lead role in Gone With The Wind. Surely the opinion of an expert of this level has merit.14. Market research reports say America likes crispy cookies, not soft and chewy cookies like you make.Response to Debbi Fields' idea of Mrs. Fields' Cookies Surely the opinion of an expert of this level has merit.15. We don't need you. You haven't got through college yet.Hewlett Packard excuse to Steve Jobs, who founded Apple Computers instead. Surely the opinion of an expert of this level has merit.16. I think there's a world market for about five computers.Thomas J. Watson, chairman of the board of IBM. Surely the opinion of an expert of this level has merit.17. The bomb will never go off. I speak as an expert in explosives.Admiral William Leahy, U.S. Atomic Bomb Project. Surely the opinion of an expert of his level has merit.18. Airplanes are interesting toys, but they are of no military value whatsoever.Marechal Ferdinand Fock, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre Surely the opinion of an expert of this level has merit.19. Stocks have reached a permanently high plateau.Irving Fisher, Professor of Economics, Yale University, 1929 Surely the opinion of an expert of this level has merit.20. No matter what happens, the U.S. Navy is not going to be caught napping.U.S. Secretary of Navy, December 4, 1941 Surely the opinion of an expert of this level has merit.21. While theoretically and technically television may be feasible, commercially and financially it is an impossibility.Lee DeForest, inventor Surely the opinion of an expert of this level has merit.22. Radio has no future. Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible. X-rays will prove to be a hoax.William Thomson, Lord Kelvin English scientist, 1899 Surely the opinion of an expert of this level has merit. Surely 100 000 lemings cannot be wrong, right? Should I go on? Nah. I better go and practice some Hanon unless some – as yet unnamed – horrible consequence accrues. Best wishes,Bernhard.
Besides, a finalist in the Van Cliburn and as Kilini said he is an Italian pianist who won First Prize at the Cleveland International Piano Competition in 2001 and was Third Laureate of the 2003 Honens International Piano Competition. So I'm sure he does know what he is talking about and that Hanon or Czerny has helped him to be where he is now.
Xvimbi, I can see what you mean by Hanon and Czerny giving immediate results and that's what I like about. If I start a piece by Bach, I not only have to worry about technique, but also interpretation, articulation, tone etc... And I don't want to worry about all that. I just want to do exercises where I can acquire technique necessary for most pieces. Besides, I believe I feel more of an accomplishment if I spend less time on a piece because I've already acquired the technique necessary for it instead of spending more time on a piece trying to figure everything out.
If I start a piece by Bach, I not only have to worry about technique, but also interpretation, articulation, tone etc... And I don't want to worry about all that.
Johann Nikolaus Forkel (1749–1818), Bach's first biographer who obtained the information directly from two eldest sons, Friedemann and Emanuel, gives us the following account about Bach's method of teaching: 'the first thing he did was to teach his pupils his peculiar manner of touching the instrument. For this purpose, he made them practice, for months together, nothing but isolated exercises for all the fingers of both hands, with constant regard to this clear and clean touch. For some months, none could get excused from these exercises; and, according to his firm opinion, they ought to be continued, for from six to twelve months. But if he found that anyone, after some months of practice, began to lose patience, he was so obliging as to write little connected pieces, in which those exercises were combined together. Of this kind are the six little preludes (BWV 933–938) and still more the Inventions.'
Pulled from https://www.music.qub.ac.uk/~tomita/essay/inventions.htmlApparently even Bach believed in technical exercises...