Re: Collecting Carl Czerny
Posted: Sat Mar 30, 2013 7:20 pm
I felt the same way as Thalbergmad, when I first tried to sight read random Schumann piano works. For some reason it felt dark and bland. I can't explain why his music felt dark to me, it just did at the time. I thought it was humorless, drab, and not very pianistic. Then, when listening to his violin sonatas and string quartets with the scores, I was getting less and less interested in this composer. It wasn't until hearing his first symphony (and playing through the 2-hand transcription) that I began to get a different feeling from his works. I began to see the lighter, humorous sides more and began to enjoy his music. From there, it just got better as I understood his style more and more, which usually works that way for me. For me, greater familiarity breeds enjoyment in most cases.
As for Schumann's stance against Czerny, I completely understand his contempt for what Czerny stood for, which was to churn out a bunch of crap and making lots of money doing so. It's such a shame that Czerny certainly was capable of writing good music, and he even expressed disappointment in himself that he hadn't really stuck to the example he set with the Op. 7 sonata. Even some of his serious works don't always work as high art though. Honestly, I haven't heard a good piano concerto by him. I believe we have two examples now that have been recorded, one being the 4-hand one, and they are both highly formulaic and have lots of useless scale work. Even in his symphonies, particularly the finales, there is a certain unimaginative repetitiveness that crops up and can overstay its welcome. Fortunately, there are great works such as the Nonet, mentioned by Parag, and several of the piano sonatas (although I hold the first to the highest esteem). The symphonies are also pretty fun to listen to. I can say that I am a Czerny follower/fan, but not an avid lover. Just my thoughts on this oft-neglected composer!
I'm looking forward to listening to his string quartets, second piano trio (of which we have the score available!) and his songs, especially since songs are what have been occupying my time recently with composition.
As for Schumann's stance against Czerny, I completely understand his contempt for what Czerny stood for, which was to churn out a bunch of crap and making lots of money doing so. It's such a shame that Czerny certainly was capable of writing good music, and he even expressed disappointment in himself that he hadn't really stuck to the example he set with the Op. 7 sonata. Even some of his serious works don't always work as high art though. Honestly, I haven't heard a good piano concerto by him. I believe we have two examples now that have been recorded, one being the 4-hand one, and they are both highly formulaic and have lots of useless scale work. Even in his symphonies, particularly the finales, there is a certain unimaginative repetitiveness that crops up and can overstay its welcome. Fortunately, there are great works such as the Nonet, mentioned by Parag, and several of the piano sonatas (although I hold the first to the highest esteem). The symphonies are also pretty fun to listen to. I can say that I am a Czerny follower/fan, but not an avid lover. Just my thoughts on this oft-neglected composer!
I'm looking forward to listening to his string quartets, second piano trio (of which we have the score available!) and his songs, especially since songs are what have been occupying my time recently with composition.