Czerny's Most Beautiful Etude (op. 740 no. 45)

Pianist: Xiaotang Tan, Central Conservatory of Music (China)
Piece: Czerny op. 740 no. 45

[@thekeyoflifepiano]

Czerny, at his very best, is a bit better than Chopin at his worse. Do you agree that this is the best Czerny Etude?

[@jacindaardern1738]

Which is still better than 99.9% of all composers

[@icst4786]

Hard disagree. Chopin at his worst is pretty bad, however rare that was. Czerny by no means lags far behind Chopin in terms of best works, but his batting averages leave something to be desired.

[@PointyTailofSatan]

To be honest, I find this piece rather simplistic harmonically. There is virtually no tension or contrast at all. It sounds like an exercise.

[@lucazordancomposer1733]

Agree on the statement, not so much with the choice of this etude. As someone else pointed out, there is no tensiont in this exercise. Ok, there's a sweet melody, but the harmony is more simple than a chorale harmonized by a student in composition at their first year!

[@mahler151]

Hard disagree. Czerny at his best sounds like AI-generated Chopin, which may sound even better still than Czerny.

[@EdmundHeng80]

I remember throwing away my Czerny book when I was a student and told my teacher that I lost it. And she got me a Hanon book the following week which I hated even more LMAO.

[@mohammedcohen]

...I HATED those Czerny, Hannon & Duvernoy lessons, but wish I'd appreciated them...I'm 74 (75 in Nov)...started lessons @ 5 in early 1955...my biggest (and the one of which I was most proud of at the time) was being able to reach an octave...I was prolly about 7...the first time I EVER appreciated Bach's Inventions was when I listened to 'Switched On Bach' with my dad's Sennheiser headphones - and that started my journey into the organ music of Bach (and others)...now I'm back discovering what I missed almost 70 years ago...

[@AntónioNahakBorges]

😮

[@ericrakestraw664]

This piece actually reminds me of one of Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words.

[@contentcomedy3827]

Which? I’d love to hear it

[@ericrakestraw664]

@@contentcomedy3827 Op. 38, No. 6 (Duetto) in A-flat.

[@Khayyam-vg9fw]

It reminded me of Mendelssohn's solo piano music more generally.

[@NiklasFischerComposer]

Very Schubert-like, especially the ending.

[@LascoDePasco]

Well, I think this is Carl Czerny at his best. When I was a little boy I had to play many of Czerny´s Etudes. Maybe sometimes it seemed to me a little bit boring. But now when I get older, I am over sixty now, I found his etudes very useful and never regret to play these pieces in the days of my youth. He had to be very good piano teacher!

[@yuk_notkim7658]

I'm 14, and I'm aware that Czerny etudes are pretty fun to play. I'm trying to play his etudes from Op. 299, and I'm having fun playing them.

[@JoseFuentes-fn3dl]

Love Czerny's works. Many composers of the day believed Czerny focused too much on teaching and less on compositions because of his potential. He still made an impact regardless.

[@JoseFuentes-fn3dl]

Check out Czerny: Etude in G minor, Op. 740 no. 50

[@mehdiadlany]

Czerny composed many piano sonatas, nocturnes, preludes and fugues, symphonies, piano concertos. It's just that the gatekeepers of classical music like to keep his name attached to piano teaching. It's very sad.

[@zswu31416]

Czerny composed a butt ton of works lmao

[@creativesource3514]

Czerny are a must for serious piano students. Great teacher.

[@Benjamin.Zoon09]

Liszt was his student

[@mohammedcohen]

...used'ta 'seriously dislike' having to practice what I felt were tuneless exercises (ca. late 50s/early 60s) - if only I'd known and taken these etudes more seriously...

[@fjdyyh2542]

No he isn't

[@marichristian1072]

My love for Czerny was crushed by his piano studies which I had to practice as a child. However this etude is beautifully performed.

[@Oldman808]

You’re lucky your teacher wasn’t a fan of Brahm’s exercises.

[@josephhapp9]

Horowitz stated his favourite recording was Czerny: Variations on Ricordanza by Rode

[@thekeyoflifepiano]

I love that piece, but the original melody isn't Czerny. It only goes downhill from the theme IMO.

[@josephhapp9]

@@thekeyoflifepiano composed by Rode as stated.🥰

[@kuruczalbert]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/qailo5-Qa9Vlq9U I tried to find it but found this one and I like it.

[@PointyTailofSatan]

I have to admit I rarely played Czerny. I practiced mainly using Bach's WTC. That pretty much covers most required technique, short of things like big Liszt like jumps and extreme dynamics.

[@awakenwithoutcoffee]

Same here! Bach's WTC I, II and Inversions for counterpoint. Beethoven for structure, Scarlatti for melody and Chopin Etudes for technique. This is my suggested route for beginning pianists. It will take you 10 years but, if practiced correctly will make you a very capable pianist.

[@rbarnes4076]

@@awakenwithoutcoffee A most excellent list! And one which I heartily agree with! Never played any Scarlatti, but for the rest I know from personal experience you are spot on. When anyone asks me about technique, I point to Chopin. Those pieces are a masterclass in how to approach the piano.

[@awakenwithoutcoffee]

@@rbarnes4076 thank you! I have to point out that Scarlatti is a master of sequence, always repeating certain phrases of interest. For orchestral work I am still a novice but my studies have led me to Vivaldi (structure, melody and thematic development), Ravel (orchestral virtuosity, sound as color) and Rimski-Korsakoff (mastery of the instrument called the orchestra). And yes, Chopin truly is one of the giants of piano technique to study without a doubt. To be honest, if there was only 1master to study it would be Chopin since he encorporates so much of the lessons learned from other masters, in particular J.S. Bach.

[@zoiloparagas1092]

One of my lessons in piano, Cherny.. my graduation piece.

[@anigiuran109]

Lovely music ! Thank you ! 😊😊😊❤❤❤

[@georgeproject7504]

I don't think that Chopin and Czerny should be compared in any way. However it is an interesting piano exercise

[@bigkahunauk1]

Bellissimo 🥰

[@angelicamendoza9419]

It's super incredible how a person can manage to play Czerny and memorize one of his op. I am a pianist but I have not been able to memorize any of Czerny's scores.

[@dreamescape.]

Thx for sharing 🙌

[@MyCyprus2011]

Великолепное исполнение❤

[@davidecarollo70]

Great! Czerny is not mechanical studies only!

[@bernardobortolotto6022]

THANKS I NEEDED THIS

[@germanhd1211]

Beautiful, but I like op 740, no 47 more. Many Czerny etudes are truly beautiful.

[@paulograca3937]

Very beautiful etude

[@YoshitaneNakada]

This work makes me anticipate the appearance of Frantz Listz.

[@elaineblackhurst1509]

A wide range of opinions in this thread, largely from listeners whose critical sense has apparently deserted them; this is thin gruel, and as such almost never appears in concert programmes for self-evident reasons. Czerny, like Hanon and a string of others, is largely mindless finger-twiddling exercises which, whilst teaching some of the *technique* necessary to play Beethoven for example, is otherwise *musically* almost worthless.

[@lluisrafalessole-classical5068]

Fantastic music 🎹🎶

[@Philobach]

lol

[@einark3846]

This video is not black and white originally

[@thekeyoflifepiano]

I did it to make the low res more tolerable.

[@Piflaser]

Like an impromptu de Schubert.

[@GaleRianes]

That's how many people feel.

[@caudapavonis1130]

Yeah, but shorter and without all the different layers and contrasts...

[@Piflaser]

@@caudapavonis1130 Like a Moment musical?

[@caudapavonis1130]

@@Piflaser Kind of, but still, even in the Moments musicaux, Schubert tends to mix and shift between tonalities a lot, that's just part of his style. I feel like Czerny is more...straight-forward in a way. Of course, it's partly due to the fact this is a study, meant for exercise (and I feel it could be played in a less mechanical way as well, as someone has already stated).

[@emanueledemeo2408]

remember also that czerny was a teacher before a composer

[@HKWhang1]

I think either Op. 740 no. 24 or Op. 807 no. 67 are the most beautiful

[@vcherrrix]

For Czerny yes. Could be player with a much warmer tone quality. Perhaps, less mechanical pulse

[@somemoreplaylists1781]

I don't find this performance "mechanical" at all. Let's not less bias blind our musical judgment please.

[@robertkukuczka9469]

Great piece of music.

[@Philobach]

Mes compositions sont quand même plus belles que les siennes.

[@pianoman2332]

С большим уважением отношусь к Черни и этюдам которые сделали его известным, и на которых мы все учились. Учились, чтобы затем играть Шопена, Листа и других,которые намного выше Черни, даже в своих "неудачных" работах.

[@Tata-Sibiryatschka]

Черни - недооцененный композитор! Этюды Черни - как букварь для музыканта. А помимо этюдов у него столько всего ещё написано...

[@markwestphal4437]

This guy is very precise but he types it all out without a shred of musical feeling. If this is Czerny at his best, it wasn't given much of a chance.

[@MullahSteinberg]

Am i the only hearing young schubert simmering in the background ?

[@Philobach]

non...

[@AlkanLove]

この作品で他の作曲家の名前を出す時にアルカンの名前が出ないのは余りにもにわかすぎる、ツェルニーを侮辱するのは許し難い

[@kamint2258]

ショパン風で美しい曲❤❤❤

[@АлександрДудин-ф9р]

It‘s Schubert!

[@Philobach]

mais par exemple l impromptu 3 de Schubert est plus beau.

[@fatimacastro5770]

Estudei Czerny desde o primeiro livro. Este estudo está em qual volume.?

[@FERAFRA-yy9dz]

Lovely

[@MassimoMalavasi]

Unbelievable!!!

[@bvsiness]

Indeed!

[@robhaskins]

wow!

[@Annihilator_5024]

1:07 theme starts again in recording with C but sheet music shows A flat

[@JaxEntersEvasion]

Good catch

[@Annihilator_5024]

@@JaxEntersEvasion i think i prefer the version in the sheet music because the tonic resolution defines an ending to a section before repeating the theme again, anyway. the pianist in the recording made it sound potentially like a run on sentence by choosing C instead of A flat

[@utvpoop]

Inspired by Aeolian Harp I guess

[@acusado]

Czerny is older than Chopin...

[@utvpoop]

@@acusado Yes but Czerny outlived Chopin by some 7 years, too. I guess the whole op. 740 which was first published in 1844 was inspired by the achievements of the contemporary pianism, and its goal was (and still is) to prepare the pianist technically for playing masterpieces by Chopin and Liszt, for example.

[@danielgloverpiano7693]

It’s even closer to the Impromptu No. 1 in the same key. Especially the left hand patterns.

[@garudel]

Well, matter of taste...

[@Isaac-vm2jm]

Does anyone know if there is a accurate synthesia version of this? Im unable to read piano notes

[@disinformationworld9378]

Oh boy. If you had synthesia you wouldn’t need the see the sheet music. You could hear the colors. Of course, everyone has differences of opinion on which colors they hear.

[@WEEBLLOM]

​@@disinformationworld9378 synthesia, not synesthesia

[@pianisthenics]

Start learning it!! It will be much quicker and more detail oriented from the scores rather than seeing blocks of colors dropping.

[@peterrhodes7785]

It's all bit too loud and the misjudged balance between the hands makes even the fleeting quiet moments heavy. As to a comparison with Chopin, his Op 25 No 1 Etude is from a different planet.

[@Philobach]

vous n y comprenez pas grand chose , ou ne ressentez pas. . Beaucoup d' oeuvres de Bach comme les variations Goldberg sont elles d' une autre planète, mais pas ce morceau de chopin qui a juste sa petite mélodie, mais sans plus.

[@fido652]

It is a little tense, but I rather enjoyed it. Unannounced at concert I wonder how many would say it was Chopin !

[@cantavanda]

Come on.... this??!? Check out his etude Op. 399 No. 10. Thank me later. It's an absolute masterpiece. Not this.

[@Cjjk3]

I like it better but it doesn't sound as calming and beautiful as this one does.

[@cantavanda]

@@Cjjk3 Oopsy! The title says "beautiful" hahahaha! I thought "best". Was confused by the comment by the uploader LOL!

[@alidacordoves6513]

Cherny and Chopin were great composers. Stop this nonsense comparison.

[@adeemuff]

Yes, Op. 399 No. 10 is very nice. I also like "Ocean Waves" and "perseverance"

[@Philobach]

Mais si ce morceau dont vous parlez est un chef d oeuvre absolu , que dire des morceaux de Bach...comme les toccatas bwv 910-916..exemple : kzbin.info/www/bejne/qHO6mZ6rqLKmbZo

[@aldovilla6172]

Similar to Chopin's etude no.1 op. 25, same tonality and final bars

[@lolbruh1170]

Listen to Wölfl etude op 56 no 15. That's better.

[@師太滅絕]

Can really foreseen Chopin 25/1

[@WinrichNaujoks]

But why such a lo fi recording??

[@klam1742]

it remind me of "valse du désire" from Beethoven

[@Philobach]

En effet il y a une ressemblance

[@pianista-mediocre]

Liszt- Dante sonata?

[@alainspiteri502]

technic near Chopin impromptu N-1 but without the genious : Czerny was not a poet . K Riisager wrote an orchestration of some studies , result is worst .

[@angelobonacci461]

Credo che nessun riferimento qui ci sia, è un bello studio,poi ne ha scritti di molto più utili e sicuramente non va paragonato a uno studio di chopin o altro 😢

[@yuk_notkim7658]

In my opinion, Czerny is better than Chopin.

[@yuk_notkim7658]

A year later, now I regret saying that.

[@Vlad_Vikz]

0:31 chopin's opus 9 no 2 nocturne lmfao

[@kimsahl8555]

A masterpiece = Chopin op.28 no 19, and czerny is very small and a great teacher.

[@Philobach]

non, pas spécialement beau ...

[@Usefulmusic]

Some player!

[@aaa-hw2ty]

similar to one of chopin etude

[@jazzermester]

Why couldn't he write all his pieces like this

[@thekeyoflifepiano]

Speed is addictive. . .

[@jazzermester]

@@thekeyoflifepiano I mean harmonically

[@jazzermester]

@@thekeyoflifepiano you can write fast pieces with nice harmony as well

[@ДенисЛобынцев]

Don't know how commentators can compare Czerny's music with Chopin's. IMHO this study, for all its beauty, is incredibly superficial even in chromatic fragments

[@markhughes7927]

Nice but he could Czern them out 😂!

[@therealtruetwelfth798]

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@argi0774]

This is of course not Czerny's most beautiful etude

[@beethovenberlioz]

Si vabbè... Czerny meglio di Chopin...sì sì come no

[@alexandreblanc9294]

Czerny is for musicians and not for technicist.

[@laurenth7187]

You can only see how far he is from Chopin.

[@kuruczalbert]

Yes it is nice but without any surprise. You can predict the whole piece from the first line. Excellent performance though.

[@НиколайГеоргиевич-ю3д]

Люди добрые помогите пожалуйста вы это о чём. Карл Черни один из самых лучших, вас дурят .Ф.Лист.

[@pauljones724]

No I disagree .Cherry is nice but Chopin is the best classical pianist of then I think Seriously!! Chopin was made for the piano!!!!!!. I am sorry!!!

[@Philobach]

Chopin est bien, mais c' est Bach le meilleur au piano, avec les plus géniales et émotionnelles architectures. Chopin est plus fait pour le peuple....

[@fjdyyh2542]

Nah not really

[@goranjovanovic9885]

I always hated Czerny.

[@yuk_notkim7658]

I like Czerny, but I dislike Chopin.

[@matswessling6600]

why playing so brutally? not a good rendition..

[@Piflaser]

Better this way than not.

[@matswessling6600]

@@Piflaser no. this makes the music a dis-service.

[@datalore6187]

Played with no musicality at all. Well practiced and secure but other than that...

[@somemoreplaylists1781]

Ridiculous and useless comment. The performance is no less musical than how Cliburn would play it. It's an idiomatic Czerny etude. What can you expect?

[@Philobach]

les nuances sont bien là et bien faites tout de même.

[@Philobach]

Le plus beau que je connaisse, d un point de vue purement mélodique sans parler de complexité, reste celui ci : kzbin.info/www/bejne/oXK3aqWgprl2Z7c mais mes propres morceaux sont plus beaux....

[@Manx123]

This isn't played that well, and it's not even the best etude of the Op. 740 set. To be fair, this is a live recording of all the etudes, so it's understandable if other, first-rate pianists have recorded better studio versions.

[@thekeyoflifepiano]

Thank you for your opinion.

[@Manx123]

@@thekeyoflifepiano You're welcome. I think Neuberger's interpretation of No. 45, could be more expressive, (i.e., slower), but it's technically flawless, and his recording of the op. 740 set is or should be considered the standard.

[@Manx123]

@@thekeyoflifepiano Also, how on earth is this here played _dolce, sempre legatissimo e cantabile_? This performance seem like none of those. Also compare to Libetta's performance.

[@Manx123]

To be fair, this is a live recording of all the etudes, so it's understandable if other, first-rate pianists have recorded better studio versions.