Carl Czerny (1791-1857), whose works number over one thousand opuses, had an active career a composer, pianist, exponent of Beethoven, piano teacher, and theorist. He has received lots of criticism both during his lifetime and ever since. Even nowadays, though many of his piano exercises are popular items for many teachers and pupils ranging from beginners to virtuosi, Czerny is still rated as a master of mechanical works that focus mainly on the right hand. This study will argue that Czerny is much underrated, particularly as a pedagogue, and aims to find out what are the underlying principles that Czerny embedded in his piano pedagogical works, what made them indispensable in the teaching of piano playing and to what degree they present other musical elements which are not purely mechanical in order to reassess Czerny?s achievements in the field of piano pedagogy. The discussion is based on the original English edition of Czerny?s Opus 500 Complete Theoretical and Practical Piano Forte School (1839), its Supplement, as well as Czerny?s other pedagogical works, such as Op. 139, Op. 299, Op. 365, Op. 755 and Op. 821. In addition, other selected pedagogical works and representative keyboard method books and exercises (excluding works for the organ) by other authors up to Czerny?s time are discussed for enriching the discussion. Through a detailed analysis of Czerny?s Opus 500, this study identifies fifteen parameters in his teaching sequences that range from beginner to virtuoso and the findings are clarified and contextualized within the field of 19th century piano pedagogy. These fifteen parameters are also exemplified in four selected opuses of Czerny, and through the ?Exam Pieces? of The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. These are used to justify the applicability of the parameters in the learning sequences intrinsic to the graded piano qualifying examinations nowadays. It is argued that in view of the rich pedagogical content of Czerny?s work both technically and stylistically, together with the systematic teaching sequences that he presented in his piano pedagogical works, Czerny?s contribution to the art of keyboard playing should be well acknowledged.

Carl Czerny (1791-1857), whose works number over one thousand opuses, had an active career a composer, pianist, exponent of Beethoven, piano teacher, and theorist. He has received lots of criticism both during his lifetime and ever since. Even nowadays, though many of his piano exercises are popular items for many teachers and pupils ranging from beginners to virtuosi, Czerny is still rated as a master of mechanical works that focus mainly on the right hand. This study will argue that Czerny is much underrated, particularly as a pedagogue, and aims to find out what are the underlying principles that Czerny embedded in his piano pedagogical works, what made them indispensable in the teaching of piano playing and to what degree they present other musical elements which are not purely mechanical in order to reassess Czerny?s achievements in the field of piano pedagogy. The discussion is based on the original English edition of Czerny?s Opus 500 Complete Theoretical and Practical Piano Forte School (1839), its Supplement, as well as Czerny?s other pedagogical works, such as Op. 139, Op. 299, Op. 365, Op. 755 and Op. 821. In addition, other selected pedagogical works and representative keyboard method books and exercises (excluding works for the organ) by other authors up to Czerny?s time are discussed for enriching the discussion. Through a detailed analysis of Czerny?s Opus 500, this study identifies fifteen parameters in his teaching sequences that range from beginner to virtuoso and the findings are clarified and contextualized within the field of 19th century piano pedagogy. These fifteen parameters are also exemplified in four selected opuses of Czerny, and through the ?Exam Pieces? of The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. These are used to justify the applicability of the parameters in the learning sequences intrinsic to the graded piano qualifying examinations nowadays. It is argued that in view of the rich pedagogical content of Czerny?s work both technically and stylistically, together with the systematic teaching sequences that he presented in his piano pedagogical works, Czerny?s contribution to the art of keyboard playing should be well acknowledged.

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.