Is Czerny a Prerequisite to Liszt?

    

A pianist writes that she is trying to "improve her piano playing." She states that Chopin etudes are" in her grasp" but wants to know how to "take the leap to Liszt's etudes." Pianist Vladimir Pleshakov responds correctly that there is "no mythical ladder" providing a rung by rung ascent to Parnassum. Pardon my reference to Muzio Clementi of Gradus fame.*

   

Czerny is not a prerequisite to anything. Well-meaning though he may have been, his one-thousand plus etudes designed to "strengthen" the fingers or increase "independence" provide little more than a distraction from the real work of working out technical issues in and learning concert repertoire. Remember, he was himself a celebrated prodigy, having made his debut at age nine in a performance of Mozart's C minor concerto. This begs the question, what etudes did he study? I speculate that, since he was a "natural" and doubtless had few if any technical issues, his etudes written for others less fortunate than he were the result of speculation on his part. And incidentally, there was money to be made.

   

Now, gentle reader, before sending me hate mail, consider this. The configurations in the Czerny studies can be found in standard Classical repertoire. Why not practice them there. You can, of course, play as many studies as you want, but you will only have learned to play studies. You will not automatically be able to play Liszt or Chopin. If the original poster can already "grasp" Chopin etudes, there is no reason to suppose she would not be able to move on to Liszt without first wasting time running around the barn. (If you are a regular reader of my essays, you know that we pianists don't train for physical strength and that the fingers are not and never will be independent of one another, though they can be made to sound as if.) 

    When I was a graduate student, I overheard one of my very accomplished colleagues practicing scales and advanced studies. They were flawless. When she emerged from her studio, I asked her why. She said she enjoyed it. That, my friends, is the only reason to play Czerny studies.

    Note: Major and melodic minor Scales have to be learned as a matter of keyboard topography and keyboard harmony. Once fluent, with hands together at a moderate tempo, it is not particularly helpful as a matter of technique to drill them endlessly. As a matter of convenience in the beginning stages, it may be useful to use some of the five-finger patterns in Czerny or elsewhere. Even so, these patterns can also be found in early sonatinas and other beginning pieces. If used as "etudes", these patterns will provide a head start on future repertoire.

*Gradus ad Parnassum (1817) by Muzio Clementi. It means "steps to mastery." Parnassus is a mountain in central Greece standing 8000 feet high.