Czerny's Influence And The Development Of The Nocturne In 19th Century

CZERNY'S INFLUENCE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NOCTURNE IN 19TH CENTURY
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Czerny's Influence and the Development of the Nocturne in 19th Century
Carl Czerny (1791 -1857) was an Austrian pianist, composer, and teacher who specialized in wide variety of music composition, producing thousands of works. His parents had a Czech background as well as musical history which played an instrumental role in influencing Czerny to have a huge impact in the development of the nocturne in 19th century. His fortune and fame during this period are a result of composing fashionable works that were directed towards the masses. In addition, he was well-placed in the development of music techniques that were associated with the emerging piano playing strategies. In Vienna, there were large numbers of piano teachers and this enabled Czerny to collaborate with other professionals in the production of phenomenal volumes of studies which were eventually linked to every piano. This paper analyzes Czerny’s influence in the development of the nocturne in 19th century.
Nocturne
Nocturne is a form of musical composition originating from the French word nocturne which means nocturnal, and it is the kind of music that is inspired by the night. Nocturne was initially used in the 18th century in assembling different kinds of musical movements which were commonly played during evening parties. Apart from other composers who came before him, Carl Czerny is mostly famous for over a thousand pieces as well as up to OP. 861. Colwell and Richardson argue that Czerny composed comprehensive treatise that concentrated on the improvisation of the subject of piano. This is one of the first strategies of presenting this kind of work to the general public. Czerny also collaborated with Johann Hummel, who was one of the most prominent composers and improvisers who wrote piano methods that had a huge impact on piano pedagogy.
Czerny is considered as one of the most prominent musicians in Vienna, contributing significantly to the expansion of nocturne. Not only is he renowned for the development of different piano treaties, he was a creative composer in different music genres. The music that he managed to compose stimulated huge amount of curiosity and it usually emanated from his own instrument. The work that came to be known as Grand Concerto in A minor was both spirited and serene, generating historical significance among the most important romantic concertos to be composed. In addition, the playful nature and lyricism of his works, such as the Grand Nocturne Brillant, was well balanced by the efficient nature of Rossini Variations de Concert.
Development
Nocturne emerged hundreds of years ago with the solo piano, particularly those composed by Frederic Chopin and John Field, being used traditionally in piano pedagogy. Nocturnes by Field have been used to acquaint students to nocturnes done by Chopin and they are accessible in his piano works. During the 19th century, numerous composers of nocturnes have emerged, with the most commonly known being Czerny, Liszt, Greig, Scriabin, and Tchaikovsky.Composers have also used these works to teach piano to students.
Writings from the 19th century by Czerny and other artists document on the similarities between French romance and serenade in comparison to the nocturne. During this period, there were four varieties of nocturnes that were in existence. The first one used three or more types of musical instruments. The second type focused more on voices, with the most common one being a Capella. The third type of nocturne was for instrumental duos. The most dominant nocturne was the fourth type and it was for the solo piano work. John Field is considered as the first music composer who used the title “nocturne” for his solo piano composition in 1812. Czerny argued that nocturne tended to imitate vocal serenades. He further expanded the character of nocturne describing it as fanciful, romantic, soft, graceful, and also passionate, arguing that it was never odd or punitive.
Nocturne has also gained popularity in the current generation particularly with its increased usage in the contemporary dictionaries. Although dictionaries initially included the four different forms of nocturnes, most dictionaries in the 19th century usually describe the solo piano nocturne. Czerny described the modern form of nocturne, which is passionate and deters from the strange and harsh type.Chou says that the most popular form of current nocturnes is the one that puts emphasis on mood and character.Czerny said that it is not possible to consider nocturne style as having a unifying thread since numerous types tend to diverge from the generalized style. However, the similarity among different pieces is based on their lyricism and mood.
Individual Contributions and His Modern Approach
Czerny was naturally a modest individual who did not focus on exhibitionism and self-promotion. However, he was increasingly popular among the musical public, as noted in the writings of Wilhelm Fink in 1928. Although he started to play piano at an early age, his major exposure started when he was scheduled to make a presentation under the guidance of Ludwig van Beethoven. He remained under the tutelage of Beethoven until 1804. He sharpened his skills at fingering, expertise in improvisation, restrained performing demeanor, as well as expertise in trills and scales. Czerny’s musical memory was instrumental in enabling him to sharpen his skills under the assistance of Beethoven particularly during 1804 and 1805. Bach’s treatise was instrumental in influencing Beethoven, who in turn used these skills to teach Czerny.
Initially, Bach placed emphasis on the centrality of fingering in order to enhance performance and thus developed several fingerings. Chopin and Beethoven made Bach’s ideas a reality by developing fingerings that satisfy certain expressive and technical aspects of this music. All these approaches were aimed at enhancing the ability of the performer by creating musical differences based on articulation, phrasing, timing, and dynamics.However, Carl Czerny who was Beethoven’s student came up with a new conception that revolutionized the piano technique. Czerny’s technique was more autonomous and abstract, and instead of a method seen as serving interpretation, it was considered a concept that was an end in itself. Czerny made fingering a central part in the artistic process and his departure from the artistic style of his teacher is clearly reported in the book published by Barth.
Czerny regarded the style of his teacher as outdated. Although Beethoven had managed to change the principal touch of the keyboard to legato from non-legato, his composition was based on rhetoric and declamatory style. This is where gestures tend to imitate patterns of people’s movement and speech. Czerny argued that this style was outdated since it went out with Mozart, and he associated Beethoven’s style with singing instead of speaking, which depended on musical lines instead of anthropomorphic signs.Czerny initiated the way towards modernization by claiming that any changes to taste require “other means” in order for Beethoven’s concepts can be realized. Czerny is famously known for working on more than one different piece at a time, changing desks immediately when one of them dried, and crossing manuscripts extensively to portray another side.
Czerny played a huge role in the development and expansion of the modern approach to nocturne. Beethoven influenced Czerny to develop piano versions associated with his orchestral works. This would then be critical in enabling the works to be extensively heard, particularly with the tireless promotion strategy used by Czerny. Furthermore, Czerny taught numerous pupils how to play piano, including Carl, who was Beethoven nephew, and other students such as Thalberg, Heller, and the famously known Liszt. Czerny’s music was presented by Liszt in Parisian recitals, while together with Thalberg and Chopin, Liszt was able to invite Czerny to make a contribution at the Grand Variations.
Compositions
Apart from nocturnes, Czerny composed thousands of piano music, including sonatas, etudes, opera theme arrangements as well as numerous variations. His works also included choral music, concertos, symphonies, string quartets, songs, and different chamber music. Nevertheless, Czerny’s repertoire consists of a wide range of nocturnes and piano pieces, including The Art of Finger Dexterity and The School of Velocity. Apart from increasingly using etude for a title, Czerny contributed to numerous arrangements that were used in several opera themes. According to Sandra Rosenblum, Czerny managed to produce nocturnes and musical examples that had comprehensive suggestions for hastening and slackening the tempo. They also li...