Further on Czerny...

[eschiss1]

there really is a -lot- more unrecorded would seem; RISM lists hundreds of manuscripts (some of which correspond to works that were published, but many of which do not, e.g. quite a few - almost two dozen?... - masses and other unpublished-to-my-knowledge liturgical works) - I mention this not because I have suddenly become his biggest fan (apologies) (oh, quite a few works I have heard suggest that it's worth uncovering, editing and uncovering more of this, and I want to hear those string quartets and the as-yet-unpublished and unrecorded ones for instance...)

(by the way, again, if you haven't explored RISM a bit, it's more or less an autographs-and-early-editions-in-libraries database for Renaissance-to-mid(-or-late-...)-Romantic music, a version of Worldcat for a different purpose in a way- sort of. Well worth looking into.)

[thalbergmad]

It is unusual if there is no Czerny on my piano. I find his music mostly refreshing and sparkling although it lacks the heart ripping emotion of Beethoven.

For the last week I have been working my way through Les Charmes de L'amitie Op.55 and it has been a most pleasurable experience (for me, not the neighbours). From what I have played, I am of the opinion that his greatest works are among those for Piano & Orchestra, a vast amount of which have not been recorded.

A few years back, a friend of mine from Italy started off a Czerny project which resulted in the digitalisation of about 600 works, and it is still nowhere near finished. Herein, lies part of the problem. Where does one start with all of this??.

Thal

[eschiss1]

A similar plaint - it is an understandable one, unfortunately - was recorded in an interview in Fanfare (with the Orlando String Quartet) when the reviewer (Martin Anderson? David Johnson? Will have to check - sorry!) asked why the group played almost entirely only a combination of classical/Romantic classics and modern premieres. (Some groups, of course, don't do the latter either. On the other hand, the Guarneri Quartet, if I recall, the Budapest, the Juilliard, and others- the Flonzaley definitely most notably- would play those -and- would find some works from the past to "resurrect" if good enough and a member could advocate for them.  A book about the Guarneri makes a point to talk at some length about Reger's (fine, esp. the later) quartets, so I need to mention them )

Anyhow, yes, the Orlando Quartet- a group toward which I have - or had, if they are no longer about? - good wishes... - had this same dilemma - and there are few solutions. One can try to find someone who better knows the repertoire - whether the repertoire is "19th-century 'vanished' string chamber music" or "Czerny's piano music" - to make recommendations of works that most need attention, of which rock in the pile is most likely to be a gem (well, sort of) - but that is the main recommendation that comes to mind alas.

[JimL]

My only knowledge of Czerny's concert output is a file sent to me some time back of the Concerto for Piano Four Hands and Orchestra.  To me it sounded rather Mozartean.  This is understandable if it's an early work.  I hope his other piano concertos have more a Beethovenian sound, because those cadential trills and lack of confrontation between solo and tutti are just so retro for the 19th Century.

[Peter1953]

I'm with Jim. In fact, I also think his symphonies are late classical. But... his piano sonatas and nocturnes... That is fabulous stuff and certainly Romantic.

[eschiss1]

I think this brings a person back to the concerto problem (which is several-fold, but include balancing a solo with an orchestra in a way that justifies the salaries of the latter *g* while still giving the former plenty to do and calling the work a concerto!), which has had different solutions in the Baroque, Classical and Romantic eras- Mozart's later concertos being excellent but very "Classical" (or rather very Mozartean, but not "proto-Romantic") solutions (and yes, despite being happily a member of this forum I think the best solutions to the problem that I know are probably the best- indeed, most of - the concertos of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms.)

The genre includes many display pieces some better and some worse whose composers may not (my subjective opinion, even though not original with me) have recognized that there was a problem, but I wouldn't say it's the style or time period Classical or Romantic that makes this so.

[Jonathan]

I've just bought volume 1 of Martin Jones's recording of the piano sonatas.  It's in a large pile of CDs that I need to listen to but I am already familiar with the 9th Sonata having heard it on BBC Radio 3 years ago (on through the night, when I was having problems sleeping).  I was very impressed with the work and hope to be again when I listen to the CD!