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Czerny Op 740 #33, 4 Versions

This is another of those graceful, tuneful studies that make me think of Czerny as the Bournonville of the piano. In keeping with his usual pedagogical practice, Czerny composes a fairly spare LH accompaniment which invites filling out. How you want to fill it out depends on how you want to project the music. I hear #33 as a sunny march, and as a march the music really does require Czerny’s tempo (dotted quarter @112), but there’s no need for the RH to be played in octaves.


The first 24 bars resolve into a one-pager, but as usual Czerny becomes more interesting past the first page so, if the RH challenge has been met, there’s every reason to work up the whole of #33 and get a number of short and long pieces into your repertory.


Op 740 #33, 1st Version: 6/8 march, 16 sets of 8

Op 740 #33, 1st Version Audio

This is my performance of #33 with the RH simplified to single notes and the material shaped into regular 8-count phrases. I’m projecting it as a snappy 6/8 march with dottings, and I’ve elaborated Czerny’s LH to create contrast between the unfolding phrases. I supply a score. The LH chords starting at my m37 are of course rolled.

Op 740 #33, 1st Version Score


Op 740 #33, 2nd Version: extended 6/8 march, 30 sets of 8

Op 740 #33, 2nd Version Audio

This is my performance of my 1st Version of #33 extended for centre using most of Czerny’s material. I supply a score.

Op 740 #33, 2nd Version Score


You can renotate and rebar any 6/8 to get a 3/4, whether by making each eighth a quarter or re-beaming the eighths in couplets. The main constraint is the shape of the melody and how easily it admits of the new accents. The RH of #33 readily resolves into 3/4 when the eighths are re-beamed as couplets, and Czerny’s material can readily be accented in three beats per bar.


Op 740 #33, 3rd Version: short, light mazurka, 8 sets of 8

Op 740 #33, 3rd Version Audio

This is my performance of #33 reshaped as a light mazurka, for which I provide a score. In this short arrangement I’m going for a light, delicate pointe character and using extreme registers of the piano for color.

Op 740 #33, 3rd Version Score


Op 740 #33, 4th Version: extended quick mazurka, 30 sets of 8

Op 740 #33, 4th Version Audio

This is my performance of my 3rd Version of #33 sped up and extended for a quick mazurka in the centre. I provide a score.

Op 740 #33, 4th Version Score


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