The forgotten piano technique behind Chopin's effortless virtuosity

Summary

In this insightful analysis, Roberto Poly explores Cherney's *The School of Velocity* Op. 299, discussing the challenge of executing high-speed etudes with clarity and ease. He emphasizes the importance of mental fluency and the historical technique of 'flegende,' which involves grouping notes and using minimal motion to achieve rapid, effortless playing. Poly contrasts this approach with modern piano techniques and reflects on how the evolution of piano design has impacted virtuosity. Ultimately, he suggests that true speed in piano playing comes from mental organization and clear, efficient technique rather than sheer finger speed.

Takeaways

• 😀 The *School of Velocity* Op. 299 by Cherny challenges pianists with both technical material and demanding tempo markings, pushing the limits of speed and accuracy.
• 😀 The main difficulty of the etudes in Cherny's *School of Velocity* is not just the technical material, but the high-speed execution required, with some etudes marking tempos as fast as half note equals 108.
• 😀 'Galo kite,' often interpreted as 'speed,' is better understood as 'fluency' or 'effortlessness,' which emphasizes mental clarity and physical ease rather than sheer finger speed.
• 😀 The *School of Velocity* was not created to teach how to play fast but rather provides material that must be played fast, exploring speed as a byproduct of fluency and facility in execution.
• 😀 The flegende technique, popular in early 19th-century piano playing, was key to executing Cherny’s etudes, involving rolling notes in clusters using wrist rotation rather than finger articulation.
• 😀 Early 19th-century pianos, with lighter actions and shallow key depths, allowed pianists to use techniques like flegende, which grouped notes in patterns for faster execution.
• 😀 As pianos evolved in the 1840s with heavier action, the flegende technique became less practical, requiring a shift to more finger-driven playing and greater reliance on the upper body for sound production.
• 😀 The idea of rhythmic 'evenness' in 19th-century piano playing was different from modern interpretations, focusing more on temporal regularity rather than absolute equality of tone.
• 😀 Shopen’s music, although it doesn’t strictly teach flegende, often incorporates patterns and speed that reflect the technique’s influence, demonstrating its role in the development of virtuosity.
• 😀 The legacy of the flegende technique and the *School of Velocity* reminds modern pianists that true virtuosity lies not in fast fingers, but in mental clarity, organized motion, and ease in execution.

Q & A

What makes Cherny's 'The School of Velocity' challenging for pianists?

The main challenge in Cherny's 'The School of Velocity' lies not just in the technical material of the etudes, but in the speed indicated by the metronome markings. As the tempo increases throughout the collection, the difficulty shifts from technical execution to maintaining evenness and control at high speeds.

Why is speed considered a central focus in Cherny's 'The School of Velocity'?

Speed is central to 'The School of Velocity' because the title itself emphasizes velocity, and the etudes require pianists to perform at elevated speeds. The challenge is less about how to play fast, and more about performing the material accurately and evenly within these fast tempos.

What is the misconception around 'velocity' in Cherny's etudes?

The key misconception is equating 'velocity' with just speed. The term 'Galo kite,' often translated as 'speed,' more accurately refers to fluency, effortless facility, and mental ease when playing at high speeds, rather than just raw physical speed.

How does the 'flegende' technique relate to playing fast in Cherny's etudes?

The 'flegende' technique, which was widely used in the early 19th century, involves grouping notes into clusters and rolling them quickly using wrist rotation instead of finger articulation. This technique allows pianists to play rapidly without strain, aligning with the 'effortless' playing described in the etudes.

How does the physical construction of early 19th-century pianos contribute to the 'flegende' technique?

The lighter action and shallower key depth of early 19th-century pianos made the 'flegende' technique possible. These physical characteristics allowed for a faster, wrist-driven approach to playing, in contrast to the finger-driven technique that dominates modern piano playing.

What role did piano etudes play in the 19th century?

Piano etudes in the 19th century served both pedagogical and artistic purposes. They helped train pianists, especially amateurs, while also allowing composers to showcase their own virtuosity through printed music, which reached a broad public.

How did Schopenhauer's approach to piano technique differ from the common view at the time?

Schopenhauer advocated for using the entire body in piano playing, not just finger action. He criticized the common belief that playing the piano should exclude physical resources above the wrist, suggesting that forearm, upper arm, and shoulder involvement were essential for a more effective technique.

What is the significance of 'rhythmic evenness' in 19th-century piano playing?

In 19th-century piano playing, rhythmic evenness was less about digital precision and more about temporal regularity. The idea was that fast passages could sound 'even' as long as the notes were played in equal time, even if their tonal production wasn't perfectly uniform.

How did Chopin approach speed and fluency in his music?

Chopin, influenced by the 'flegende' technique, often used pattern-based passages and rapid figurations, including scales and arpeggios, that relied on wrist rotation and minimal motion. This allowed for speed and fluency without tension, creating clarity and ease in his fast passages.

What is the modern relevance of the 'flegende' technique in piano playing?

While modern pianos don't provide the same conditions for the 'flegende' technique, its conceptual legacy is still valuable. Pianists can benefit from thinking about rapid passages as grouped gestures and using mental clarity to achieve speed with less effort and tension.