Among the most notable of Czerny’s pedagogical works are the Practical Method for Beginners on the Piano, opus 599, and The Young Pianist, opus 823. Each of these consists of two volumes. These works may be profitably studied, particularly as material for reading and review, by all piano students, and are valuable for use as supplementary material with any piano method. The Practical Method and The Young Pianist may be effectively used together, since they both begin with both hands in the treble clef, adding the bass clef after a similar amount of material is covered, and they both systematically introduce notes of various time-values and other musical principles in similar order.
In this new edition containing vol. 1 and 2 of op. 599, the music has been more widely spaced for easier reading. While Czerny’s excellent fingering has been preserved, all unneccessary numbers have been removed. The purpose of each group of studies is more carefully defined through the use of additional categories for classification. The proper performance of ornaments, according to Czerny’s own rules, is carefully explained in footnotes.
Book 2 of each of these books is concerned with the development of skill and dexterity in the keys of C, G, D, A, E, F, Bb, Eb, and Ab major. Exercises including all the important embellishments, such as appoggiaturas, turns and trills, are introduced. Advanced problems in combinations of rhythms, various uses of touch, phrasing, arpeggios, scale passages, etc., are found in both volumes, which may be easily coordinated for use together.
