Moritz Moszkowski’s Quinze Études de Virtuosité pour Piano, OP. 72: Intermediate Technical Etudes and Their Value in Solving Pianistic Problems

Abstract

This book focuses on the pedagogical approach to technical problem-solving found in the Quinze études de virtuositè pour piano, Op. 72, by Moritz Moszkowski (1852–1925). Extremely popular as a pianist in his day, Moszkowski was also well known as a composer, teacher, and conductor. His Études were chosen because as a composer, in exploring multiple aspects of piano technique, he never loses sight of the poetic content. One of the problems of the hundreds of technical exercises similar to those of the Clementi and Czerny schools is that they are not inspired as pieces of music. No one would ever program them for public performance. Of course, there are other effective etudes that are also great pieces of music. To name a few, Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, and Scriabin each wrote a couple of dozen, Debussy wrote twelve, Prokofiev, Bartók, and Stravinsky about four each. Most of these etudes are quite complex and more difficult for an aspiring student. Because of the complexity of the music alongside the technical challenge, these are beyond the capability of pre-college and early undergraduate students.