Piano improvisation practice according to Systematische Anleitung Zum Fantasieren auf dem Pianoforte by Carl Czerny

Abstract

Proceeding from the analysis of Czerny’s treatise Systematische Anleitung zum Fantasieren auf dem Pianoforte, the article describes the practice of keyboard improvisation in the 19th century and offers an insight into the values and skills of professional pianists of that time. The analysis reveales that the most important aspects of the 19th-century piano improvisation were technical proficiency and virtuosity, the ability to create improvisations in accordance with the compositional tradition, and social intelligence, needed in order to enable the communication and contact with the audience.